ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses possible threats to India’s economic security in three domains: economic growth, climate change and environmental degradation, and food security and human development. Stagnating economic growth, accompanied by alarmingly high youth unemployment and low labour force participation, implicates domestic policy failure to sustain the growth momentum and create jobs. Demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax’s implementation have been identified as the proverbial last straws that broke the economy’s back. Three sectors—agriculture, power and banking—have been identified to be particularly distressed and needing urgent policy attention. India’s vulnerability further clouds the economic outlook to climate change and environmental degradation owing to dismal human development indicators and widespread inequality. Worsening pollution crisis and water scarcity in most Indian cities make an economic turnaround difficult by adversely affecting the labour force. Finally, despite surplus food production and decades of high economic growth, food insecurity and malnourishment are issues that continue to haunt India’s growth story. As India’s economic growth loses steam, these issues are likely to worsen unless the government shows deft policymaking.
