Science and technology in India's search for a sustainable and equitable future

After reviewing the first 40 years of Indian development, this paper delineates the emerging scenario to the year 2000 and beyond. Critiquing the “stages of development” approach of Rostow and Marx, the paper argues that the developing countries cannot, for both internal and external reasons, trace the same development path of the highly industrialized countries of today. The need for an alternative pattern of development, and a path to sustainable and just development are then presented in terms of life styles, organization of space and human settlement patterns, production systems and technology, and energy generation and consumption profiles. The paper presents examples of alternative technologies needed in three key areas: foodgrain production in drylands, energy, and new science-based rural industries, particularly those based on biotechnology.