ENVIRONMENT-DEVELOPMENT RELATIONSHIP: EXISTENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL KUZNETS CURVE --- AN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

India as a growing economy faces trade-off between economic growth and conservation of environment. Improving environmental quality without affecting economic growth is necessary to achieve sustainable development. Before adopting major policy options it is important to know the existing pattern of growth-environment relationship in India. In the present paper this relationship is found in terms of the Environmental Kuznets Curve. In this analysis, three major pollutants (CO2, NO and SO2) are taken as the indicators of environmental degradation whereas, the growth rate of Net Domestic Product (at factor cost), represents economic growth. The data of emissions of pollutants and growth rate of NDP are taken for the years 2001-2008. The result shows that higher economic growth in India is accompanied with higher emissions of pollutants. On the basis of the given data set it may be concluded that India is at the rising portion of the Environmental Kuznets Curve.