The Indian Resource Panel: A Mechanism to Promote Resource Efficiency Policy Throughout the Indian Economy

Abstract

India’s rapid economic growth necessitates rapidly increasing resource consumption. However, resource extraction, processing, use and disposal typically have considerable environmental impacts. In addition, there are concerns about the adequate and affordable supply of resources in the future, especially for certain critical resources for which India is highly import dependent. Therefore, resource efficiency is critical for sustainable development in India going forward. While considerable resource reuse and recycling is already existent in the Indian economy, there is no overall strategic approach to resource efficiency such as those adopted by European Union nations. The Indo-German bilateral cooperation project “Resource Efficiency and Sustainable Management of Secondary Raw Materials”, funded by the German Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, is being jointly implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The project aims to promote policy and institutional frameworks that improve resource efficiency and secondary material reuse. In addition to demonstrating successful resource efficient practices in selected sectors, the project has also supported the MoEFCC to institute an Indian Resource Panel (InRP), the first of its kind in India, with the mandate to advise the Government of India on implementation of resource efficiency strategy and policies throughout the Indian economy. One of the first tasks of the panel was to undertake a baseline assessment of the policy landscape in India related to resource use. A detailed analysis was undertaken of all existing policies at different stages of the life cycle—mining, design, manufacturing, consumption and waste management. Gaps and potential synergies were identified that would be the basis of policy recommendations to promote resource efficiency across the entire value chain. This paper presents the objectives of the InRP and highlights results of this comprehensive policy assessment, including a case study of the automotive sector.