Contributed papers.

The three pillars of sustainable development are economic growth, social development, and protection of environment, and an integration of these pillars is required for national planning and policymaking. The greatest drawback of the existing literature in India is an inadequate understanding of the interplay of these three pillars. While dealing with the concept of sustainable development, the focus of the international community is on technical and environmental issues and challenges.
Offering a unique integrated approach, which includes both macro and micro analyses, this volume is an interdisciplinary study of the various challenges that shape debates on sustainable development in India. The contributions cover issues like the role of patents in development, conservation of natural resources, protection of the marine environment, poverty, bioremediation, importance of the ocean life as well as e-waste management and the role of local governments in attaining sustainability—issues which directly affect the progress of an economy. The theoretical and empirical analyses presented in this volume raise varied questions, yet the integrated whole that emerges reveals the future directions, which will shape the policy and theoretical debates on sustainable development.