As far as Indian economic growth is concerned, we all know that India’s annual per capita income is significantly low and growing at an equally slow pace. As per the new set of internationally comparable data put together by researchers at the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative at the University of Oxford; which is now called the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) India is at 7th place from the bottom. On the other hand today’s BoP is growing fast to be middle class of tomorrow. The need to is to engage them not only as consumers or producers, but as business partners to "co-create businesses and markets. That will mutually benefit the companies and the communities" as professed by Hart and his colleague Erik Simanis at Cornell University’s Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise.

Some environmental concerns and the resource utilisation patterns need to be confronted up front; otherwise it may be too late to recover from the loss. Over the past fifty years, India’s forest cover has declined steadily. Transportation fuels account for half of India’s imports, which is mostly consumed by urban pollution. Water scarcity is now a major constraint in industry, agriculture and households. Millions of villagers move each year to inhuman city slums for their so-called improved prospects. India needs to use a sustainable technology based on renewables and eco-efficiency and then build up stronger, viable production systems at the local level.

The employment generation is getting worse. To close the employment gap by 2015 will require approximately two million jobs every year. Growth of rural off-farm employment is slowing down sharply. The capital cost of creating a job in a large industry is huge and under the present threat of slow down, the attitude of industry is going to be more cautious. Large industries can only generate fewer jobs. MSMEs account for more than two-third of the existing jobs but in unsustainable manner. India needs to have greater investment in skills development and green jobs creation – "Jobs that can offer, dignified and viable resource generation options to build social capital without degradation of environment."

Development of green trade and services is not consolidated and access to markets is not yet channelised. Standardisation certifications and quality control measures need to be strengthened for green MSMEs. Currently, there are no quality benchmarks for green businesses. Alternate avenues of financing these MSMEs need to be developed. It has to be aligned with other sectors and advantageous environment for these MSMEs need to be nurtured. Green benchmarks to be institutionalised for penetration in global markets.

The MSME sector constitutes ~34 per cent of all national manufacturing exports, but the lack of credit is hampering further growth in the sector. When we talk of co creating businesses particularly in India, we need to think beyond present micro credit market. We need to develop protocols and systems to aggregate the recipients of micro credit landing and induce a collective bargain power with the established companies to make them survive with mutual benefit sharing

Only a few products that the poorer sections buy are made by the organised industrial sector. Sustained economic growth will necessitate a growing demand for products, and the creation of such demands will require opening up of new, lower income markets. This production cannot be realised if informal and MSME Sector are not mainstreamed and integrated with both trade development and economic growth. Thereby, India needs to produce more goods and services for basic needs and must generate broader-based purchasing power to buy these goods and services.

Fostering transparency in the formulation of sound green business strategies and developing information and business networks is going to be the key to success. This really is the only way to provide practical solutions for designing constructive responses to the present global economical and climate concerns and challenges. q