(a) Discuss the major challenges related to women's reproductive health in India. What measures would you suggest to overcome…

Development in India cannot be understood as separate tracks of gender, environment and state intervention; these interconnected themes shape each other. Women’s reproductive health, ecological sustainability and planning are linked because poor health limits human capital, environmental degradation undermines livelihoods, and planning determines whether growth is inclusive or extractive.

Women’s reproductive health is constrained by patriarchal household decision-making, son preference and limited male participation in family planning. NFHS-5 shows that unmet need for modern contraception is about 12% among married women aged 15–49, while the Maternal Mortality Ratio, though improved, remains high at 97 per 1,00,000 live births. Cultural norms often delay care-seeking, restrict autonomy over contraception and childbearing, and make women dependent on in-laws or husbands for decisions. Son preference can intensify pressure for repeated pregnancies. Systemic failures compound this: primary health centres are often under-resourced, trained birth attendants are scarce in remote areas, and anaemia affects 57% of women aged 15–49 according to NFHS-5. Access to safe abortion, though improved under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021, which extends gestational limits for certain categories, is uneven due to stigma, provider reluctance and weak facilities. Measures must be multi-level. Janani Suraksha Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana should be expanded and better monitored, while community-based health workers, especially ASHA and ANM, need better incentives, training and supply chains. Male involvement programmes in family planning and comprehensive sexuality education in schools and community spaces can shift norms, reduce early marriage and increase shared decision-making. Hospital infrastructure, emergency obstetric care and blood banks must be expanded, especially in high-MMR districts.

Sustainable development, as defined by the Brundtland Commission and reflected in the SDG framework, embodies intergenerational equity by meeting present needs without compromising future generations, balancing the three pillars: economic, social and environmental. The debate between weak and strong sustainability matters: weak sustainability assumes natural capital can be replaced by human-made capital, while strong sustainability treats ecosystems as non-substitutable. In India, livelihood needs often conflict with environmental protection. The Narmada Bachao Andolan highlighted displacement caused by large dams; mining in Jharkhand and Odisha has damaged tribal lands, forests and livelihoods; climate-induced agrarian distress forces risky land use; and informal sector pollution from tanneries and brick kilns harms workers and communities. Reconciliation requires just transition frameworks that compensate affected workers and communities, community forest rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, and support for organic and System of Rice Intensification agriculture. Circular economy models in MSMEs can reduce waste, while climate-resilient MGNREGA work can combine employment with water conservation and ecological restoration.

Development planning in India has been central to state-led modernisation. The Five-Year Plans contributed to the Green Revolution, space programmes and health infrastructure, but also produced regional inequality, displacement and ecological degradation. The shift from Five-Year Plans to NITI Aayog reflects a move from centralised targets to cooperative federalism and market-friendly policy. Neoliberal critiques argue that planning crowds out markets and creates bureaucratic rigidity, while post-development arguments question whether externally designed plans can capture local knowledge or may impose one-size-fits-all growth. Yet planning remains relevant because markets alone cannot correct health, environmental and gender externalities. The 73rd and 74th Amendments provide a basis for democratic decentralised planning through panchayats and municipalities, enabling participatory alternatives that link local priorities with national goals.

Thus, a way forward is gender-sensitive, participatory planning that treats reproductive health, ecological limits and livelihood security as one integrated agenda. Such planning must be rooted in local institutions, accountable to affected communities, and attentive to the needs of women, tribal and informal workers. Only then can India reconcile sustainability with social justice.