India has 1.4 billion people still climbing out of poverty, and we can't afford to slow down for environmental perfectionism that rich countries didn't follow when they industrialized. Strict emissions caps and forest preservation policies will cost jobs, keep wages stagnant, and delay infrastructure that villages desperately need. We need energy-intensive manufacturing, coal plants, and agricultural expansion to lift people to middle-class living standards—environmental cleanup can come later when we're wealthier, just like it did in Europe and America.
India already suffers from the world's worst air pollution, poisoned rivers, and agricultural soil degradation that's destroying future productivity—we can't afford to wait. Economic growth built on destroying our groundwater, forests, and air will collapse anyway when farming fails and cities become unlivable. We have the technology now to build clean industries and solar capacity cheaper than coal; slower growth with clean air and sustainable agriculture is more honest than promising short-term wealth that leaves our children with a ruined country.
