with indias population we will never have even 1/10th the standard of living as in developed countries no matter how much we develop, there never will be enough resources to meet the needs of 110 crore people , leave alone 150 crores (very likely in near future)...
even China which is developing fast, most of the population doesnt really enjoy even a decent standard of living (although probably much better of than india, where most humans live lives of dogs)..
not sure why population control is not a priority....
Instead of concentrating purely on creating low-cost products of questionable value for the overwhelmingly 'poor' masses, it would behoove them to increase the standard of living exponentially, so that these folks could afford to buy real products at a reasonable market price, rather than useless junk, just because it's cheap. But that would require not only a change in govt policies, but also a change in peoples mindset.
No new inventions are required as our age old practices are effecient so-calle Green Projects. 1. Oprah show, declared that using of unused clothes for kitchen cleaning reduces the paper usage by heaps and bounds--we no need such calculations and hooplah as we practise it. 2. reduce the usage of refridgeration to reduce the CFC released into atmosphere--we have our desi pots for cold water. 3. use public transport and bicycles to commute--we used to it, but scene is slowly changing in villages now. 4. Some villagers produce Gober Gas from the animal waste--atleast we can reduce fossil pollution. 5. Most o the village households doesnot produce any wastage as other developed nations-- we need some improvement here in sanitation. These are examples. But we need to improve our infrastructure to make better use of our age-old green concepts. Once we stop comparing ourselves to Western, leaving our own standards-- We will be developed. Indigeniously.
The best part about innovating for India is that when the solution/product is available and found to be of use; the cost will go down by itself, without much effort; owing to the volumes and scale. Telecom rates are a good example. "Cheap is good, but cheap is not the best" So, my take would be really to see the sphere of influence for the solution. India is a price sensitive country, but if a choice exists for something better; people will not shy away from it.
