MUMBAI, Jun 18 (Xinhua) -- Circular economy has the potential to generate 14 million jobs in the next 5-7 years, said a release by industry body -- FICCI quoting a top government official, Tuesday.
Sustainable development and resource circularity are the need of the hour to implement Circular Economy, said Amitabh Kant, chief executive officer of Niti Aayog -- a Indian government's policy think tank.
Speaking at the third Edition of Circular Economy Symposium 2019, Kant pointed out that by 2050, world population would reach 9.7 billion of which 3 billion people would prosper to middle-class consumption level.
This would require 71 percent more resources per capita, thereby raising total mineral and material demand from 50 billion tons in 2014 to 130 billion tons in 2050, he said.
In a circular economy, resource input and waste, emission, and energy leakage are minimized by slowing, closing, and narrowing energy and material loops through long-lasting design, maintenance, repair, reuse, remanufacturing, refurbishing, and recycling and making optimum utilization of the resources.
By 2021, if the End of Life Vehicle policy was implemented with dated emission standards, over 22 million vehicles will be off the road including 80 percent two-wheelers, 14 percent cars, and 3 percent each of three-wheelers and commercial vehicles presenting a huge opportunity for growth, wealth creation and jobs, Kant said.
"This initiative should be firmly supported as these non-government organisations operate at grass-root level and can be useful agents of change," he said.
