NITI Aayog CEO, Mr. Amitabh Kant, has underlined the need to embed the principles of circular economy in India’s school education system. India needs to grow at about 10% annually for the next three decades to be able to meet the ever-rising demand of its burgeoning population.

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Circular business growth models could spell gains of upto- $697bn in India: by 2030: FICCI- Accenture Report 

The FICCI-Accenture Study estimates that by adopting circular business models India can reap a reward of between 5382-5697 billion by 2030. Globally the benefit could be- of the order of $4.5 trillion.

 The report states that the Circular Economy through its innovative business models, offers a unique window of opportunity to decouple growth from resource requirements. However, identification and adoption of circular business circular models requires a shift in mindset, a shift from linear 'take-make-waste' mindset to a multi-Iife-cycle ‘circular’ mindset fit the- core of circular economy lays a shift towards complete elimination of waste, which is not the- usual connotation of 'junk' but it refers to any kind of underutilization of resources or assets. A close look at the global economies suggests a strong linkage between the level of economic development and resource intensity. Research indicates that if the- global economies continue to operate in the business-as-usual mode, then by ZCBO the-world would be over utilizing natural resources by a factor of three. Given the current economic: growth and resource constraints, business-as-usual is not sustainable and there is a critical need to identify innovative models to ensure sustainable growth without straining the finite- pool of natural resources.

 In India, the enormous circular opportunity will manifest itself in the form of different resources. From prioritization perspective, resources with significant economic: impact and l environmental footprint are the natural choices for organizations to focus their circular economy initiatives. Eight such priority resources identified for India are: petrochemicals, plastics, food, gold, iron & steel, copper, fibres and cement. According to the report, there are five distinct types of business models to mainstream the- circular economy. These are: circular supply-chain, recovery and recycling, product life- extension, sharing platform and product as a service. Globally, adoption of these five business models has grown substantially in last one decade. This is validated from an important finding from Global CEO study jointly conducted by Accenture and United Nations Global Compact in 2016. According to this study, one-third of the global CEOs are actively seeking to empr circular economy models as part oft heir core- strategy.

 The report mentions that In India there are five factors that would be critical for the- acceleration of circular economy models. These are: greater awareness, disruptive- technologies, enabling policy Iandscape, innovative funding models and collaboration &. partnerships.