India’s need for Population Control
#GS-01 Population
For Prelims
Total Fertility Rate (TFR):
- The total fertility rate in a specific year can be defined as “the total number of children that can be born to each woman if she were to live to the end of her child-bearing years and give birth to children in accordance with the existing age-specific fertility rates.”
- TFR can be calculated as the sum of the age-specific fertility rates for all women multiplied by five.
- India’s TFR at the national level has declined from 2 to 2.0.
- India’s TFR in 1950, was at around 9, and has fallen down to 2.0 in 2021.
States with highest TFR:
- Bihar (2.98), Meghalaya (2.91), Uttar Pradesh (2.35), Jharkhand (2.26) and Manipur (2.17).
States with lowest TFR:
- Sikkim (1.1), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1.3), Goa (1.3), Ladakh (1.3), Jammu and Kashmir (1.4) and Lakshadweep (1.4) reported a TFR of less than 1.5 children per woman.
- Kerala was the only state that has shown an increase in TFR to 1.8 from 1.6 in 2015-16.
For Mains
Fertility and Development:
- India’s total fertility rate took a steep decline after the 1970s.
- This shows an inversely proportional relationship between economic prosperity and the fertility rate.
Concern of forced population control:
- Forced population control can have very dangerous consequences as it can create/increase a gender imbalance.
- Forced population control measures have not shown impressive results in the countries that have implemented them.
- This has been most evident in China, as evidenced by the results of the one-child policy.
- China’s one-child policy has proved to be disastrous, and have resulted in a demographic imbalance.
- The population of China has been aging faster than in any other country, due to the impact of years of forced population control policies.
What needs to be done:
- Like all the modern countries India too need to adopt population control measures.
- However, the focus needs to be on strengthening public health infrastructure and creating awareness about the need for population control.