Moving policy away from population control

Source: The post is based on the article “Moving policy away from population control” published in “The Hindu” on 13^th August 2022.

Syllabus: GS 1 Population and Associated Issues, Poverty and Developmental issues, Urbanization, their problems and their remedies.

Relevance: Demographic Transition of India

News: Recently, the United Nations released its World Population Prospects (WPP), 2022.

WPP’s Projections of Demographic Transition of India

India is at the 3rd stage of the demographic transition (DT). It is experiencing a slowing population growth rate due to constant low mortality and rapidly declining fertility. Its population growth is further expected to fall to 1% by 2025.

What are the challenges in Demographic Transition?

Several States have not achieved a low TFR. This has been due to high illiteracy levels, rampant child marriage, high levels of under-five mortality rates, low workforce participation of women, and low contraceptive usage compared to other states.

Male-dominant sex ratio: In 1951, the country had a sex ratio of 946 females per 1,000 males. It has come down to 943 females per 1,000 males in 2011. The major causes behind this decline are the preference for sons and sex selection (both pre-and post-natal)

Some communities face challenges like marriage squeeze due to an imbalance between the number of men and women available to marry in a specific society and eventual bride purchase.

India stands 101 out of 116 nations in the Global Hunger Index. Anaemia and stuntedness remain high despite ongoing the Public Distribution System and the Midday Meals Scheme.

Serious health risks: In 75 years, India’s health problems have shifted from communicable diseases to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). For example, India is home to over eight crore people with diabetes. In contrast, India’s health-care infrastructure is highly inadequate and inefficient, India’s public health financing is low which is among the lowest percentages in the world.

The share of India’s elderly population is now increasing and is expected to be 12% by 2050.

Other issues in harnessing the demographic dividend: a) India’s labour force is constrained by the absence of women from the workforce; i.e., only a fourth of women are employed, b) Poor quality of educational attainments and lack of the basic skills required for the modernised job market, c) India’s one of the world’s lowest employment rates is another enormous hurdle in reaping the ‘demographic dividend’.

What should be done to harness demographic dividends?

There is a need to ameliorate the status of women in Indian society, and quality of life. Further, the government should also prioritize improvement in sex ratio.

The focus should not be on population control but on improving the quality of life of the Indians.

For the elderly population, advanced investments in the development of a robust social, financial and healthcare support system are the need of the hour.

There should be an extensive investment in human capital like education and health, care for older populations, suitable infrastructure creation, and conducive social welfare schemes.