33 C
Guwahati
Friday, March 29, 2024

Population Boom In India

India’s total fertility rate is estimated at 2 births per woman in the reproductive age, a decline that may be considered good since a fertility rate at or below 2.1 percent per woman is widely considered the “replacement fertility rate,” also called the “zero-growth fertility” rate. It means India’s population growth stems largely from the inbuilt momentum of current numbers of people and improvements in life expectancy, not the fertility rate. The report titled “8 Billion Lives, Infinite Possibilities: The Case for Rights and Choices” showed China only a little behind with a population of 142.57 crores

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

As India becomes the largest populated country in the world with a 142.86 crore population as per the State of the world population (SOWP) 2023 report released by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), population anxieties have seeped into large portions of the general public. The high rate of population growth, which stands at 1.56 percent in a year for India, has become the chief cause of concern, both for the people and policymakers. India’s total fertility rate is estimated at 2 births per woman in the reproductive age, a decline that may be considered good since a fertility rate at or below 2.1 percent per woman is widely considered the “replacement fertility rate,” also called the “zero-growth fertility” rate. It means India’s population growth stems largely from the inbuilt momentum of current numbers of people and improvements in life expectancy, not the fertility rate. The report titled “8 Billion Lives, Infinite Possibilities: The Case for Rights and Choices” showed China only a little behind with a population of 142.57 crores.

In the very first chapter of the report Under the title “Our Human Family, 8 Billion Strong” it does try to instill greater hope among the people by saying “Our human family now has 8 billion members,” a milestone to celebrate, but it also mentions a public survey report commissioned by UNFPA and conducted by YouGov that indicated the prevailing anxieties among the people and the policymakers. The survey was conducted across eight countries including India for their views on population issues. Its findings suggest that population anxieties have seeped into large portions of the general public in every country surveyed. The most common view among respondents was that the global population was too large. Another notable finding was that exposure to messages and rhetoric about the world’s population – whether via media, general conversation, or other modes of communication – appeared to be linked to greater concern about population size, fertility rate, and immigration. In all countries, those who reported being exposed to media or conversations about the world’s population in the past 12 months were substantially more likely to view the global population as being too high.

- Advertisement -

One particularly crucial finding arose when respondents were asked to identify what issues were of greatest importance to them when thinking about population change within their own countries. In all countries, except Japan, issues related to policies on sexual and reproductive health and rights, as well as other human rights, were a significant concern for many. As per the secondary analysis of the data submitted by governments to the United Nations survey of government policies, the Inquiry Among Governments on Population and Development, which has been routinely conducted since 1963 while the present analysis focused on responses from 2015, 2019, and 2021, there seems to have risen anxiety among governments when it comes to their population and fertility trends. In the end, the report emphasizes that population anxiety is an easy way to avoid the complexities of the challenges we face. Progress requires us to imagine the world not as it is but as it could be, one in which every individual can realize their full potential. That world is a future within our reach; the path there is ours to make.

- Advertisement -
The Hills Times
The Hills Timeshttps://www.thehillstimes.in/
The Hills Times, a largely circulated English daily published from Diphu and printed in Guwahati, having vast readership in hills districts of Assam, and neighbouring Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.
Latest news
- Advertisement -
Related news
- Advertisement -