Quick edit: No need for alarm
1 min read . Updated: 20 Apr 2023, 12:17 AM IST
Premium- While India becoming the world’s most populous country is clearly the outcome of a population boom over the past many decades, the birth rate in the country has finally dropped sharply enough for stability to be attained
It’s momentous. India’s population is estimated to have overtaken China’s last week based on an analysis of data from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). This is a cause for neither celebration nor dismay. It should cue sober analysis. While India becoming the world’s most populous country is clearly the outcome of a population boom over the past many decades, the birth rate in the country has finally dropped sharply enough for stability to be attained. No control measures are needed. Our challenge is to ensure that our people add up to a national strength rather than weakness. Our young demographic profile has helped end population pessimism to some extent, but achieving its promise isn’t proving easy. We still have way too many people adding too little value to our economy, a problem we can only solve if we develop a significantly wider base of higher-order skills that can be gainfully employed. While this may sound simple, our efforts are haunted by inadequate attention paid since 1947 to basic healthcare and education of high quality for all. Even today, large gaps result in multitudes of Indians being left out. We must close those gaps.