Demographic Issues in India

July 1-2018, India is considered as industrial powerhouse having one of the large consumer base
in the entire world, emanating from its size of the population. According to World Bank, India’s
population as of 2016, is estimated to be 1.3242 billion. India is facing tough competition from
two of the economic powerhouse U.S and China, not only in development but also in size of the
Population. Though china outranks India in total population size, but if we look at the population
growth rate case in not the same. As of 2016. Population growth rate for china has been 0.54%
and for U.S
0.69%, whereas
India’s
Population has
been growing at
a rate of 1.15%
annually. By
2024, India will
outrank china to
become the most
populous country
in the world and
it is believed that
it will hold its
number one rank
throughout the
21st century. In
the population
census in 2011,
the male to
female ratio
stood at 1.0638
to 1 i.e. 940 females per 1000 males. India and china unlike other countries have more males
than females. India being a male dominated society, where son is more preferred over daughters,
having more number of males as per the females is not a surprising thing. In most of the cases
mother is forced to abort the child or the problem of miscarriage is one of the many factors for
having less females. The long-term population growth of any country is largely dependent upon
fertility rate or say it is a function of fertility rate. The current fertility rate of India is 2.4 i.e.
every 100 mothers are giving birth to 240 children. India’s fertility rate over the years has
decreased from 3.31 in 2000 to 2.4 in 2015. And if the fertility remains at 2.4, India’s population
would grow to become 1.8 billion by 2050 and 2.5 billion by 2100 (a probabilistic projection
given by UN).
And this growing population brings millions of opportunities to grow, extrapolate the potential
growth and expand the economy, but it comes at a cost. With the increase in population, the
threats it imposes also increases. A growing population increases growing workforce, drives
down the labor cost and boost the economy. Initially China was known for its cheapest labor
cost, but over the
years the labor
cost in china has
increased.
Manufacturing
labor cost in
china is nearly
US $ 3.2, where
in India it is 92
cents nearly 4
times less than
that of china.
This low
manufacturing
cost attracts millions of Multinational companies to open the manufacturing plant, open its
businesses and a huge flow of the FDI. Such expansion may help in driving down the
unemployment rate in India from its current rate of 3.46. The current workforce of India is over
400 million and 250 million people are set to join the labor force by 2030. As more number of
population move towards the working age group, it brings an increment in disposable Incomes
and consumption.
The growth in population boosting the economy is one side of a coin that reflects the prospects
of growth. But if not managed properly it may bring calamity. The Human Resource
Management in India
is considered to be at
lowest level.
According to the
report published by
the Centre for
Monitoring Indian
Economy (CMIE), the
number of job seekers
rose over the last
months and reached
7.1% in February,
2018. After falling to
a low of 3.4% in July-
2017, the
unemployment rates
has been increasing.
Unemployment rates
fell after the note ban
in November 2016. And while the economy was resurfacing and the workforce was increasing,
there were not enough jobs around to keep the workforce employed. Moreover, 31 million
people are unemployed as of Feb-25. As the college graduates enter the workforce, India will see
a spike in demand for jobs.
Creating jobs is not the only problem of growing India. It needs to provide the proper
infrastructure to the people, and focus on improving the living standard of its citizen. About half
of the Indian children are deprived of the health care and medical facilities and are reported to be
undernourished, and about Two-Third of them are immunized for diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus,
compared to all the children in China. In addition, the problem of lack of sanitation facilities for
more than half of the Indian population is still there. Health expenditure as a percentage of GDP
was 1.3% in the previous year. India holds an important place in the global education industry
and it has one of the largest networks of higher education institutions with 850 universities and
42,026 colleges. Despite having such largest networks, it is also home to world’s largest
population of illiterates. According to the UNESCO, out of 900 million people who cannot read,
287 million or 37% of the world’s illiterate people are Indian. India’s illiteracy rate is about 74%,
almost quarter of the population cannot read and write.
While only 30% of the
population lives in urban nearly
63% of the India’s GDP is
contributed by those people
living in urban areas. With the
increment in population Indian
cities are facing multiple issues
such as severe congestion,
deteriorating air quality,
increasing greenhouse gasses,
increasing road accidents, and
increment in number of
vehicles mainly private. The
situation could become even
more severe if any remedial
measures are not taken, because
the population is projected to be
more than the double in next generation.
So, the population, if not controlled properly, not only it will give rise to density but also it will
bring other many threats which will be almost impossible to eradicate if any precaution is not
taken.