Population of India: Current Scenario
Although the land area occupied by India is only 2.4%, but it supports
the world's 16% population. India ranks second in terms of population in
the world. Only China is ahead of India in terms of population.
According to the census in March 2001, India's population is more than 1
billion. India's population has risen nearly by 21.5% between 1991 and
2001. With this alarming rate it is estimated that very soon India is
going to overtake China in terms of population. Almost 40% of Indians
are below 15 years of age, 70 %people live in villages and the remaining
in towns and cities. According to the population clock of the Union
Health Ministry nearly 31 new babies are born every minute. About 44,500
babies are born in India everyday. But the question is why this rising
population?
Causes of Rising Population:
1. Illiteracy: Most of the people in India are illiterate. They
do not know about the advantages of family norms.
2. Male child: In India, still today it is believed that a male
child is a boon. So most of the families desire a male child. In this
process they continue to produce children, sometimes producing no result
at all.
3. Early marriage: In the rural areas, girls are married at a
very early age. So they become pregnant very early, which results in the
growth of population.
4. Decline in death rate: Due to better medical facilities, the
death rate has declined than the birth rate, which only boosts
population rise.
Steps Taken to Control Population
The government of India is aware of the increasing population. So it
has made several efforts to control the population rate. People are
being made aware of family norms. Use of contraceptives is encouraged to
avoid pregnancy. Child marriage is being discouraged and several such
methods are being implemented. The growing population is creating more
pressure on the economic resources of India, creating more unemployment
and is resulting in the malnutrition of children. So the rising
population must be controlled at any cost.
