Skip to main content

Demographic parameters of India@75: resource allocation, political representation

By IMPRI Team 
As per UN Population Prospects 2022, India is going to be the most populous country in the world. In this regard, IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute, New Delhi with #IMPRI Center for Human Dignity and Development (CHDD), organized a panel discussion, #WebPolicyTalk, as part of the series The State of Population Development- #PopulationAnd Development on India@75: Most Populous Country?
The moderator of the event was Mr Devender Singh, Global Studies Programme, University of Freiburg and a Visiting Senior Fellow at IMPRI. The panellists for the event were Prof P.M Kulkarni, Demographer, Retired Professor of Population Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU), New Delhi; Dr U.V Somayajulu, Co-Founder, CEO and Executive Director, Sigma Research and Consulting; Dr Sonia George, General Secretary, Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), Kerala; Prof K.S James, Director and Senior Professor, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai.
The session was started by the moderator, Mr Devender Singh. He said the question mark in the topic denotes what the experts think. Although India completes 75 years of Independence, it is reaching the milestone of being the most populous country. He introduced us to India’s demographic journey from when India got independent to now by providing data and figures related to population, life expectancy, total fertility rate and overall development of the country. The session was conducted to discuss what kind of journey we had and will be having in terms of demographic parameters, resource allocation, political representation and how different states will be affected by diversity and also what it means for different population groups.
Prof K.S. James shared his views on how the title is related to size and how the population will affect our country’s demography. According to United Nations (UN) projection, currently, the total fertility rate is 2.42 in the world; it is declining even in developing countries like India. So, by 2050, the world will achieve the replacement level of fertility rate and thereafter population will stabilize by the end of the century. He divided his lecture into 3 parts to give an overview of world demography, India’s Demography and the Fertility Rate. He gave insights into the comparison of China and India’s populations as according to the United Nations, India will overtake China in terms of population by 2023.
The growth rate of China is declining whereas it is increasing in India. The growth rate of India will stabilize by 2060. One of the major problems of poverty is the population size but data shows that the demographic structure of the population is optimistic. All showing India already reached the replacement level of fertility rate. Population structure is changing, 65% of people is in the working group. Good education and investment will benefit the country.
Prof P.M. Kulkarni talked about population size and the growth of the population. He also said that the structure of the population matters a lot. The data figures show, that gradually there is an increase in the old age group because the fertility rate is declining and action needs to be taken so that ageing is not an issue in future. The state should look at Human Resource Development as the children population is declining slowly so they need to be given quality education and much should be invested in them. There are changes in the share of the population by the different states due to interstate migration. If there is no inter-state migration then the particular state will develop and it will lead to many problems, hence there is a need to be smoother migration.
Dr Sonia George addresses the population ratios of our country. There is an alarming gap between the sex ratio and inequality. Currently, India stands at 135 in the Global Gender Gap and is continuing its poor participation in the economy. Regarding the economic situation, education and health are at a very low position and thus need to be improved. In the age group of 20-29, the young population is 92.4 million out of which only 10.7% are pursuing education and 9.4% are in paid jobs; 80% of the women after marriage are a homemaker. Domestic violence is increasing and girls between 15-49 severely report physical partner violence. There is a severe wage gap between men and women as men earn 7 times more than women. In most of the informal sector majority of women faces a wage gap. Post covid men have come back to the labour market but 2/3rd of the women are severely facing issues coming back to the labour market. Cultural conditions are so high and devasted that are making them confined to four walls.
Dr U.V. Somayajulu discussed Sustainable Development Agenda 2030, Role of Data and Role of Population Statistics. The Sustainable Development Agenda have 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Linkages between health and population were also drawn through his discussion. The implication of population growth is there in terms of environmental challenges, health, food security, education, employment and even water availability. Among all of this, there lie issues with data compatibility.
Dr Devendra asked various questions to Mr K.S. James, one of them being about the negative effect of the induced fertility rate and if we can conclusively say that we have entered in low fertility rate era and start focusing on the composition of the population. Mr K.S James answered that we need to enhance healthy life expectancy and we can say that our fertility is not much higher. Prof Kulkarni agreed with Mr James’ thoughts. The projection sees that the population will peak and gradually decline. We don’t need to influence the population but look after ageing and migration issues and make the best use of human resources. Mr Devendra questioned Prof P.M. Kulkarni about how competent we are to produce data on regular basis and how much the state look at population scientist.
Prof. P.M. Kulkarni said e need to look for better projections; So, in every 2-3 years we need to have projections. The state office should be encouraged to collect data at the district level and no longer depend on UN data. Mr Devendra’s last question was for Dr Sonia George regarding the problem with women’s participation in the labour market and the reason why it is declining. She said that the women earning for livelihood are not included in any data collection and women have not been considered as primary livelihood earners. At last Mr Devendra discussed what are the opportunities and challenges in this changing scenario in the diversity of the population. Hence there should be an overall development of the population.
---
Acknowledgement: Kashish Prasad, research intern at IMPRI

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.
59 comments
»

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.
Post a Comment
»

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra*  The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.
Post a Comment
»

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...
Post a Comment
»

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat*  As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.
Post a Comment
»

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...
Post a Comment
»

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...
Post a Comment
»

Pairing not with law but with perpetrators: Pavlovian response to lynchings in India

By Vikash Narain Rai* Lynch-law owes its name to James Lynch, the legendary Warden of Galway, Ireland, who tried, condemned and executed his own son in 1493 for defrauding and killing strangers. But, today, what kind of a person will justify the lynching for any reason whatsoever? Will perhaps resemble the proverbial ‘wrong man to meet at wrong road at night!’
Post a Comment
»

Dowry over duty: How material greed shattered a seven-year bond

By Archana Kumar*  This account does not seek to expose names or tarnish identities. Its purpose is not to cast blame, but to articulate—with dignity—the silent suffering of a woman who lived her life anchored in love, trust, and duty, only to be ultimately abandoned.
Post a Comment
»