The population of India is growing at a rapid rate. India is home to a diverse population of 1.3 billion people. The population of India is growing at the rate of 1.2% per year, with a total expected population by 2100 of 1.6 billion. A recent study by the World Health Organization has found that the country will face an "explosive" growth in its healthcare system needs with this rapid population growth. The increasing number of births per year is adding to this problem as many babies are born without any health care coverage or access to proper care.
Present-day health and nutrition:
The current health situation in India is mixed. India has the second highest total fertility rate for a lower-middle income country (6.5 children per woman) after Mexico. The infant mortality rate in India is about 81 (per 1,000 live births), the same as in the United States. It is higher than in any other Asian country or in sub-Saharan Africa. The maternal mortality rate (per 100,000 live births) is approximately 210, the same as in the United States. The life expectancy is 57.4 years and the adult mortality rate is 1,190 per 100,000. More than half of the population still lives in poverty.
Poverty and population explosion:
The poverty in India is rising at an alarming speed. As the population grows, more people are unable to provide food and shelter for themselves. With more citizens becoming destitute, it can be said that poverty and population explosion are inextricably linked. India's population is 1.2 billion, but the per capita income is just $470.
The World Bank's Grameen Bank Initiative Report states that 45.6 percent of the world's population lives on less than $2 per day. By 2016, the report says there will be 800 million new urban poor.
Government's role to decrease poverty and population explosion:
Some advices from the U.N. to governments of all countries are as follows:
1. Free education for all, regardless of the poverty level of the family.
2. Make it easy for people to adopt children.
3. Provide free medical care to poor people.
4. Provide family planning.
5. Improve the agriculture industry to increase food production.
6. Provide economic opportunities for all.
7. Provide a good social system.
8. Provide better living conditions for all.
9. Strengthen the economy, etc.
Importance of Education to control population growth:
Education is necessary to limit population explosion. Madhavan Rajeevan, a former Indian diplomat said, "The ‘Indian Master Plan’ is provided for free education to all children from pre-school to secondary school. This was an extremely valuable tool in reducing the population of the country."
The Indian Master Plan or the ‘Indian Mission Plan’ as it was known, was an exercise to provide free education to all children in the nation. The scheme was launched in 1950. By the end of the 1970s, it had provided free education to about 75% of the children studying in government schools. According to official figures, at the time, the Indian population stood at around 700 million. But the population explosion continued unabated.
Conclusion:
The population explosion has been thrust back into the news with the release of the latest UN figures for world population. The UN are now predicting that the world’s population will reach 8.5 billion by 2050. That’s if current fertility trends continue. But how far will the world go? Will it really be 8.5 billion? Will the population start to decline, and, if so, will that happen in the middle of this century? How do we forecast such a massive change? What is the impact going to be? What will be the situation of India? Only time will tell. But let's be hopeful for the future.