Tag: Population

POPULATION GROWTH HAS BEEN BLAMED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION

 INTRODUCTION

Population growth, though a source of development is commonly regarded as one of the most dreadful cause of environmental degradation. Population can be defined in terms of a particular section, group, or type of people or animals living in an area or country. Population growth has been defined in diverse ways by various authors and institutions (Wikipedia1). In this context, population growth refers to the growth of human population in the world in terms of how the number of individuals in a population increases over time.
According to The United International Strategy of disaster reduction, environmental degradation is the reduction of the capacity of the environment to meet social and ecological objectives and needs. (UNISDR, 2009)
A report by the United Nations population Division 1998, records that the world population has doubled since 1950. About 90 million babies are born each year. At this rate, by the year 2050, global population will reach 10 billion. The current world population is on average very young and has many years of reproductive life ahead. Because of this the population will grow even if the fertility rates seem to decrease. The population growth takes mostly place in developing countries. These countries are in charge of 90 percent of current population growth. It has been estimated that by the year 2025 even 84 percent of the world’s people will live in developing regions.
Most estimates for the carrying capacity of the earth is between 4 billion and 16 billion. Depending on which estimate is used human population may or may not have already occurred. The main concern therefore is the rising population and its auspicated effects on the environment especially in the developing Nations where we have a high population growth rates and poor modes of food production.
The environment and key natural resources in most African countries have been increasingly threatened by escalating and unsustainable pressures from fast-growing populations (UNEP, 1999). Nations with high population growth are often not able to produce enough goods to meet their basic needs of their inhabitants.

An expansion of the production of various goods seems necessary in order to sustain the population. However an increase the amount of goods produced may aggregate environmental problems; in particular if the less developed countries follow the pattern of Development of Western Industrialized countries.
The demand placed on the environment to provide resources for increased human activities such as industrialization, exploitation of water and land resources and Urbanization, and absorption of wastes steadily increases and long term effects is the simultaneous degradation of the environment.
The aim of this paper is to examine how increased world population through human beings change of life degrades the environment. Man degrades the environment through his direct or indirect acts that include:-
Ø  Altering and disturbing the natural resources
Ø  Through intensive  Agriculture practices
Ø  Development of cities (Urbanization)
Ø  Rapid growth and expanding off industries
URBANIZATION
Urbanization refers to the general increase in population and the amount of industrialization of a settlement. It includes increase in the number and extents of cities. It symbolizes the movement of people from rural areas to urban areas.
Urbanization happens because of the increase in the extent and density of urban areas. The density of population in urban areas increase because of the migration of people from less industrialized regions to more industrialized areas
Causes of urbanization
Urbanization usually occurs when people move from villages to cities to settle, in hope of a higher standard of living. This normally takes place in developing countries
In rural areas, people become victims of unpredictable weather condition such as drought and floods, which can adversely affect their livelihood. Consequently these people move to cities in search of better life. This can be seen in areas like Budalangi, Kano plains, Tana Delta where these people move to Kisumu, Nairobi, and Mombasa etc to escape poverty.
Cities in contrast, offer opportunities of high living and are known to be places where wealth and money are centralized
Most industries and educational institutions are located in cities whereas there are limited opportunities within rural areas. Thus further contribute to migration to cities
Environmental impacts of urbanization
Temperature
Due to factors such as paving over formerly vegetated land, increasing number of residences, and high-rise apartments and industries temperatures increases drastically.
Air pollution
Factories and automobiles are symbols of urbanization. Due to harmful emission of gases and smoke from factories and vehicles, air pollution occurs.
Most of the ambient air –pollution in urban areas comes from the fossils fuel industry, motor vehicles, heating and electricity generation. In some cities the main air polluter is the domestic heating which results into indoor air pollution. Indoor air pollution may pose an even greater hazard for human health. Cooking and heating with wood, crop residues, animal dung and low quality coal produces smoke that contain dangerous particles and gases which may include various toxic and carcinogenic chemicals, heavy metals, trace organic chemicals and fibres, photochemical pollutants, lead,carbon monoxide, which are much more harmful to human health (HABITAT 1996). When fuels such as these are burned indoors, using inefficient stoves and poor ventilation, they can cause tuberculosis, other respiratory diseases and blindness (Mishra, Rether ford and Smith,1999). In fact, indoor air pollution from cooking and heating with unsafe fuels has been designated by the World Bank as one of the four main environmental problems in developing countries.
Traffic: almost all cities have changed to motorized road vehicles, which has increased the use of fossil fuels and increase in green house- gas emissions. The explosive growth in the number of road vehicles is a big problem in many cities. Many city centers have major difficulties trying to cope with the chaotic automobile traffic. The traffic jam is extremely bad in many cities and transport traffic in the city area at least during rush hours is very slow. The pollution is high due to constant traffic and cause respiratory diseases to city habitants (HABITAT 1996)
Water and drainage systems
When urbanization takes place, water cycles changes and cities have more precipitation than surrounding areas. Due to damping of sewage from factories in water bodies, water pollution occur which can lead to outbreak of epidemics.
The lack of sanitation and sewage treatment is the biggest factor regarding water pollution. Local water bodies are used as dumping ground for untreated water from urban areas and industries. For example in Bangkok 90 percent of industrial wastes including hazardous chemicals are discharged without treatment (UNEP 1999).
Many rivers in developing countries are more like open sewers than rivers. Most of the centers in these regions do not have drains or even services to collect the garbage. The cities that are close to the coast often dump untreated sewage to the sea. Most of the coastal cities have serious problems with dirty, contaminated beaches and water which is a serious health risk to the bathers and for the whole city (HABITAT 1996)
Habitat destruction and loss of biodiversity
To make an area urbanized, a lot of forested areas are destroyed. Usually these areas would have been habitats to many birds and animals
Population growth leads to expanding human settlements and increasing demand for food, fuel and building materials. Modernization of agriculture also threatens potentially valuable local crops.
Such development programmes such as creating reservoirs, mining, forest clearing, lying of communication and transport networks etc. I t is estimated that in the worldwide perspective slightly over1000 animal species and sub-species are threatened with extinction rate of one per year, while 20000 flowering plants are thought to be at risk (Compendium of Environment Statistics 2000)
POPULATION GROWTH AND SETTLEMENT
Rapid population growth has outstripped the ability to deliver adequate services such as education, health care, safe water, sanitation, and waste removal. The increased population exerts pressure on existing facilities and even the ecosystem since it’s beyond the carrying capacity of these facilities hence calling for expansion or creation of new facilities to cater for increased population. Growing population is one of the main forces driving a country’s overwhelming environmental challenges.
One of the major problems brought about by increase in population is settlement.  Population growth affects migration and settlement patterns and their relationships to the physical environment.  As population increases, settlements sprawl, and take over forested and agricultural land, fragmenting and degrading remaining natural areas. The clearing of forested to pave way for settlement impacts the environment negatively causing degradation. The cleared environment paves way for soil erosion as there are no trees to hold the soil together; this in turn causes pollution of the air when windy and pollution of water bodies during rainy season hence affecting aquatic life and human health. Clearing of the trees also causes loss of biodiversity. Some plant and species are lost hence affecting the ecosystem balance.
Trees act as windbreakers and clearing the forest will mean no windbreakers. It will also lead to destruction of water catchment areas. The medicinal value of the tress will be lost by destruction and there will be increased of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as there will be no carbon sink, this will lead to global warming causing forest fires, skin cancers and rise in sea levels causing flooding resulting to displacement of people and coastal erosion.
Taking up of agricultural land to put up settlements will reduce arable land hence reduce food production and therefore leading to food insecurity.
Increase in population makes it difficult for a nation to plan; it leads to increased poverty levels, low life expectancy and high infant mortality. The pressure from increasing population is a major hindrance to sustainable development hence a country remains under developed.
Ongoing rural to urban migration, high natural birth rates, and poor or Inappropriate country’s planning conspires to continue degrading the environment and this has impacts on human health and the economy. For the country to achieve the MDGs progress must be made, an important target is stabilizing the fertility rate as recommended by the Population Policy for Sustainable
Development (CBS 2004).  The country can achieve more sustainable land use if it combines planning and development with environmental management.
INCREASED POPULATION AND ITS IMPACT THROUGH AGRICULTURE TO ENVIRONMENT DEGRADATION
Agricultural impact is such direct on the environment because it involves man manipulating the environment to gather for his needs/food. Since time in memorial man has been dealing with farming. With the increased population man has been force to clear more land to gather for the increased needs of his family.
The era of Agricultural revolution cleared fast lands to pave way for the green revolution. Agricultural revolution cleared 10% of the earth’s land surface of either grass or trees so that it could be ploughed planted to crops.
Agriculture has changed dramatically, especially since the end of World War II. The world population has shot from 370million after the Great Famine and the Black Death in Britain in 1350 to 7 Billion in 2012 March. The sharp increase in worlds population demands that more land should be brought under Agricultural use or use intensified farming methods to increase food production this in turn causes harm to the environment either directly or indirectly.
Today the 7 Billion people cultivate over 40% of the worlds land and .Total farmland has been increasing drastically since 1992 to 2002 the Agricultural land increased by 5 Million  Hectares
Of the total 13 Billion hectares of land area on Earth, Cropland accounts for 11% ,pastureland 27%, Forerstland 32%, urban land 9%the rest 21% unsuitable for crop farming.(World watch Institute http://t.co/uOQdMqrp )
Increased population through Agriculture impacts on Environmental degradation in the following ways;
        i.            Burning of forests to create new lands for Agriculture
      ii.            Use of pesticides and herbicides.
    iii.            Soil degradation and pollution
    iv.            Increased pressure on Arable land
Burning of forests to create new lands for Agriculture
Man is constantly colonizing new lands to get food for the increasing population. Burning includes human-initiated burning of vegetation for land clearing and land-use change as well as natural, lightning-induced fires. Scientists estimate that humans are responsible for about 90% of biomass burning with only a small percentage of natural fires contributing to the total amount of vegetation burned. Man is forced to clear new lands by burning the vegetation down to get more land burning vegetation releases large amounts of particulates (solid carbon combustion particles) and gases, including greenhouse gases that help warm the Earth. Greenhouse gases may lead to an increased warming of the Earth or human-initiated global climate change. In the long run the cleared forests which used to Act a carbon sinks are no more and this leads to increased levels of carbon in the atmosphere.
Use of pesticides and Herbicides for Agriculture
The increased population is always forced to use pesticides herbicides and fungicides to reduce the number of competitors in the tropical level so that food production is maximized.during their application they also affect non-target plants and animals. Repeated application leads to loss of biodiversity. Many pesticides are not easily degradable, they persist in soil, leach to groundwater and surface water and contaminate wide environment. Depending on their chemical properties they can enter the organism, bioaccumulation in food chains and consequently influence also human health.
The French incident in two French Caribbean islands, Martinique and Guadeloupe, which were heavily contaminated by pesticide chlordecone after several decades of its spraying on bananas plantations. Initially, the use led to higher crop yields but each season more chlordecone was required to achieve the same results. As a consequence, this tropical paradise with about 800,000 inhabitants now faces an environmental disaster with far-reaching ecological, economical and social impacts.

Water contamination is one of the most affected component of the ecosystem when it comes to use of Pesticides.
Pesticides can get into water via drift during pesticide spraying, by runoff from treated area, leaching through the soil. In some cases pesticides can be applied directly onto water surface e.g. for control of mosquitoes. Water contamination depends mainly on nature of pesticides (water solubility, hydrophobicity), soil properties, weather conditions, landscape and also on the distance from an application site to a water source. Rapid transport to groundwater may be caused by heavy rainfall shortly after application of the pesticide to wet soils. (pesticide action Network Europe 2008)

Soil micro-organisms play a key role in soil. They are essential for maintenance of soil structure, transformation and mineralization of organic matter, making nutrients available for plants when we are using pesticides we harm and kill this micro-organism by either deforming them or completely whipping them out of the ecosystem
Soil degradation and Pollution
All the actions that man venture into revolve around the crust. Man got direct impact on the soil and he causes stress to it by application of fertilizers, fungicides, overgrazing and contact cultivation. All this activities man venture into so that he can get food for the increased population not knowing that he/she is harming the environment greatly
Pesticides enter the soil via spray drift during foliage treatment, wash-off from treated foliage, release from granulates or from treated seeds in soil. Some pesticides such as soil fumigants and nematocides are applied directly into soil to control pests and plant diseases presented in soil. Fertilizers are also applied direct to the soil.
Increased pressure on Arable land
The geometric rise in human population levels during the twentieth century is the fundamental cause of the loss of biodiversity. It exacerbates every other factor having an impact on both Terrestrial (Grassland, mountain, Forest and Desert ecosystems) and Aquatic ecosystems, It has led to an unceasing search for more arable land for food production, livestock grazing, for wood for fuel, construction, and energy.
Balmford, et al., (2001) have demonstrated that human population size in a given tropical area correlates with the number of endangered species, and that this pattern holds for every taxonomic group. Most of the other effects mentioned below are either consequent to the human population expansion or related to it.
EFFECTS OF OVERPOPULATION ON NATURAL RESOURCES
o   Inadequate fresh water for drinking as well as sewage treatment and effluent discharge.
o   Depletion of natural resources especially fossil fuels.
o   Increased levels of air pollution , water pollution, Soil pollution, noise  pollution,
o   Deforestation and loss of ecosystem that sustain global atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide  balance. About 8 million hectares of forest are lost every year.
o   Changes in atmospheric composition and consequent global warming.
o   Irreversible loss of arable land and increase in desertification.
Mass species extinction from reduced habitats in tropical forests due to slash –and- burn techniques that are practiced by shifting cultivators; especially in countries with rapidly expanding rural population present extinction rates may be as high as 140,000 species lost per year. As of February 2011 IUCN Red List, a total of 801 animal species having gone in recorded history.
Stealing of natural resources to survive conflict over scarce resource. The resources to be considered when evaluating whether an ecological niche is over populated include clean water, clean air food shelter and warmth.
The demands  placed on the environment to provide resources for human activities and to absorb wastes have grown steadily with rising population and increasing per capita consumption. Currently the highest fertility rates are found in countries suffering from poverty ,food insecurity and natural resource degradation.
Given that many natural resources  such as many natural resources( such as water, soil, forests  and fish stocks) are already being exploited to or beyond their limits in at least some regions. The efforts required to meet the needs of additional 300million people will be immense.
Globalization of population movements is needed like movement of capital and free trade in goods and services through WTO, for people to live and work wherever they like. This is the one change that allow optimization of the population  to environmental carrying capacity and  a rapid reduction in economic and solid disparities between countries.
HOW POPULATION GROWTH DEGRADES ENVIRONMENT TROUGH INDUSTRIALIZATION
Industrialization was a key component that man discovered in the mid 18th Century. The advent of Industrial revolution tremendously reformed most sectors in the world and it made work efficient, created employment and also made life comfortable. The second phase of industrialization begun in the 1860-1914. The second phase of industrialization was characterized by a rapid expansion of industries that developed because of new sources of energy hydroelectricity and oil.
The change in industrialization system was prompted by the increased demands of the public due to the growing population. The world population had been increasing steadily from the onset of Industrial revolution and there was need to seek for improved of production and acquiring of goods and services. During the onset of industrial revolution there was an increase in population due to increased food and diet.
 During the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions, the life expectancy of children increased dramatically. The percentage of the children born in London who died before the age of five decreased from 74.5% in 1730–1749 to 31.8% in 1810–1829. Between 1700 and 1900, Europe’s population increased from about 100 million to over 400 million. (Wikipedia2)
The shift from the 1st phase (coal and steam era) to the 2nd phase (electricity era) coincides with the British colonization of foreign lands where they acquired many raw materials that needs to be processed in large numbers.
However, industrialization has got a serious effect on the environment while it strives to meet the needs of the growing population. Man through its agent (Industries) contribute to more than 50% of the Environmental degradation when he/she is trying to fetch raw materials, build industries and dispose waste products. The final effect on the environment will include:-
Rapid Industrialization versus Air Pollution
Air pollution involves the release of chemicals and particulates into the air, and it can cause problems varying from difficulty breathing to contamination of crops. The increased rate of industrialization poses a major threat to the air quality. Most the industries use environmentally unfriendly sources of energy like fossil fuels, coal, wood fuel and others that releases high levels of Oxides to the environment. Considering their sources of energy the industries that use wood fuel contribute so much in logging. The indirect impacts will be the releases of carbon to the atmosphere causing a significant increase in the Green houses gases which causes global warming. In extreme cases, these gases may cause river, lakes and sea levels to rise. This means that, as the globe continues to experience global warming, chances of flooding increases. The worst pollutant in low lying areas is Smog. Where smog is produced abundantly, air quality deteriorates especially during hot weather, and it is during this period that asthma cases rise. Industries associated with massive smog emissions are those that operate in manufacturing sectors. Example of the Donora Valley in Pennsylvania 1948.
The highest probable Top emitters of green house gases into the atmosphere include; Power generation industries are major causes of global warming. According to the year 2000 estimates, these industries emit more than 8000teragrams of carbon dioxide, and 3teragrams of methane. In total, this industry alone accounts for 31% of greenhouse gases emitted annually. Second on the list of industries causing global warming is the refineries. This industrial sub sector emits more than 5000teragrams of carbon dioxide and 8teragrams of methane. Refineries alone accounts for 15% of greenhouses gases emitted per year. Third on the list is the road sector. As countries continue to develop, automobiles no longer become luxuries, but necessities. By the year 2005, the vehicles emissions accounted for almost the same percentage as the refineries (15%) other contributing sectors are; coal mining and processing, oil extraction and refining, international shipping, rail and non road transportation and bio fuel production sectors (socyberty.com)
Industrialization and Land Pollution
The industrial revolution brought with it some lucrative and convenient ways of handling the Land. The Agricultural revolution intensified farming through use of inorganic fertilizers and mechanization. Modern agriculture has embrace the idea of going “green”, and has instead opted for inorganic means, has opposed to the ancient organic ways of growing crops. The key issue why the world is headed to an inorganic direction is to satisfy the growing population in terms of food supply.
Industries are the key players in production of Inorganic substances; fertilizers, pesticides and fungicides. The industries are also linked with polluting the crust through releasing of poisonous substances whether by accident or as a way of disposing them. These industries produce on a large scale chemical fertilizers, and commercial feeds that have short run benefits on both the farmers and land. In the long run, all stakeholders stand to lose to due to the distressing effects caused by agricultural and related industries. Prolonged use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides lead to massive land pollution and reducing fertility of the same. Most of these chemicals are highly leeched and others are non-biodegradable and constant use of it causes accumulation in plant tissues.
Dumping of industrial waste also contributes to land pollution. In 2007 alone, Environment Protection Agency of the United Sates noted that there were more than 10 million pounds of harmful pollutants dumped. Major pollutants identified by this survey were heavy metals that comprise mainly of mercury, lead and arsenic compounds.
Water Pollution versus Industrialization
Ground water is mainly polluted through leaching processes. Surface water on the other hand gets polluted through a number of ways. One of the ways that rivers, lakes and seas, get polluted is when sulfur oxides combine with moisture to form acid rain then these flows into the water sources. Runoffs from polluted agricultural land, also leads to water pollution. Other ways that surface water gets polluted is through oil spills, water runoff from dumping sites and through deliberate disposal of industrial waste into water bodies.
Conclusion
Although modern man is justified to apply the current means of production and develop the current technology to use in industries and in food production to increase his food production, man is ignoring the fact that he plays a key role in the environment and he has the mandate to take care of the environment.
Human beings by his means through intensified means production due to rapidly growing population and the nature of demands dictates that man must engage in activities that expose the environment to a total risk of degradation.
In summary increased population or over population causes environmental degradation not by direct impact but through the activities that man undertake over the earth’s surface both in marine and terrestrial lands that includes; Intensive Agricultural activities, rapid growth of urban centers with unplanned settlements and  industrialization
Recommendation
Since mans action on the environment is justified due to the fact that man needs to derive source of livelihood, we are therefore left with no option as human beings and especially as environmentalists to device environmentally friendly ways that does not necessarily stop mans harm on the environment but means that reduce the effect and foster sustainable development.
Some of the ways might be; change in the means of Transport. This can be done by encouraging man to use public means that uses less fuel does less  emissions of Oxides into the Atmosphere. The use of commercial means of Transport saves both the non-renewable sources of Energy and also reduces the combustion of fossil fuels to produce petroleum products.
Secondly, we can adopt a culture of using renewable sources of Energy like solar energy and wind energy. Less has been done to harness wind energy which is eco-friendly type of energy.
Finally, we should encourage the use recycling of wastes and plan for companies in such a way that the waste products of one company becomes a raw material of another company.
According to the Population Policy for National Development(Kenya) Launched on 30th October 2012 proposes that average Kenyan women gives birth to  2.6 Children over the reproductive age of 15 to 49 years currently the woman gives birth to an average of 4.6 children. The policy further warns that the population will hit the 77Million mark by 2030 when the Kenya’s Economic blueprint, Vision 2030, expires-Daily Nation 31St October 2012.
Therefore, national family planning campaigns should be intensified so as to attain the 2.6. Children per woman between the ages of 15-45 years.
Awareness creation should be also intensified in rural and urban areas/informal settlements to curb the increasing population.
REFERENCES
1.      Balmford. A et al, Measuring the changing state of nature TRENDS in Ecology and Evolution Vol.18 No.7 July 2003
2.      Central Statistical Organization, (2000), “Compendium of Environment Statistics,” Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, New Delhi.
3.      Cropper M., C. Griffiths (1999), “The Interaction of Population Growth and Environmental Quality” American Economic Review, 84:250-254
4.      http://socyberty.com/issues/rapid-industrialization-and-its-effects-on-the-environment/2/
5.      http://www.worldwatch.org/
6.      The United Nations International Strategy for Disaaster Reduction (UNISDR) (2009) Terminology on Disaster Risk
7.      UNEP, 1999, “Unequal Impacts of Environment Damage, “Human Development Report 1999, Oxford University Press, New York.
8.      U.N HABITAT (1996), “An Urbanization World. Global report on Human Settlement. Instanbul.
9.      UNEP,Global Environmental outlook (1999/2000)
10.  Wikipedia1  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/population-growth
11.  Wikipedia2  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population

The rising population of India as an asset

With the continuous rise in the young Indian population, India is growing younger. There is a “demographic dividend” that needs to be exploited. As per the findings of the ‘State of the Urban Youth, India 2012: Employment, Livelihoods, Skills,’ a report published by IRIS Knowledge Foundation in collaboration with UN-HABITAT, every third person in an Indian city today is a youth. In about seven years, the median individual age in India will be 29 years, very likely a city-dweller, making it the youngest country in the world.

No discussion in India about the environment, health, employment, and various other issues can be carried away by skipping the burning issue of the rising population. With a 1.2 Billion population (17% of the entire world population) India is the second most populated country after the People’s Republic of China. However, set to be utilized in a channelized manner Indian Population will prove to be a valuable asset rather than a liability.

Rising population and asset, how?

The youth segment of India’s population is growing rapidly and is projected to continue to do so for the next 30 years. This demographic dividend has the potential to inject new dynamism into the country’s flagging economy if the state acts quickly on health, education, and employment. Right now more than 50% of India’s population is below 25 which can be tapped for all-around socio-economic growth of the nation as the young workforce has more innovative minds.

Except for China, no country in the world has such big manpower as India has which is indeed a blessing for the country. Such a huge and skilled manpower coupled with resources needs to be regarded as an asset. The huge population offers a bigger pool of human resources and hence a bigger consumer market. Our population will remain our strength only when we have the power, strength, and will to feed the people, provide them clothing and shelter, good education, health care, and jobs. In the past decade, India has emerged as a major back office to the world with global firms outsourcing work to take advantage of the country’s less expensive, educated, young English-speaking workforce. India produces 2.5 million IT, engineering and life sciences graduates a year, besides about 650,000 postgraduates in science and IT-related subjects. The IT sector alone employs about 850,000 graduates and professionals while the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors are snapping up others.

Near about 402 million Indians are aged between 15 and 59 – the working-age – and this number is expected to grow to 820 million by 2020.

For the all-round progress of a large nation, its entire population must contribute significantly to diverse areas and sectors of the economy. A talented and hard-working population can easily emerge as a source of national development. A country like India can use vast natural resources coupled with huge manpower to make the country progress in the right direction. In India, there are more workers than dependents, which is good for the development of any economy.

How to channelize the continuously rising population?

No capital in the world can substitute human capital, the Indian state and the government need to properly utilize its skilled and talented population. There is a need for an increase in employment opportunities in the rural areas to make productive use of people’s skills. We cannot talk about the rising population without taking into account the problems of corruption, poverty, and illiteracy which go hand in hand and have been creating hurdles in the country’s progress as a whole. There is a need for the implementation of the government schemes like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in the rural areas at a massive scale so that more and more people can join the national mainstream. There is no doubt that India has one of the most highly skilled populations and these skills need to be used for employment generation.

There is a need to make the rural population of the country more and more literate and bring them out of poverty. The schools in the villages need to be made more developed with the curriculum and education system matching with that of the schools in the cities. The schemes like Mid Day meal need to be implemented properly and honestly and the education system in the rural areas should be made more attractive so that the rural children are attracted towards studies.  The public schemes targeting the poor need to be implemented properly and honestly because after that it would be easy to bring a large chunk of the country’s population into the national mainstream so that they can play a decisive role in nation-building. There is a need for various job schemes in the interior regions where there is not much industrial activity.

Conclusion

The advantages of such a large population can be had for the making the country more developed and to achieve these goal policies must be made to harness the potential of country’s youth population, which will certainly help in galloping the economy ahead in the double digits.  A huge population creates demand which is also a major indicator of the economic growth of a country. The need is to provide the right share of employment opportunities, education, a proper meal, and a corruption-free environment.

Population Explotion

Do you know the evergreen asset and even problem of India? From the title you have already got the answer for it, our increasing population. It has been a strength and a hinders too. Let’s look as some positive and negative sides of it.

Positive aspect

  • Helps in economic growth : having a large population always impact economic growth as more and more companies would like to invest in India, as there are availability of cheap and skilled labours.
  • Strength of the country : being one of the largest democracy in the world, help India to have a significant and important place in the world to play.
  • Large number of killed people : as there is large number of skilled labour available in India so they are in huge demand in the foreign Nation.
  • Large market : because of the large population India has a very large market for which there is huge competition among the multinational companies to invest in India for that they can get profit.

Negative aspects

  • Increase in unemployment : there is large population so the competition to get job increases which increases the unemployment among the people.
  • Shortage of space : as the population grows the area of country remains the same and it creates problem for people to have a property for oneself.
  • And equal wealth distribution : There is huge competition for job so there is huge difference between the salaries too, which increases the gap between the rich and the poor.
  • Difficulty in controlling population : As there is huge population it is difficult for the government to handle their issues and make a plan which is good for everyone.
  • Huge competition : having large population means having competition for everything and everywhere.
  • Dissatisfaction some social group : as having one of the largest population in the world whatever the policies are made there is always a dissatisfaction among some group of society i.e., you can’t make everyone happy.

There is always a positive and negative aspect for everything we should always look at the positive side and should try to get the solution for the negative aspects as well. No the government is also looking the add population control as type so as to have a better future ahead.

Population explosion and its problems

population is a very serious and underrated issue in todays life. Its need to be considered and handled as soon as possible. the population of whole world is estimated around 7.5 billion, which is a huge number.it has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Photo by Oscar Chan on Pexels.com

the biggest problem we are facing is population explosion. Population explosion is sudden or sharp increase in number of people in an area . due to which we face lot of problems such as poverty, unemployment migration of people from rural to urban areas due to less facilities, shortage of food items, low standard of living and many other effects.

causes of population explosion

There are many causes of population explosion some of them are listed below:-

  1. The most important reason of the huge population explosion is Birth rate. The rate of birth rate is very high.it is due to many reasons such as lack of awareness and knowledge among people .especially in our country India .The rate of birth rate is very very high and some of the main reason is people are very fond of having a male child ,joint families ,infant mortality rate and many other reasons.

2. Falling death rate of human beings is also a big reason of such increase in population . Medical sciences have discovered many medicines (vaccines and antibiotics) and treatments through which human life has been increased significantly.

3.Poverty in developed countries is one of the reasons of population explosion.it is because it is considered that having more children means an extra chance of earning more when he/she will be grown up.

These are few causes of popuation explosion.

Problems due to population explosion

This sudden increase in population will definitely have some serious issues, some of them are:-

1 .More increase in population will result in more demand of food, healthcare, water, transportations housing and many other things. that will be impossible at one point if we will not do something to stop it.

2. The more population will result into more violence and conflicts in different parts of world.

3. Deforestation:- we all are aware of the term deforestation population is increasing day by day we need more land or area to live and it can only be accompished by cutting trees (forests).due to which our ability to take carbon dioxide decreases. Due to deforestation, wild animals and species are also suffering .

4.global warming :it is due to the burning of greenhouse gases. As population is increasing ,fossil fuels have a large impact in industrial societies when these fossil fuels (coal ,gas and oil) are burned they give carbon dioxide in huge amount and other greenhouse gases such as methane, carbon monoxide etc, which also leads to depletion of fossil fuels.

these are some few problems associated with population explosion which are creating a lot of problem for human beings.

Actions that can be applied to solve this problem

According to united nation, the population of world will be 10.8 billion by 2100.This is a very huge number and we do not know whether we will be able to tackle that difficulties in future.

strategies should be made to control population explosion that should include making public realize about consequences of overpopulation like it will decrease the quantities of basic needs of life .Employment rate should be increased as much as possible, family planning should be made, medical facility should be good in developing nations and there are many other measures that can be taken to control population explosion.

Seems like population control measures have set off in India

India has the second highest population in the world and is the most populous democracy in the world. India with land area of 3.287 million kilometre square, needs to realise that its high time to put in population control measures. Well, being a leftist, i need to accept and applaud for the fact that the modi government{Bharatiya janata party} did realise the need of the hour is population control. The BJP in Uttar pradesh headed by the honourable chief minister, Yogi Adityanath has launched the “Uttar Pradesh population policy 2021-2030”. The Chief minister also claims that this policy was put forward keeping in mind all the sections of the society in mind. The CM claims to have put forward this policy because according to his conscience, rising population is the root of major problems, to which i agree.

Key aspects

The Uttar prades population policy 2021-2030 defeaningly aims to reduce maternal deaths and infant deaths, the policy aims to ;

– Decrease the fertility rate of women in Uttar pradesh from 2.7 to 2.1 by the year 2026 and to 1.7 by the year 2030.

*Fertility Rate – The total fertility rate (TFR), sometimes also called the fertility rate,  of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime*

– Increase in modern contraceptive prevalence rate, from the present 31.7 percent to 45 percent by the year 2026 and to 52 percent by the year 2030.

*Modern Contraceptive Prevalence Rate – The percentage of women aged 15–49 years, married or in-union, who are currently using, or whose sexual partner is using, at least one modern method of contraception. Modern methods of contraception include: oral contraceptive pills, implants, injectables, contraceptive patch and vaginal ring, intrauterine device (IDU), female and male condoms, female and male sterilization, vaginal barrier methods (including the diaphragm, cervical cap and spermicidal agents)*

– Increase in male methods of contraception use from the present 10.8 percentafe to 15.1 percent by the year 2026.

*Male of methods of contraception use include use of condoms, getting vasectomy surgery done, etc*

– Decrease the maternal mortality rate from the present 197 to 150 by the year 2026 and to 98 by 2030. The maternal morality rate is calculated per 100000 live births.

*The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is defined as the number of maternal deaths during a given time period per 100,000 live births during the same time period.*

– Decrease infant mortality rate from the present 43 to 32 by the year 2026 and further to 22 by the year 2030. It is calculated for every 1000 births.

*Infant mortality rate (IMR) is the number of deaths per 1,000 live births of children under one year of age*

– Decrease under 5 mortality rate from the present and worrisome 47 to 35 by the year 2026 and further decrease it to 25 by the year 2030

*The probability of a child born in a specific year or period dying before reaching the age of five, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of that period*

Further measures

There has been information that similar bills related to population control will be pushed in the parliament in the forthcoming monsoon session of the parliament.

BJP MPs like Rakesh Sinha and Anil Aggarwal are among those who have put in notice to table Bills related to population control.One of them could be taken up in the Rajya Sabha on August 6, say sources.

Population is the cause of inequality?

Uttar Pradesh or UP is one of the largest states in India, and with a population of more than 22 crores(220 million), it would probably be the 5th most populous country in the world if independent following only China, India, US and the UK. This means that UP should have the resources to support such large population fiscally, in terms of proper remuneration and security. Research proves otherwise. And so, on the occasion of the World Population Day, Uttar Pradesh announced the two children policy in a bid to control the population of the state which has had a fertility rate more than the ideal 2.1 for decades now.

UP on a map of India
UP is the most populous Indian State with 22 crore or 220 million people
Horizontal tricolour flag bearing, from top to bottom, deep saffron, white, and green horizontal bands. In the centre of the white band is a navy-blue wheel with 24 spokes.
India has 1.33 billion people

However, there is a question that stands above all the policies that are to be enacted by the governments – is population really the main problem? And will controlling population be the answer to all the woes?

India is a partial welfare economy. That in turn means it is partially just a big corporate state speaking in terms of economics. The poor and the ones with quotas are provided with free fuel, almost free food and a remuneration even without jobs. This is a positive aspect to a country where the Moody’s announced in 2021 that the inflation rate has become alarmingly high and the government defending its every decision citing a lack of revenue. A lesser population would perhaps mean lesser poor, lesser taxes or probably a complete welfare state run by a capitalist model like those in Scandinavia. This dream might take more than a century to be realised, hence the word – perhaps. A lesser population might also mean a more even distribution of resources – as the incumbent Chief Minister of UP announced in his speech. A similar rhetoric was used by the World Trade Organisation for countries in Asia and Africa where the fertility rates have been traditionally high in an already large population. This rhetoric has also been used by the early Communist China and the Indian government since the 1970s in the name of family planning. Knowing these rhetorics might actually be helpful in understanding the way in which population is and is not a solution to the problems the world faces.

China was the most populous country when the Communist Party announced its victory in a long drawn Civil War. And it soon announced the Great Leap Forward Program followed by steps to open up the economy. And considering population to be the chief factor behind poverty, China announce the now infamous one child policy. The important thing is China is a strong economy in the present day and has reduced poverty to minimal levels and all this was done not because there was any absolute reduction in population (China saw a steady population growth rate in absolute numbers thanks to the pre-existing population being very large and will stay the most populous country at least till 2025), but because of a judicious use of the same. China introduced labour intensive industries in the country, drawing international investment and generating employment for virtually everyone there. The demographic effect of the one child policy has become apparent only in the recent years where China feared that the fertility rate less than 2 might lead to an ageing of the nation – a point where more people would be older than the then working population, prompting it to revise one child policy to a two children policy.

File:Flag-map of the People's Republic of China.svg - Wikimedia Commons
China renounced its One-Child Policy fearing an over aged population

India introduced the Two-Children policy back in the 1970s. The allegedly forced vasectomies during the Emergency months of the Indira Gandhi regime quite clearly reflect the apprehensions the stakeholders had regarding India’s future; the stakeholders being the government that needed funds and the World Bank and WTO that felt Indian population growth was alarming. India still maintains its family planning policy although in a relatively non-forced manner where the government uses mass media to convey this idea of ‘hum do humare do'(We two and our two) to the public. And while Indian population in the urban areas has quite neatly adopted to the idea, rural trends are not so appreciative of the same. India is projected to have more than 1.4 billion humans by 2030, about 15-18% of all humanity, the most populous nation on the planet. Indian government has failed to objectify its labour capital of its people – the government policies directed more towards social support than social upliftment. The generation of jobs was slow and inadequate and so was the generation of skilled labour per capita.

Most European countries, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong represent situations similar to India – large populations, high fertility rates in the middle and late 20th centuries and lack of land and resources. But their approach was to generate employment and skills while simultaneously reducing fertility rates which went down anyway as more people were educated, urban centers developed and prices of common commodities rose.

Hong Kong | History, Location, Map, & Facts | Britannica
Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated territories on the planet.

So, is state intervened birth control useful? In a nation as large as India, it might be, because a large population is still rural and poor and sustains on agricultural output alone or is an urban poor household that is keen on increasing the total labour it can provide to increase its income. However, one might quite clearly conclude understanding all previous scenarios explained that a large part of this intervened birth control is a propaganda or most probably a misjudgment of decades of flawed social and economic policies at the end of the Central and State governments.

To conclude, birth control policies are right considering the fact that a lesser population might mean lesser woes from both the government and the people, however, blaming population as the means and end to the prevalent problems by the state is just running away from accountability.

Happy World Population Day and we all can but await the results this new policy shall usher in the country.

World Population Day 2021

11th July is celebrated as THE WORLD POPULATION DAY every year. This day is devoted to focusing on the relevance of population issues. World Population Day was rooted by the Governing Council of the United National Development Programme in 1989, as an outgrowth of the interest generated by the Day of Five Billion, which was observed on 11 July 1987.

The theme for 2021 is rights and choices.

1) Population in India

image source: Google | image by: Statista

2) Understanding our population 

The total number of children a woman bears is inversely proportional to the following:

  • Literacy
  • Per capita income
  • Development 

It’s been proved that as the above-mentioned factors rise, the total fertility decreases.

The total number of children a woman bears is directly proportional to the following:

  • Infant mortality rate
  • Poverty
  • Illiteracy
  • Unemployment

It’s been proved that as the above-mentioned factors rise, the total fertility rises too.

Our population is growing but at a decreasing rate. It is not an explosion. The total fertility rate, i.e. the average number of children a woman beers, has significantly decreased from 5 to 2.2-2.3 in the last 50 years. The replacement fertility rate, i.e. the number of children a woman needs to have so that the population replaces itself from one generation to another generation is 2.1. Approximately 20 states and UTs in India are very close to it.

3)Why is overpopulation a concern

  • Resources

Well, the rate of growth in the number of human beings is greater than the growth of resources. This means the more the population grows, the difficult it gets to sustain everyone.

  • Environmental destruction

As the number of people grows, more resources and places to live are required to destroy natural habitat. This leads to the loss of animal habitat and they’re seen wandering around in human civilization.

  • Unemployment

An increase in the number of people, increases the demand for jobs to sustain oneself and we as a nation have failed to provide jobs.

  • Poverty

A direct relation between poverty and population has been proved by researchers. This means as poverty rises, so does population and vice versa. Along with these, overpopulation brings:

  • Social religious conflicts
  • Climate change
  • Outbreak of diseases
  • Social unrest
  • Political instability 

4) Benefits of having a bigger population

  • A high population is an asset, which can be utilized gracefully. We can have an ample number of professionals in all the fields and can even outsource our services. There is more production of goods.
  • 4-2-1 problem, i.e 1 child looking up to 4 grandparents and 2 parents, is avoided.
  • We’ll have a balance between the ones earning and the ones depending on pensions because if the number of children born is dropped suddenly, the ones depending on pensions will far outgrow the ones earning and that would be very hard to sustain.

5) How not to tackle population

  • Population Regulation Bill or a 2 child policy

Implementing such a policy is punishing someone for having kids in the form of banning them from elected offices, eliminating them from government schemes and subsidies, government jobs, and even snatching their food by excluding them from PDS. What do you think are the probable effects of these?

A population reduction? NAH. This coercion will lead to even more poverty in the nation which is in the first place one of the root causes of a high population. Furthermore, this may lead to a poor sex ratio as in the case of China which saw sex-selective abortions, foeticides, and even bride price practice which is in simple words buying a bride and might even lead to people bringing girls from poor nations to marry them.

  • Forced sterilization

Sanjay Gandhi and Indira Gandhi led one of the Forced sterilization drives, which is never the answer. Because it violates the choice of the couple, and the right to reproduce which is a basic human right. Even if it doesn’t violate a right, it is unethical to the very roots. Approximately 10 million men were sterilized during that drive and it had no substantial effect on the population growth but had various side effects like deaths and the spread of diseases.

  • Blaming Muslims 

How many times have you heard the statement that Muslims give birth to more children so that one day they can outnumber the Hindu population, or even politicians asking their Hindu following to have more and more children to just come in way of Muslims outnumbering them? Well India’s last census, conducted in 2011, revealed that Hindus make up 79.8% of the population, while Muslims make up 14.2%. and Muslims have more children because of their developmental and literacy levels. Because in states with a higher development, the total fertility rate of Muslims is less too, and the fall in the total fertility rate of Muslims is less than the fall in the total fertility rate of Hindus. All politicians are doing is find a shortcut to avoid tackling the matter with sincerity and propose these stupid ideas.

Forced population control measures are a problem, the solution lies in the development.

6) How to tackle population?

  • Understanding and choosing better leaders for ourselves, voting for the ones who focus on development rather than playing a blame game.
  • Mass education about family planning and contraceptive techniques.
  • Creating job opportunities, improving healthcare facilities and focusing on education would tackle a lot of other significant issues along with overpopulation.
  • Improving access to contraceptives
  • Increasing investment in family planning projects

7) Takeaway

The need of the hour is to plan instead of punishing, utilizing the asset it’s blessed with instead of declaring it a disaster and blaming everything on it and stabilization of population instead of trying to control it. And lastly, having a government that owns up to its responsibilities.

references

https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/IND/india/population

https://www.statista.com/statistics/263766/total-population-of-india/

WORLD POPULATION DAY – JULY 11

Image Source: google.com

One of the biggest challenges that we are facing still now is the rise of world population. World population day is annually celebrated on July 11. The main purpose this is to bring awareness about the rising population issues and how to tackle these issues. Population issues includes family planning, gender equality, child marriage, human rights, right to health, baby’s health, etc. World Population Day was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989. It was inspired by the public interest in Five Billion Day, the approximate date on which the world’s population reached five billion people on July 11, 1987.

Every year there is a specific theme for World Population Day and the theme of World Population Day 2021 is “Rights and choices are the answer: Whether baby boom or bust, the solution to shifting fertility rates lies in prioritizing the reproductive health and rights of all people.”

US, India and China are the top three countries that have the largest population count. The size of a nation’s population has a major impact on its development and operations. Population growth has always been a concern. The number of human beings is increasing every year, but the resources that sustain human life are still unable to regenerate. The growth rate has also been increasing rapidly. Put this fact in perspective: the population broke the 2 billion marks in 1927. By 1999, the population was recorded as 6 billion. Therefore, the population growth rate has increased significantly year by year. It is very urgent to control the population. It causes some irreparable damage to the environment and atmosphere. A large number of people means the rapid and unfair consumption of environmental resources. Natural resources such as land, water, and air are limited. They cannot be manually produced. The rapid consumption of these resources has caused huge losses.

According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres,” Sustainable Development 2030 agenda is the world’s blueprint for a better future for all on a healthy planet. On World Population Day we recognise that this mission is closely interrelated with demographic trends including population growth, aging, migration, and urbanisation”.

The Population Division works closely with agencies, programs, funds and bodies of the UN system in order to execute work program on population. Activities organized on this day include seminars, discussions, educational meetings, open competitions, slogans, workshops, debates, songs, etc. Not only that, even TV channels, news channels, and radio programs broadcast various programs related to the importance of population and family planning. Demographic issues also create tensions in society: there are more heinous crimes committed in the field of gender inequality and human rights than ever before, especially in developing countries.

The government of each country must formulate effective policies and plans to control the growing population. Without immediate control, the ever-increasing world population will lead to some unbearable situations. Policies such as family planning and use of birth control should be implemented on a large-scale basis.

World Population Day: UP Population Bill Draft.

Today, July 11, is celebrated as World Population Day each year and this was established by United Nations Development Programme with an attempt to address the issues faced by global population.

Photo Credits: E Times.

This day is very important to India as our country is one of the few in the world to have a massive increase in population in the past few years. With growing population, demands and needs of the public also increases.

Uttar Pradesh, a state in India has a population of about 220 million, larger than that of many of the developed countries in the world. As increasing population is a growing concern, the Government of Uttar Pradesh has proposed a bill to control the population growth and any suggestions that would improve the bill are also welcomed and the last date for public opinion is July 19.

Blue Area: Uttar Pradesh.

The Blue Area, marked on the picture above is Uttar Pradesh and the blue area has more population than the entire red area combined. This shows the seriousness of the situation regarding the population in Uttar Pradesh.

Let us know some of the important facets from the Population Control Bill Draft of Uttar Pradesh which voices for a “two-child norm” in Uttar Pradesh.

The Government Duties:

1) A State Population Fund will be made for the purpose of implementation of the act.

2) Maternity Centres will be established at all primary health care centres. All centres and related NGOs will have to distribute contraceptive pills, condoms and like.

3) The Centres and NGOs will also have to educate people about proper family planning methods and record the information about pregnancies, deliveries, births and deaths.

4) The Government will also ensure that there’s a separate subject regarding population in all secondary schools.

5) The Government would also ensure to stabilise and provide welfare to the population of the state by implementing and promoting two child norm.

6) In the Bill it is also mentioned that public servant who adopt the two child norm would be entitled to several benefits such as increments throughout lifetime, maternity leaves and paternity leaves for 12 months (according to the case) with full salary and allowances and three percent increase in the Employer’s Contribution Fund under National Pension Scheme.

Citizen’s Responsibilities:

-The Bill has also made it clear that anyone violating the two child policy will be debarred from contesting local bodies elections, from applying or getting promoted in Government jobs, and receiving any kind of Government subsidy.

-As responsible citizens, the bill expects us to abide by the laws contained in the bill or suggest any improvements until July 19 and also encourages us to promote sustainable development with more equitable distribution.

UP Draft Population Control Bill 2021

With the aim to provide stabilization in population growth and welfare to public, the Uttar Pradesh government has come up with draft of “Population Control Bill 2021”. The Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilisation, and Welfare) Bill, 2021 invites suggestions on it. The suggestions have been invited to improve the bill and have to be sent through e-mail – statelawcommission2018@gmail.com or by post, latest by July 19, 2021.

According to state census 2011, Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state with a population of 19.96 crores. The least populated state is Sikkim with a population of 6,07,688.

BPL couple with single child, who undergoes voluntary sterilization shall be benefited with one-time-lump sum amount of 80,000 if it is a boy and 1 lakh if it is a girl.
Whosoever procreates after the commencement of the Act shall be ineligible to contest in elections.
If the child is born at the time of enactment of the law, necessary applications must be undertaken within an year of commencement of Act.
It shall be the duty of government to inroduce a compulsary subject relating to population control in the state schools.

Measures in Mizoram

In contrary to this bill, recently the Mizoram minister had announced that he would reward a living man or woman having the largest number of offspring within his Aizawl East-2 assembly constituency with a cash incentive of ₹1 lakh. According to the minister, the infertility rate and the decreasing growth rate of the Mizo population have become a serious concern. Mizoram’s population was 1,091,014, according to the 2011 census.

“Mizoram is far below the optimum number of people to attain development in various fields because of the gradual decline in its population. The low population is a serious issue and hurdle for small communities or tribes like Mizos to survive and progress,”

Royte

Criticism

It is a good step towards population control. However the process of sterilization of BPL couple shall be done with great care because there have been reports of infections and death post operation.

Population Explosion: The cause of poor living conditions of indians

India is a over-populated country. It is the second most populated country in the world, after China. However, researchers say that India is all set to surpass China in population density by 2024. That means India is about to become the country with the highest population density across the world.

The population of India is increasing at an alarming rate. India is not the country with the highest number of people. There are countries which has more number of people than India like Russia. But they are not overpopulated. Those countries have enough space to fit in the number of people. India has more people than the country could fit in. The number of people residing in per unit square of land in India is much higher than that of other countries. This makes India an over-crowded country.

The huge population of India makes a lot of people live in poverty. The country’s economy is not enough to sustain its population. Adding to the problem, the country’s wealth is not equally distributed. The economic gap between the rich and the poor is widening. The major chunk of the country’s wealth is held by the rich and the powerful who are quite few in number compared to the country’s huge population. A large chunk of the population live below poverty line who do not have enough money to afford their meals thrice a day.

Also, the country does not have enough employment opportunities for all its citizens. This leads to unemployment, economic distress, stress and mental health problems. Unemployment increases the amount of crimes, theft and illegal business practices.

Along with wealth and job opportunities, India’s natural resources are also limited and not enough for its huge population. Over-consumption of natural resources would exhaust them and leave none for our future generations. Overpopulation is also a threat to our environment. The air and water bodies are becoming more and more polluted day by day. Too much burning of fossil fuels, congested roads and too many vehicles are releasing toxic gases in the air.

Accommodation is also a problem in India. Thousands of people live in slums which are over-crowded with unhealthy living conditions. More houses and buildings are being constructed which leaves no place for plants and nature. Forests are cut down to make room for construction projects. The cutting down of trees leads to increase in the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Population explosion is a serious problem which needs to be addressed at any cost. The Indian population should be controlled to improve the lives of the people. Awareness drives and contraceptive alternatives should be adopted with immediate effect.

India’s Booming Population, Boon or Bane?

A pie chart showing major countries and their population percentage with the world

India with a population count of almost 1.35 Billion stands second in the entire planet after China. There are certain nations with similar ‘people per sq. Km’ ratios, one such example is of Japan and it has done remarkably great in terms of its wonderfully boosted economy. Can India do the same? Well, so far it has come up good with rising potential. The only question arises, could it come up to those expectations, because a lot has to done if India seeks to turn its massive population into its favour. If India looks to change its economy towards higher standards alike Japan, Indian citizens need to follow those strict discipline like the Japanese. More indigenous business setups has to be established to make India self-reliant and for this its humongous population with majority of youth (60 Cr. Plus) has to work much more seriously. A combined effort of its huge population would do wonders for India, it’s just that India needs to realise this before it’s too late to recover.

The main impact the growing population has is on the economic growth as a modest increase in national income under economic development is being eaten up by the increase in population. As a result, the per capita income of the country does not grow which in turn results in a poor standard of living. So, the overall development of the country and rise in per capita income are directly linked to population.

There is a similar scare mongering about too high a population density of Indian cities. According to them, cities are better with a lesser number of people so that they have less crowded roads, large expansive houses and lesser number of riders on commuter trains. But aren’t the advocates of sparsely populated cities arguing against their own economic well-being. Cities are vast and teeming with people not because city-dwellers like it that way but because economy and business demands it.

The rate of population growth depends on the difference between the birth rate and the death rate. Thus, the population growth experienced in India can largely be explained by variations in birth and death rates.

In 1900, India’s population count was roughly 24 Cr. In 1950-51, India’s population was 36 Cr. In 2001 it jumped to 100 Cr. This population begun soaring in the 1950s and saw the highest decadal growth of 24.8 per cent in the 1960s and 24.7 per cent in the 1970s. Since the 1980s, decadal growth has been falling and the 1990s saw a significant fall. In fact, India’s total fertility rate – a measure of the number of children born to a woman during her lifetime – was down from 5.9 in 1951 to 2.3 in 2011. The fertility rate due to the population policies and other measures has been falling but even then it is much higher compared to other countries. This means that the birth rate has been falling, but with rapid progress in medical sciences, the death rate has fallen which has ensured that the population grows.

Other reasons that have contributed to high birth rates are early marriages, lack of awareness, poverty and illiteracy, and illegal migration.

A recent report by the UN predicts that India’s population could surpass that of China by around 2024. And this is despite the fact that the country has one of the oldest family planning programmes in the world, dating back to 1951.

In the year 2017, the government of India launched Mission Parivar Vikas as a part of its national family planning initiative. It marks the first attempt at the government level to deal with family planning as a social issue rather than just a health issue, to be dealt with at a health centre. The initiative incorporates a component called ‘Saas Bahu Sammelans’ aimed at improving communication between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. It would not be right to say that the programs initiated by the government to rein in population growth have not been successful. A fertility rate of about 2.1 is a benchmark figure for ensuring a broadly stable population.

The growth should be stabilised by raising awareness among all the citizens on India, specifically in the rural regions of India because this isn’t just the government’s task from planning committee. This concerns each individual of India and to the world as well. Where we have reached so far could not be undone, this is obvious but what we could definitely do is make good use of it. Let’s engage, educate and expand the minds of Indians, specifically the Youth.

Will India have SUPERPOWERS like USA?

The world is almost ruled by powerful countries like USA, China, Japan, Russia etc. and its none of the wonder that developed countries are helping as well as exploiting the developing countries. Developing countries like India, Pakistan, Srilanka and many more… are mostly dependent on the developed countries, but the biggest question arises will India be list of the superpower countries by 2050. The answer would be yes, but unfortunately due to pandemic situation that number will rise to 2055-2060 because India faced a major setback due to this and also India build a strong relation with other countries with help of our respected Prime Minister sir. Let us look out which factors are going to help to build a nation with superpowers:

1- Economic growth

Chinese economy is based on foreign investment, while India is growing based on a more local economic sector. So if we look in future i.e. after 30-40 India will overtake as it is very slow process. We know very well that many MNCs have begun to invest tremendously in India and has started to rely on Indian engineers for their next generation products. Companies like GM, Boeing, Motorola and many others have begun to build their Research and Development facilities and Asian headquarters in India. They see more potential on Indian market. If India is able to maintain this steady growth, it can definitely become 2nd largest economy by 2050.

money bills currency euros
Photo by Dom J on Pexels.com

 

3) Military power

India stands on 4th rank in terms of defense with the budget of 54 billion $ and 13L+ army man. India has a total of 2,102 aircrafts and a naval strength of 295 and is ready to tackle any military emergency. India is gaining new technology and ideas from world and also our DRDO is working very efficient like wise India adopted 5th generation fighter plane from Russia and Defense Drone technology from USA and other technology too from Israel. Therefore if India increases the defense budget in next 3-4 decades, specially in Air force and cyber and New technology than India definitely can handle any worse situation.

download (1)

Image source: economictimes.com

3- Diplomacy and international relations

India’s Diplomacy is standing at a good potions no matter still there are many internal disputes but in the eyes of world India is at a better place. India is able to maintain relation with foreign countries in a stable and steady manner which will ultimately help the people of India. In the coming years India will be able to maintain permanent seat in UN Security Council which will be biggest achievement in diplomatic point of view.

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Image source: Kosha group

4) Population

India has highest number of fresh minds, they are handled correctly with innovative and interesting education system than none of the country can stop India to be listed in top 5 countries. Youth is the biggest asset of India and no other country has this much amount of youth in their population. In the coming years, some of the strong nations of the world will face problem of decrease in populations and this will lead to, a decline in workforce, India will face no such problem.

India’s education system need to be modified a bit and student instead of memorizing theories, they should be taught to learn and understand the concept. The subject related to entrepreneurship should be added at early age so that they get knowledge of business at early age which would help them and ultimately help the nation.

1487221957_mnnhdhd9498jp534h1ctvc3aj7indian-population

Image source: Indiannewsonweb.com

5- Science and Technology

India has greatest potential yet to be showed to the world in the field of science and technology. New and new startups are evolving around us day by day and that will help a lot. Our scientist proved that India can even complete the mission on a budget of bollywood movie. India is also 4th country to land on the moon. India is emerging slowly in the field of software and will create a great impact in the near future.

creative internet computer display
Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels.com