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India should move away from population control as an objective of state policy and realign its family planning framework with the countrys changing demographic reality, said Sanjeev Sanyal, Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), citing a new report.
Sanyal shared a new report titled The Ghost of Population Past: How Population Control Persists in India, highlighting the declining fertility rate of the country. India's fertility rate is well below the replacement rate and some parts of the country now have East Asian/European fertility levels. The number of live births in India peaked in 2001 at 29 million and has now fallen below 23 million, he posted on X. As per Sanyal, Indias population growth is increasingly being sustained by improvements in longevity even as the pipeline of new births shrinks. However, population control policies remain embedded in government policies even in those states that want to incentivise more children despite this demographic shift. Hence, Our family planning policies need to reflect the new demographic reality, he noted. He drew a parallel with China, where such measures remained in place for decades even after their adverse demographic consequences had become apparent. Sanyal clarified that the report does not oppose family planning for health reasons, birth spacing or personal choice. Rather, it argues that population control is no longer relevant as an objective of state policy and that Indias family planning policies need to be recalibrated to reflect the countrys changing demographic reality. The central argument of our paper is that population control is no longer relevant as an objective of state policy. Our family planning policies need to reflect the new demographic reality, the post read. The report supported this argument by pointing to fertility trends across several states and Union Territories. Andhra Pradesh has a Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 1.4, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka 1.5 each, Kerala and Tamil Nadu 1.3 each, Punjab and Maharashtra 1.4 each, West Bengal 1.3, Goa 1.6 and Delhi 1.2. Citing data from the Sample Registration System (SRS) and the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), it said these states have a median age of around 35 years and a combined average TFR of 1.4. With a median age of 35, and a collective average TFR of 1.4, these states are demographically closer to ageing economies like China (40) and the United States (39) than to the national median (30), it noted. Explaining why Indias population continues to grow despite declining fertility, the report attributed the trend to the countrys relatively young population, alongside improvements in healthcare access, living standards and longevity. Our population is only growing because we are relatively young, which is driving a growth momentum. Moreover, healthcare access and living standards have improved. As a result, the infant mortality rate has fallen, and we are living longer, the report said. The report further argued, There is going to be no population explosion moving forward. The national TFR is going to decline naturally, regardless of state intervention. There is no need for us to suppress this any further and risk falling into a low-fertility trap sooner. (ANI)
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