Demographic structure of the Indian population:
vocational training and apprenticeship programmes needs to integrated into education system
Empowerment of women and increasing their labour-force participation --currently only 26%
as per NITI aayog data.
second most populous country in the world
Projected to overtake China by 2027
Now 68.8% population lives in rural areas while 31.2% people live in urban areas. (2011 census)
The urban population has been increasing its share steadily, from about 11% at the beginning of
the twentieth century to about 28% at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
By 2005, of Delhi’s population of one crore and forty-seven lakhs, 52 per cent had come from the
Hindi belt of the two states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Out of this, 47 per cent have come from a
rural background and 60 per cent of them are less than 40 years of age.
Census of India 2011 sex ratio has been increased and now it is 940 females per 1000 males.
India's fertility rate has declined from 5.91 in 1960 to 2.3 in 2016. (replacement level is 2.1)
mortality rate has been reduced but the birth rate has not been brought down to the same extent.
Between 1901–1951 the average annual growth rate did not exceed 1.33%, a modest rate of
growth.
between 1911 and 1921 there was a negative rate of growth of – 0.03%. (influenza epidemic
during 1918–19 which killed about 12.5 million persons or 5% of the total population of the
country) #CVAD
growth rate of population substantially increased after independence from British rule going up to
2.2% during 1961-1981.
Before 1931, both death rates and birth rates are high, whereas, after this transitional moment the
death rates fell sharply but the birth rate only falls slightly
The highest birth rate in India is of Uttar Pradesh (26.7) and Bihar (26.3), and they will also
account for about half (50%) of the additions to the Indian population upto the year 2026.
Share of the under 15 age group in the total population has come down from its highest level
of 42% in 1971 to 35% in 2001.
The share of the 15-60 age group has increased slightly from 53% to 59%, while the share of the
60+ age group is very small but it has begun to increase (from 5% to 7%) over the same period.
[Challenges on Indian economy due to this.-- dependency ratio will increase, social security and
pension demands will increase, need for [o=0pediatric care]
By 2026, the 0 -14 age group will reduce its share by about 11% (from 34% in 2001 to 23% in 2026)
while the 60 plus age group will increase its share by about 5% (from 7% in 2001 to about 12%
in 2026.) [According to Census 2011, India has 104 million older people (60+years),
constituting 8.6% of total population.]
Kerala and Tamil Nadu have managed to bring down their total fertility rates (TFR) to 1.7 each.
Reason for fall in death rate:
Reasons for not so sharp fall in birth rate:
Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, which still have very high TFRs. In 2009, the
TFRs of these states were 3.9, 3.3, 3.3 and 3.7, respectively.
This also highlights that 'development is the best contraceptive'.
Those states having fertility rate below 2.1 will see a decline in their population in near future.
changing age pyramid of India:
regional variation: Uttar Pradesh vs Kerala
after 1921, increased levels of control over famines and epidemic diseases. (A pandemic is an
epidemic that affects a very wide geographical area)
Improvements in medical cures for these diseases, programmes for mass vaccination, and efforts
to improve sanitation helped to control epidemics. ( Though diseases like malaria, tuberculosis,
chikungunya, dengue, diarrhoea and dysentery continue to kill people even today )
Controlling famine which was a recurrent feature for independence. (India agro-climatic
environment is very vulnerable to variations in rainfall.)
Substantial improvements in the productivity of Indian agriculture (specially through the
expansion of irrigation); improved means of communication; and more vigorous relief and
preventive measures by the state have all helped to drastically reduce deaths from famine.
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is the state initiative to tackle the problem of
hunger and starvation in rural areas.
birth rate is a Sociocultural phenomenon that is relatively slow to change.
reproductive behaviors are impacted by socio-religious norms.
early marriage leads to high fertility.
son meta-preference [Son Meta-Preference is the phenomena where parents continue to produce
children until the desired number of sons are born]
increased levels of prosperity exert a strong downward pull on the birth rate.
Once infant mortality rates decline, and there is an overall increase in the levels of education and
Sex ratio in India:
Generally, sex ratio should be slightly in favour of female:
Reasons for decline in sex-ratio in India:
Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi are having high per capita income and the child
sex ratio of these states is still low.
‘Beti-Bachao, Beti-Padhao’ like programmes can increase awareness.
Literacy in India:
Importance:
awareness, family size begins to fall.
people become sure that their children will get to live long life. Earlier with high IMR, birth of
large number of children were common as most families had to witness harsh reality of death
of few children in family.
girl babies have better natural immunity against disease
On average, women have greater life-expectancy than men.
differential treatment of girl babies.
sex-specific abortions
Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, (PCPNDT)this law
has been in force since 1996, and has been further strengthened in 2003. This law bans sex-specific
abortions.
female infanticide (or the killing of girl babies due to religious or cultural beliefs)
as economically prosperous families decide to have fewer children – often only one or two now –
they may also wish to choose the sex of their child. ('son meta-preference' as elucidated by
Economic Survey 2017-18)
instrument of empowerment.
greater the consciousness of career options
greater participation in the knowledge economy
health awareness
fuller participation in the cultural and economic well being of the community.
Illiterate parents are at a severe disadvantage in ensuring that their children are well educated,
thus perpetuating existing inequalities.
The inequalities in the literacy rate are specially important because they tend to reproduce
