XJe 'Po.."' -t~,"' '"' ·< ,. b tr <?-, P (,::i: .

(')t ll,. a.

·t
Geo gro phy of Ind ia
.
r,
\.._/
~ cX) (~
5 Are as of Ver y Hig h Oen SI Y• Are as having mo re than 100 0 per son2), s per sq kmare
.
( Bih ar ( 110 Lak sha dwe ep
•
area s ofv e~ btg h pop ulat ion den sity . We st Hcng.11 102 9),
tenned as Delhi (11 ,297 ) hav e
n~ & Diu (
216 0
) Puc tuch crry (25 48) , Cha ndi gar h (92 52) and
Dru e Utt ar
factors operating in different areas. Lik
(201 3),
st pop ~la tion due to diff ere nt
very high den _ty of ulation density.
plain of Ganga and supports very high pop
pradesh, Bih ar ts located m the fert ile have not yielded the desired results and
asu res to con trol pop ula tion gro wth
Jt seems that me among the
now sur pas sed We st Ben gal as the state wit h highest density of population
Bihar has as of
st Bengal is located in the Ganga delta which is one of the most fertile are
maj or stat es. We ustrial cluster is
in a year. In addition, India's biggest ind
the world, pro duc ing 3-4 crops of rice ether to make West Bengal the second
bas in. The se fac tors com bin e tog
Jocated in the Hu gli of
ula ted stat e of Ind ia. Am ong the uni on territories, Delhi has experienced one
most densely pop rably.
tion gro wth s as a resu lt of wh ich its population density has increased conside
the fastest popula nding areas.
is pri ma rily due to larg e sca le migration of people from the surrou
Tbis growth ofl ife.
to De lhi in larg e num ber s in sea rch ofli vel iho od, and bet ter amenities
People mig rate
District Le vel Pa tte rns :
larg e in are a to giv e a rea list ic pic ture of pop ula tion density. Some
States are oft en too
pop ula tion hav e ver y hig h den sity districts. Th e vic e ver sa is also true.
states wit h low den sity of per son s per sq km
ge in dis tric t lev el den siti es is ver y wide. The highest density of 37,346
The ran ofArunachal
t De lhi dis tric t and low est is onl y one per son per sq km in Dib ang valley
is in No rth eas 1 and
es the dis trib utio n of den sity for all the 640 dis tric ts in Ind ia for 200
Pradesh. Tab le 13 giv
ricts according
is tab le sho ws tha t the num ber of dis tric ts Table-13 : Distribution of dist
2011. Th to population density 200 l and 2011
her pop ula tio n den siti es has inc rea sed while
with hig s I
rea sed . Tab le 14 Population density Number of district
those wit h low er den siti es has dec
1

hes t den sity and 2001 2011

gives det ails of ten dis tric ts wit h hig
siti es. 2000 and Above 22 28
ano the r ten dis tric ts wit h low est den 71
1000-1999 38
ts wit h den siti es
Th e bel t com pri sin g dis tric 500-999 149 145
s per sq 186
above the nat ion al den sity of 382 per son 250-499 178
s thr oug h 183 150
km starts fro m the pla ins of Pu nja b, run 100-249
60
ddl e and low er Below 100 70
the Ganga- Ya mu na pla ins , the mi 640 \
sys tem , win ds Tot al 640 I
ta of the Ga ng a
rea che s and del l, lndia,
ast to Ka nni yak um ar_ i Source : Census of India 2011, Senes
thr oug h the eas ter n co Pap er 1. of 2011.
Provisional Population Totals, obtained from
an, Districtwise density data for 2011
g the del tas of Ma han adi , the Go dav
traversin
the Krishna, the Kaveri and other rivers and finally census website <censusindia.gov. in>.
l districts, .
turns north along the western coasta . ts . north- east esp eci all y tho in Ar una cha l Pra
se des h,
c m ,
~ u . . · Kenia. Jn contrast, distn bal Pradesh. Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakha
nd;
. . ad a fi:w fiu n Hir nac
.- -- ,. ::
very low den siti es.
.- ;
111d
 Geogra phy of /11tlia

Popul ation Pl'obk ms : e_J4 :

'\s 1111..'ntioned cat lie,, India is the second most pop11lo11s countr y ufthc
worlcl, neir.t ·rab\
.ilion and there arespa~r.
Chin~ . Ob, 10usly Jndin is focing seriou s pt obi ems 1cgn1ding popuJ:
temporal , a1ut ions in these proble ms. Perhap s the _most sc~ious probl: ms
by\
being faced
t,on problems are hr
todav nre m conne ction with her people . Some o f the mc1Jor populo
descri bed as under:
by the govern~
1. Rapid Gro\\ th of Popul ation. In spite of severa_I steps ~aken
36 I crores at thet
population oflndi a 1s growing at a rapid pace. India's population was JUSt
m 2011. Thus
of first census (1951) after Independence which rose to over 121 crores
century. During the
population has increased more than three fold in a short span of half a
grew by fourtirn
century, the ,vorld population grew by three times while India's population
per cent in 1961~7\
Although the growth rate of our population has come down from 24.8
e growth rate of \2 3
17.64 per cent in 200J -11, it is still vary high as comp·ared to world averag
country of the world-..
per cent and is much higher than 5.3 per cent of the most populous
n against China's ,9_~
China. During 2001-11 India's population increased by 181.4 millio
of China in 2028. The
million. At this rate our population is likely to exceed the _population
ed to as 'populati011
population growth was so high during 1951-81 that it is often referr
explo sion'.
features of India's
2. Uneven distribution of Population. One of the most strikin g
lands like Arunachal
population is its uneven distribution. On one hand, there are almos t empty
tracts of the Himalayas
Pradesh where population density is only 17 persons per sq km and large
sq km has to support as
have Jess than five persons per sq km. On the other hand Bihar's ooe
depen dent on agricultu;e.
many as 1102 persons per sq km on an econo my which is heavi ly
ble densities of9,252 ar.c
Urbanized union territories like Chandigarh and Delhi ~ave unma nagea
11,29 7 perso ns per sq km respectively.
ous pressure on our
Rapid growt h and uneve n distrib ution of population have put enorm
the count ry. Main problems
scarce natura l resou rces to varyin g degre es in differ ent parts of
malnu trition , environmental
arisin g out of such a situat ion are unem ploym ent, poverty, hunger,
discu ssed in the follO\\ ing
degra dation and low stand ard of living. These probl ems will be
parag raphs .
d resources. tne
3. Unemployment. I~ view of rapidl y growi ng popul ation and limite
ymen t opportunities. lndtan
emplo ymen t seeke rs far outnu mber and outpa ck the growt h of emplo
ymen t provid er in the count1}
econo my is heavily depen dent on agriculture which the largest emplo
which almos t solel) depends
At prese nt 68.84 per cent oflnd ia's popul ation is living in rural areas
the count ry earns its Ii, elihood
on agricu lture for its livelihood. More than 58% of the population of
form of high yieldi ng variety of
from agricu lture. But in spite of heavy inputs in agricu lture in. the
to keep pace with the
seeds, chem ical. fertili zers and mach ines, agricu ltural progr ess has failed
 . . . . Gc n,, r
fab lc- J4 . Ten d1s tnc ts wi
-:: :-: -:-
th hig h
wit h lowc_c_t :t .
.- -- State -- -,- -- :-_ ::c :m 1t y per sq k, . _m. tn 200
I Dis tric
""' aph y of fnt lia
density per sq k •
1 und 2011
~177~.
177 H
i-- --: :: .
t - - - - n . in 2001 and 20l l
• • • re pec ttve ly ,,
De • nnu ten d1s tncts
i--- --:-Ten
- dis tric ts wit h hie .he !it d
• ·~ r pcc twc ly
0eJh1 en sih . 2011 nsity Stat ,I ---
'-:j=;;it Na du No rth Eas t c I 01 tnc t - - \ -
_ Ch enn ai Jen clist I • •
f)elhi 3 7.3 \6 Delhi Dcns1ty
Ea st ic.L~ Wi th hli ihe ,t den ,itv . 1001
~ 26, 903 De lhi
North F.a,;t
we st Be nga l Ko lka ta 26 68 29.468 -
..- - '• 3 Tamil Na du Central
n..lhi 24 2 2
,..,., Ce ntr al 52 Ch enn a1 5,855
~ia bar ash tra 23 l • We st Denna\ 2 4 963
M b · '"'
um at (Suburban) 20 9
, 47 De lhi Kolkata 2 ,
~1a bar ash tra · Mu mb ai 25 F.nst 4.7 18
20' 038 Maharashtra 22,868
-oelhi We st Mu mb ai
19,•6 Maharashtra 21 ..,61
Te lan gan a Hy der aba d 25 Mu mb ai (Suburb:-n)\9,3 "'" 73
-Delhi 18,480 Tel angana
Delhi H
No
rth yde rab ad 17,649
- ~
.a.en d'1stri cts wi. th low est
14 973 Delhi West
-f{inlacbal Pra des density ' 16,503
h Ki nn aur 20 No rth
'1 1 't 13,246
A.nlllachal Pra des h endistricts with lowest den
Jpp er Su ban sir i 13 Arun sity, 2001
achal Pradesh West Kame
A.nlllaohal Pra des h We st Ka me ng 12 ng 10
-Sikkim 12 Sik kim No rth 10
No nh
Jammu & Kashmir Kargil
11 9
Jammu & Ka shm ir Arunachal Pradesh
ia's Ka rgi l
10
Upper Subansiri 8
-ArunachaIPradesh Up pe r Sia ng Arunachal Pradesh Kurung Kuniey
haJ ~Arunachal Pra des h 5 Arunachal Pradesh
7
An jaw Upper Siang
as Jammu & Ka shm ir
3 Arunachal Pradesh Anjaw
5
Le h 3
as Himachal Pra des h La hu l & Sp iti
3 Jam.mu & Kasahmir Le h 3
2 Him ach al Pra des h
Arunachal Pra de sh Di ba ng Va lle y Lahul & Spiti 2
1 ·Arunachal Pradesh
d Source . Census of India 2C 11. Dibang Valley 1

growing de~~nd _for e~ployme

n~ du et~ fast increasing popu
seasonal act1v1ty m which lab lation. Moreover, agriculture
our ts reqmred only during the is a
the agricultural labourers are sowing and harvesting seasons
without employment for abou and
and tertiary-sectors have als t six months in a year. The secon
o not grown in proportion to dary
employment opportunities fo demand for employment. As su
r unskilled, semi-skilied, and ch, the
the educated and professiona skilled people are very limited.
l technocrats are finding it dif E, en
have a tendency to migrate to ficult to get a suitable jobs an
developed countries resulting d the)
According to official figures in a ser ious crisis of brain dr ain .
there are more than forty mi
their number is fast growing. llio n unemployed youths in lndia
Th is situation of unemploye and
younger people are more liable d youth is very dangerous beca
to be involved in use the
antisocial activities like theft, ch
murder, rape. etc. eating. drugs.
4. Hunger and Malnutrition
ul 1· . Situation of hunger and malnu
wth h trition arises "h en the
pop a 10n gro th of foodgrains and food ite
outpaces t e grow ms become so costl) as to be
out of reach of the common
man.
 &cograpltJ' oj India

Jnde x (OB I) whic h is d

lndia 's rank ing is very poot on Olob ,tl l lung er 1
11 y, a 11d by cm.mtry and regt on Pubh he &tl
comprehen!-1' eh· meas m e, and buck hunger globa
calcu lated by taking into aced
since 2006 . 1l mnks count1 iPs on O to 100 poin t scale
er) and I 00 mean s wor t condc
indic ator priramctcr~. Zero mean s least scor e (no hung
d of weight), (11) child wast mg W6th it~
para mete rs are (i) undernou1 ishcd popu latio n (I/3r this
0
infan t mort ality rate (I/3r d weig ht). In
(iii) Chil d stwl ling (I/6t h" eigh t) and (iv)
t, and stun ting mean s deficiency Ofhe
\\ a..;ting mean s low weig ht in relat ion to child's heigh
nal Food Polic y Rese arch Institute (
relat ion to age. Calc ulate d each year by the Inter natio
er redu ction and prov ides insights 1
the GHT high light s succ esse s and failu res in hung
drh·e rs of hung er.
Data from 2017 report showed that India's rank Table-15 : Global Hunger index (GlUi
India as comp ared to Pakistan and
(100) out of I I 9 countries was lower than all its 1996 200 1
neighbouring coun tries -Ne pal. (72),Myanmar (77),
Country 1990 20
24.2 2l3
Bangladesh (88), Sri Lanka (84) and China (29) except India 30.3 22.6

Pakistan (106) and Afghanistan (107). Even North Pakistan 25.5 21.8 21.7 \ l

Korea (93) and Iraq (78) fared better than India. More China 11.8 8.9 6.6
than 20% of Indian children under the age of five have Note : Higher the Global Hunger Index, mo~ ~
lower weight in relation to their height and about 33% isSourc
the problem ofHunger.
e: International FoodPolicyResearcn~
e
are too short in relation to their age. About 35 cror (20125.
people of India are suffering from hunger which is more
Japan and Russian Federation.
than the combined population of Canada. Australia.
national Pood Policy Research lnstir..te
Some glaring facts about hunger in India (as per Inter
urishment in India.
• 20 per cent Is the prevalence of caloric under-no
than India in terms of food sec·.:ri
• 25 is the num ber of Sub-saharan countries bette r off
We are wor se off than even Parisian.
an-h ave far lo" er p?t cap'o
• 4 Afri can nati ons- Nig eria , Cameroon, Ken ya and Sud
inco me than Indi a but man age hung er bett er.
food insecure in just S l:-.~hr
• 41 O mill ion is the num ber of peop le who are poo r and
acco rdin g to an O\.ford \ l,m, e-s ·
stat es- mor e than man y sub- Sara han coun tries (
report).
or even mod erate le, els of hung~r
• The re is not even a sing le state in Indi a with low
ing state. falls m serious cutego~
• Pun jab the food bow l of Inda , Indi a's best perf orm
(Fig . I 0.14) and rank s behi nd Viet nam and Saud i
Arabia.
rat, Chh attis garh and Haryana are
• Mad hya Prad esh, Indi a's wor st state , besi des Guja
wor se off than Sudan.
Zim babw e snd Haili.
• Bihar and Jharkhand rank iower than
 Geog ropl,y of In .
. d,a
5. Pove rty. Pove rty is nnot } tcr Serio q ,
179!.,
I d" " Diff eren t . . us Popu lar
' 110 is a poor n mn . •on prob le b
w s:-. ·1· 1· . belo w crite ria l tave been f 11 rn, ut m1\11on dollar quc t1on 1s
mbc rof 1am1 Cres tvmg
. Pove rty ti, o owed b d cc-
nu . 1c 11c1vc varie d w·c.1 Iy yfro tuerehnt comm ittee nnd
the
010 Wad hwa omm rttc~ put BPI ., (l">>e10 , P I e exam ple in
2 rnme nts csf nnat cd 10.5 cror c T
aove . v ovcr ty l in ) f: . m eac other For
ies at 20 cror A whil e State
. cndu 1kar Coinrnitt e atam1l
re BPL fami lies in lndi a · Ho ,,·ev er g ee 9 25 er
cro , cnc1a l parar nctc . ores and worl d Bnnk at 7 S
recd upon by m a.1onty of inve -st'rgato1s (sec box b e Iow). rs tor deter mini ng povett:y tatus are
ag

STU DY PA
ETE RS
Who wer e auto mat icall y c ount ed as poor RAM
.
• Househo lds without shelter ·

• Destitute or beggars
• Manual scavengers
• Primitive tribal groups
• Legally released bonded labour
Depreciation indi cato rs

• Households with one room havin g kuc ha walls and roof.

• No adult member between 16 and 59 years of age.
and SS years of age .
• Female-headed household with no adult male between 16
e 25 years of age .
• No able-bodied adult member and no literate member abov
.
• Scheduled caste, scheduled tribe and landless households
cted by National Sample SUI'\ ey
ta The Planning Commission estimates poverty using data colle
line on the basis of monthly per capita
Office (NSSO) every five years and. defines poverty
headed by Prof. Suresh D. Tendulkar
consumption expenditure (MPCE) . The expert group
d the poverty-line at all India le, el :ts
submitted its report in December 200°. This report compute
in 2004-05. This surve) \\as ag:iin
MPCE of Rs 447 for rural and Rs 579 for urban areas
were decided at all India lt~, el as an
conducted in 2009-1 0 and accordingly the pove rty lines
-10. Based on these cut off figures,
MPCE of Rs 673 for rural and Rs 860 for urban areas in 2009
37 .2 per cent
~e percentage of peo ple Ii ving below poverty Iine in the country has dee Ii ncd f~om
in 2004-05 to 21. 9 per cent in 2011-12.
Even in abso lute t~~ s, the number of poor pcopl~ ~as
· th·1s pe ri·od . Of this 109 ·8 m1lh on are rural. poor and
28.0 mllhon
fallen by I 37 .8 mt·1i·ton d unn g
bl IO I6 hows that even with changes tn NSS O surveys and
are urb . .
an poo•r. However ta e • .. bs l poverty tine as many as 269.3 m1lhon or 21.9 per
crite · &-.
na 1or fixmg the level of fanu 11es e ow
 Geogrnphy of J11din

cent oflndi~'s populati on is living below povc1 ty line which is unable to have enoug1i fi0
and enJ°' even the b,,sic necessities of'lifc. 'l his section of popu1at10n lives under co 0\1
. d . . nd1t1
!-cnous cpt 1vahon.
The BJP led government at the ccntlc in July Table- I 6 : Number and Pcrcenta
the Poor ge Of
2014. declared that those spending Rs. 32 in rural
Rural
areas and Rs. 47 in urbal : areas should not be
Poverty ratio (per cent)
considered poor. This means that 29 .5% of the
2004-05 41.8
Indian population lives below poverty according
2011-12 25.7
to a report by Rangarajan Committee. According
to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Number oftbe poor (million)
2004-05 326.3
report released in July 2014. about 32.9 per cent of 2011-12 216.5
the world's poorest surviving on less than Rs. 80 Annu average 2.32
(SI.25) a clay live in India. As against this 12.8% decline 2004-05 to
2011-12 (percentag
of the world's poorest live in China. That country points per annum)
leads the way in global poverty reduction, with Source : Economic Survey 2013-14 p. 233.
extreme poverty dropping from 60% in 1990 to 16%
in 2005 and 12.8% in 2014. Some other countries with a sizeable percentage ofpoorpeopleir1
Nigeria (8.9%), Bangladesh (5.3%, and Congo Democratic Republic (4.6%). The re~
35.5% of the poor people live in the rest of the world. ·

6. Low Agricultural Productivity. In most parts of India, agriculture is traditionbo~

and is of subsistence type in which the entire agriculture produce is consumed by the far:::;
members of the farmer. A large percentage of farmers are poor and cannot afford costly irrpm
like agricultural machines, high yielding seeds, and chemical fertilizers etc. Moreover land ten:u:cy.
small and fragmented fields also create hindrances in agricultural growth. For the last so cm
years the annual rate of agricultural growth has been ·very slow and is not able to meel the
growing demand of teeming millions. Further ~gricultural sector has failed to provide st:.~~~
employment opportunities to growing number of rural youth.
7. Slow Growth of Industries. Although industrial sector has grown fast{?: tr.an.
agricultural sector, yet this sector is unable to provide sufficient employment to our )Oun!
population, particularly to those who migrate from rural to urban areas. The basic probl?'" '\
that the labour which migrates from rural to urban areas largely consists of unskilled ,,orkers fOI
whom there is little scope in the industrial sector. Financial constraints and lad. of proIX
infrastructure are also great hindrances in industrial growth. A high percentage of lnctian popltlamt
consists of poor people and there is lack of proper market for industrial products.
8. Frequent Strikes aad Bandhs. The fast growing population has resulted
.. d . . d 1 ck ofbas1
i:
underemployme nt, unemployment, hunger, ma1nutnt1on, poverty, cpnvahon an a theY
necessities of life and has led to overall frustration, particularly among the youngsters and
 Geogra
'PhJ' OJ India
Table- 17 : lndta ·· •Stat c-w1se
.
l)
I R ovetty Sit
u1ation b. e ow um] Poverty uation tn 20 11 -12
poppovert)' hne Urban ~-,r(:._1n.....:p~ei:-r;-ce~n ~t)'-~-~--.
• Poverty
r ess than 10 Goa, Punjab, 1Jimachnl Tolnl Poverty
Pradesh, KcnllR Si1.1.·Goa, Stkk 1
' ~111, 1'1'1rlesh "\ 1l1machal
K • l&K, Mizoram Go' Kernta, H1111ac.hal
crala, Attdhra p • Pru.desh, 1kk1m Pun1ab,
l'Rmit Naou M m°tsh, Andhtn Prade1h
Mahsmshtr~ ~~11 aya,
10 to .20 Andhrn Pradesh, Harynna G . ' lljab, Trip\1ra
Mcghalaya, Rnjasthan J&K, H UJarat, Uttatakhand
Nagaland, Tripura_ T~il u~tyana, R.ajasthan 'l&K, Hary
Nadu, Uttarakhand Tarml Nadu, Meghal y ,
vvest Bengal, Karn;tak 8
. Nagaland, Odisha R.aJasthan, OuJ;irat, Maha
•
20 to 30 Gu3arat. , vest Bengal Arun Nagnland, We t Bengal
Maharashtra, Karaataka Ma~ch~ Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram Kamataka
Jharkhya radesb, Chattisgarb, Uttar Pradesh '
and, Uttar Pradesh .
JOto40 Atunach ai Pradesl ·
Bihar, Manipur
Manipur, Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh, Assam.
Assam, Uttar Pradesh ' Odisha. Bihar, Arunachal
B ihar, Odisha, Mizo~ Pradesh, Manipur,
Jbarkhaad, Chhattisgarh
Above 40 Jharkhan~ Chattisgarh
Source : NITI Aayog quoted in Economi_c sm:vey, 20 15 _16 , p . 209 .

become. indisciplined.
. · d'111eren
Consequently' there are frequent stn·kes m a:: t spheres of 11-fie and
th
industn~l sector IS e worst sufferer. This reduces the overall prpductivity of the people.

9. Religion, Tradition and Orthodoxy. Indian population is primarily religious minded

society and followers of almost all reI'igiou~ can be found in this country. Some of the religions do
not believe in family planning practice. This leads to unchecked growth of population which has
its own implications. Further. Indian ·society is tradition-bound and this is more true of rural
society- Orthodoxy and ignorance are the ~ajor social aspects of Indian population. All these
traits are major obstacles in the way to adopt new technology and innovative ideas. Hence masses
are still in a backward state and lead miserable life. In order to overcome these obstacles. :arge
scale literacy and education campaign i~ necessary.
10. Terrorism and ins~rge~cy. India's socio-economic system has undergone dras· c
changes during the last few decades and economic di~paritie~ have increased tremendousl). IP me,
• &. 1h become very rich while a large propomon ot
existing socio-economic scenano, a 1ew peop e ave . . =-" ,
. . . . . f .se and deprivation. The youthful section of soc1~t\ b n : orne::;
population 1s hv1ng a hfe o tn1 ry . .h d d th oungst 'rs icsort to anu-
. . f rtunities to earn, a live11 oo an e y t -
frustratton m the absence o oppo . . d r etc Some ofthrm oo 0
to th~
. . .. . bb • kidnapmg, extortion, mur e , · •

social acttv1ttes hke thefts, ro enes, ·. Th many terroust group~ op~r~tmg m

. d . surgency ere are
extent of resorting to terronsm an tn · . tensity of tenonst ntt:1cl~ is increasing
.ffi d th frequency as we 11 m .
d1 erent parts of the country an e . . 1 c in the peripheral states, particularly
. f. gency ts casmg p ac
~1th the passage of time. A lot o 1nsur
mstates north-eastern states.
 f
_ ~C c 9 GA ~ '"'-~r._._,t, c i <, c'1(J A ~,p t{[ ,
.(1

Geog raphy of hulio

( ~ \'

of population on natura l
11. F.m ironm cntal Dl'gr adnt ion. Grow ing pressure
. I . I . • d rit t h.e snmc time .1t has severa l problems res%
. r t
1s eadm g to dep ction of these resources an
ts for forest products and fo;garc,
em ironmcnt and ecology Large scale destruction of fores
gical imbalance. Shifting 30,.-Tl\a~t
land available for other uses has resulted in drastic. ecolo
h . f fi C>' ICU\tu
. h e mam cause o orest destructio
k no\\ n as Jhum culture, m the nort eastern stages 1st th
ion of comp letin g the Jhum cycle has been reduc ed due to increase in ~ tt
because the durat
Over irrigation in Punjab, Karyan:ari
for agricultural crops cause d by growth in population.
tion of ground water and increa
\\ cstem parts of Uttar Prad esh has cause d large scale deple
r in (both surfa ce and ground)~
salinity and alkalinity in soil over vast areas . Air and wate
country. Nois e pollution has beco
been polluted over large tracts in diffe rent parts of the
pollu tion leads to ill health and c~
serious prob lem in large cities of India. Envi ronm ental
ces.
several disea ses whic h put undu e press ure on healt h servi
Rapi dly growing populati .
12. Pressure on infrastructure and low standard ofliv ing.
utes, hosp itals, trans port system alway
puts undue press ure on infrastruc ture. Educ ation al instit
ing amen ities. Supp ly of drinking wa~-
rema in over crow ded and there is acute short age of hous
of road s aad stree ts is pathetic. 0ve:-a
and electricity is almo st invariably errat ic and cond ition
peop le invo lved in antisocial activities ~
depri vatio n leads to socia l tensi ons, and the numb er of
ard of livin g of the masses is very low
incre asing with each passi ng day. Thus the overa ll stand
and peop le are depr ived of even the basic amen ities.
Measures to Solve Population Problems :
lem conc ernin g population oke
I. Rapid grow th of popu latio n in India is the main prob
basic -prob lem. If popu latio n growtn ~
coun try and all othe r prob lems are the off-s hoot s of this
d. Follo wing few steps are suggesteu ~
chec ked, all othe r prob lems will be autom atica lly solve
solve this prob lem.
meth ods and opt for small famili~
(i) Peop le shou ld be persu aded ;o adop t family plann ing
smal l families.
(ii) Incen tives shou ld be give n to those coup les who opt for
marr iage and mini mum age for marriage(\S
(iii) Ther e shou ld be a comp lete ban on child
follo wed and\ iolators shoddI
year s for girls and 21 year s for boys ) shou ld be stric tly
is more pre\ alent in the rur'dl
be give n seve re puni shme nt. Syst em of child marr iage
areas and rural mass es shou ld be educ ated abou t the
ill effects of child marriage.
rate. Unfortunately bot~
t mort ality and birth
(iv) Ther e is close corre latio n betw een infan 15
t the fami ly planning prog ramm es. There
are hi gh in India whic h adve rsely affec
urge nt need to bring these rates dow n cons idera bly.
hand in hand and high birth rate leads to high growt~
(v) Illite racy and high birth rate go during the \as
cons idera bly
rate of popu latio n. Alth ough litera cy rate hal\ incre ased
 Geogrnpl,y of Ind;,, ~
few decades still more than { ~\ ·
35 Perce '),
of society generally fail tll of India's po 1. • . . .
. s to Undct stnnd in . . _ pu ation 1s illiterate. This section
populat10n mcrcascs unchecked lt . s1gn1hcance of population control and the
contraceptive" Thus sptcad of 'd. _1s often said that "education is the best
. 1 c ucation can b
popu I atton growt l. ' e a g_reat instrument in controlling the

(,~) As mentioned cat lier, a large sec .

. . tton of our po 1 . .
malnutrition. This makes us . pu ation 1s suffering from hunger and
a nation of unhe lth
much contribution to economi . a Y people who are unable to make
. . c gI owth. Proper a
these tcemmg rmlhons so that th . rrangements should be made to feed
e nation
It is hoped that the food secu .ty b. moves fast th th .
er on e pa of econom1c growth.
111
way to eradicate hunger and n 1n _P~ssed by th e Parliament in 2013 will go a long
ma utntion from our country.
(vii) A section of our population parf 1 1 ·
. . . ' icu ar Y m the rural areas sufferers from the sense of
social msecunty and a very high '
. percentage of Indian parents opt for larger number of
children who could look afte th · he1r· old age. · · has
. . r em mt Such a thinking to be washed
away by providing some measure of social security to this section of society.
The other methods to solve our population problems are briefly discussed below.
2. Special attention should be paid to agriculture for solving the food problem. Incentives
should be given for larger use of agricultural inputs like high yielding varieties of seeds,
fertilizers and farm mechanisation. From 1960s onwards. Green Revolution has been helping
India to solve her food p roblem. But in the post Green Revolution era, growth of population
outpaced the growth of food grains and India is again finding it difficult to provide proper
food to her masses . We are looking forward to see the positive results of the Second
Green Revolution.
3. Unproductive lands such as waste land, barren lands, etc. should be impro,ed by
providing proper inputs and should be brought under plough.
4. Different types of natural resources such as minerals, soils, water, n~tural vcg~t:.ition,
· · · d d
· l conserved so that they are easily available rn sut1ic ,cnt
etc. should be Jud1c1ously use an wise Y
quantities for the present and the future generations.
. . d tn· lization and urbanization so that cmplo, mcnt and
5. Incentives should be given to 10 us a
. . d r number of people.
housmg facilities could be provide to 1arge
ulated areas to spnrscl) populated areas
. . f h le from dense ly-pop
6. M1grat1on o t e peop . pulation distribut1on arc removed or at
sh Id . al imbalances m po
ou be encouraged so that region f ulation in crowded areas and using the
least reduced. This will help in reducing pressure o pop
resources of spane pop.1leted areas-
 Geography of fnt/in

Populatio n Policies :
Rapidly growing populntion of India hns forced our planners to frame a solid
policy 10 keep the rate of population growth nt a 1casomible level and the importanc~op
policy" as raised immediately c1ftc1 independence. Of

When the population policy was designed in the First Five Year Plan 09SJ
population oflndia had alread, crossed 361 million mark. It was ~ealised th~t this base or~',
was very large and it was difficult to check the trend of rapidly growmg population
limited time period. According to provision of the First Five Year Plan, the programmer:
limitation and population control was design to:
(i) present an accurate picture of the factors responsible for rapid increase in popu.
(ii) discover suitable techniques of family planning and devise suitable methods bv
knowledge of these techniques could be widely disseminated, and ·

(iii) give advice, on family planning as an integrated part of the service of gave~ be
hospitals and public agencies.
However, the financial allocation for family planning programm e was only 0.65 mi1' u
which was so meager that it could not yield any tangible results. s
A voluntary sterilizati on programme was introduced in the Second Five Year Plan l\9SF.
57 to 1960-61) for which provision of 50 million was made. This account was mainly used to~. 1

up 1650 family planning centres in different parts of the country.

In the Third Five Year Plan (196 1-62 to 1965-66), logistics were provided for farllli.
planning, which motivated about one mill ion people to accept sterilization.
In the Fourth Five Year Plan (1969-74), the main emphasis was on family planni::
programm e in which a time bound programm e of reducing the birth rate from 3.9 per centm1J
per cent by 1979 was fixed. The outlay for family pianning programm e in this plan \\as rais~
2.860 mi11ion. This amount was spent to cover nearly 9 million couples under sterilizattonru,
about 6 million couples under other family planning methods. It is estimated that about 7 mil\ki
births were averted during this period.
Strict populatio n control policy followed by the central governme nt led by Mrs. ln~ h;5
Gandhi particular ly during the emergenc y period was vigorousl y opposed by the masses andl
led to an unpreced ented defeat of the governme nt in 1977 elections. Consequentl) a mer-
pragmatic populatio n policy was adopted in the Seventh ( 1985-1 990) and
35
Eighth Plan (1992-97) periods in which more emphasis was laid on persuation, publicit)
well family and individua l well-bein g.

Unfortun ately the above mentione d populatio n policies could not give the desired res~::
and India's populatio n kept on growing at a fast rate and almost took the shape of a populati
 Geography of India
I siOfl• Compelled by the prevail in .
etP ~ tion policy in 2000, a brief sum g c1rcurnstnnccs, the gov
0 pu a mary of which•15 . rnment cam out with ohd
p National Po pulation Policy, It . given below
2000
• is 8 very comp h
d rJ'lograp h I·c goals and 12 st rat"'cg1· c themes. •
·1 h . . re ens1ve pohcy which p \l out \4
I~ the unmet needs for contrnccption and healthc •mm:diate objective ofth1 po\1 y w t m t
;bjective was to bri1~g th~ Total Fertility Rutc (T~;e :or women and children Th medmm ti rm
t he long-tcnn obJcct 1s to achie, e poptI1 . ) 0 replacement level (TFR of2 1) by 2010
llfl d I
s revcnl thatt 1c go~ls set under the pol· ntton stabili sati on bY 204S. However the sub equ nt
e,•ent icy were rathe .. '
Iation Po hey (NPP) \.\ anted Infant M . r over-amb1t1ous. For example N t 1o \
popu . 1
orta tty Rate (IMR) t b '
and li\'e births But figures released b Offi . o e reduced to below 30 per
th ~;sstood 0
at a high of 53 per thousand live\ irth~ce : RegiSlrar General India in 2?08 show that
IN thousand. The situation in regard t h wh1c~ was nowhere near the desired figures of
30 per O ot er
goals 1s also depressing.
•1ost scholars agree with the co l d'
1
' nc u mg paragraph of NPP. 2000 which is reproduced
t,eloW.
"The vast numbers of the people of Ind·ta can be ·its greatest asset 1fthey
• •
are provided ·
with
the means to lead health~ ~nd economically productive lives. Population stabilisation is a multi-
sectoral endeavour reqmnng constant an~ effective dialogue among a diversity of stakeholders,
and coordination at all levels of the government and society. Spread of literacy and education,
increasing availability of affordable, reproductive and child health services, convergence of service
delivery at village levels, participation of women in the paid workforce, together with a steady,
equitable improvement in family incomes, will facilitate early achievement of the socio-demographic
goals. Success w ill be achieved if the Action Plan contained in the NPP 2000 is pursued as a
national movement."
IEXCERPTS\
National Socio-Demographic Goals for 2010 :
I. Address the unmet needs for basic reproductive and chiId health services, supplies and
infrastructure.
. e 14 free and compulsory, and reduce dropouts at pnrm1~
2. Make school education upto ag 20 er cent for both boys and girls.
and secondary school levels to below p
. below 30 per 1000 live births.
3. Reduce infant mortality rate to 000 \i, c births.
rty rate to below 100 per 100 ' .
4. Reduce maternal morta 1 . ,accine pre, rntnbk d1sc:1ses.
. . . isation of children agamst a11 ' , . . ,.,
5. Achieve universal immun . 18 and µrdcrabl) atter - 0
. . I not earl ,er than age
6. Promote delayed marriage for gir s,
years of age.
 GeographJ' of J11 Ji(1

. . . deliveries and l 00 per cent dehvcr

7. Achie, c 80 per cent mst1tuuona 1 'C.S by
persons. .
. "' . crsal access to infonn,1tion/ counselling, and serYices for fert1htyr
S. Ac h1e, c: um\ . . k 1 0 r choices.
and contraception with a wide bas c
. t tion of biiths, deaths, marriagies and pregn:1 ..
9. Achieve I 00 per cent reg1s ra "'!C roon
Contain the spread of Acquired Jmmuno Deficiency Syn<l ro_me {AIDS), and pr cof1l
10· . . b the management of reproductive tract infect taUS
greater mtlegrat10n . end, ~cfincu·ons (ST 1) and the National AIDS Control Or~~ns fhe
and sexual y transnuttc m e t>"

cen
I J. Prevent and control communicable diseases.
l 2. Integrate Indian Systems of Medicine (ISM) in the provision of reproductive and
health services, and reaching out to households.
13. Promote vigorously the small family norm to achieve replacement levels oflfR.

14. Bring out convergence in implementation of related social sector programmes so

family welfare becomes a people centred programme.
se
Strategic Themes :
Foilowing 12 strategic themes must be followed to achieve the national socio-demo~
goals for 2010.
I. Decentralised Planning and Programme Implementation. The 73rd and 1.,
Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 made health, family welfare, and education a respons1b:..
ofviilage panchayats in the context ofNPP 2000. As may as 33 per cent of elected pancha)~
seats were reserved for women to promote a gender sensitive, multi-sectoral agenda ror populatioo.
stabilisation that will "think, plan and act locally and support nationally". Panchayats demonstra~
exemplary performance would be nationally recognised and honoured.
II. Convergence of Service Delivery at Village Level. Efforts at populan1
stabilisation will be effective only if we direct an integrated package cf essential sen w
the village and household levels. A flexible approach has to be promoted by extending b.b,,
reproductive and child health care through mobile clinics and counselling sen ices parocub N
in remote, inaccessible or sparsely populated regions in the country like hill) and fotr~--·
areas, desert regions and tribal areas.
Ill. Empowering Women for Improved Health and Nutrition. The comple-x s~lt"
. . . have cumulati, e effects o, er a 1·f'
' health and nutrition
o f womens
unie
cu ltural determmants 1e
1
Discrimination against girl child leads to her malnutrition and impaired physical developn ent,
This situation is compounded by early childoearing and consequent risk of serious pregnanc~
th
related complications. Women's risk of premature death and disability is the highest during e'.'
10
reproductive years. Shocking maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in India is among the highest
 Geography of India #f3.~
tne world-. Programmes for Safe
. Moth er hood, Univ, · . (~187))·
'
ehydration have been combined mto Int crsal immunisntion Chile.I Survival and Ora\
cgratcd Reprodu . '.
R JV. Child Health and SnrYival . ctive nnd Child Health Programme.
·t ~ 1nd1c1 suffc1s f 1.
r11ong infants an d c h t drcn b1.--Iow S years r·, , . rom 11gh rate of mortality and morbidity
a . . f o ,1gc l·orsol . h'
cornrnittee consisting o consultant, 111 obsl t . . •. v_mg t ,s problem,• National Technical
. c ncs pcdrntncs f: ·1 1
tatistics om acad cm1c, public health pr r; . ' ' , ami Y 1et1lth, me<lica\ research and
s fr . di h . . o css1onals clin' 1 ..
Th• baby fr1en Y osp1tal mitiat,vc (BFHi) • ,ca pract1t1oners etc. has to be set-up.
1
entre Ieve ls. Breast-feeding should bee s ,ould be extended to all hospitals, upto to sub-
c ncouraged.
V. Meeting the Unmet Needs for F .1 -
both rural and urban areas for contrace . a mi y We!fare Services. There are unmet needs in
·• P1ives supplies and · c ·
delivery, mob1hty of health providers and . ' equipment
pa1tents and compreh . . fi 1or integrated . .
service
,neet these requirements and strength h ' . ens,ve m ormallon. lt 1s necessary
primary
10 health centre levels. th
en eal mfrastructure at the village, sub-centre and

VI. Under-Served Population Gr .

rved which need due attention fth oups. Followmg groups of population are under-
se O e government and the concerned organisations :
. with little or no access to potable water, sanitation facilities and health
(a) Urban slums
care services.
(b) Tribal Communities, Hill Area Populations and Displaced and Migrant Populations in
remote and low density areas.
(c) Adolescents representing about a fifth of India's population need protection from
unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, particularly in rural
n areas.
g
(d) Increased Participation of Men in Planned Parenthood. In the past, population
programmes have tended to exclude menfolk but now active participation of men is
recognised in all efforts in planning families. Nearly 97 per cent of sterilisations are
tubectomics and this gender imbalance needs to be corrected.
VII. Diverse Health Care Providers. Considering the large unmet goals, it is irnperath e
to increase the numbers and diversify of the categories of healthcare providers.
VIII. Collaboration with and commitments from Non-Government Organis~1tions
and Private Sector. Government alone cannot reach each and every household and parin~rsh,p
of non-government voluntary organisations and private corporate sector with go, crnmcnt must

be encouraged.
IX. Mainstreaming Indian Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy. lndian s) stem
of medicine has sustained life in the country for centuries with minimal side effects and this
branch of medicine will expand the pool of effective health care providers at low cost.
 (':,_~ Gcogiophy of J11din
{((_188))'1
log" and Research on Reproductive and Cti·i1
x • .,.,
Contraceptive • cc 1mo J - • cl 11
• t
1 . to take steps to advance, encourage, and support med1ca\, so~ia\ ~
The govcm_mcn b1ash . I science research on maternal, child and reproductiveh Kc
demographic and e av1oura , , d ea\
d ·cal techniques relevant to country s nee s.
issues This wlll m1prove me 1

XI. Prov1'd'mg tior the Older Population. Keeping in view the increasinglifee:
. . -<1>et
. . · . d th t portion of population 60 years and above will mcrease cons·d
1t 1s estimate a pro . 1~
Considering the weakening traditional support ~ystem, the elderly are beconung increa:
vulnerable, needing protection and care. Promot10n of ol~ age health care and support "'ill fa-V
serve to reduce incentive for large families. Nati~nal Polley for Older Persons was adopted gaP
the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment m January, 1999. gra
XII. Information, Education and Communication. Information, education. 06-
communication (IEC) of family welfare messages must be. clear, fo~used and disse~ 16
everywhere, including the remote comers of the country and m local dialects.
National Commission on Population :
The Government of India constituted the National Commission on Population on May \
2000 with the Prime Minister as the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commi~
as its vice chairman. The Commission has the mandate to :
• review, monitor and give direction for the implementation of the National Populav•
Policy with the view of achieving the goals it has set;
• promote synergy between health, educational, environmental and developmem1
programmes so as to hasten population stabilisation;
• promote inter-sectoral coordination in planning and implementation of the programn:e-;
through different agencies at the Centre and in the states; and
• develop a vigorous people's programme to support this national effort.

A Strategic Support Group consisting of secretaries of concerned sectoral ministne~ b

been constituted as a standing advisory group to the Commission. Nine working groups 'l\f!
constituted to look into specific aspects of implementation of the programmes aimed at achte\~
the targets set in the National Population Policy.
Health Indicators :

Health is one of the most important constituent of human development. Life free fro!ll
illness and having reasonably long span is termed as healthy life.

Following are important health indicators :

I. Life expectancy at birth. This is an important health indicter which indicate the
number ofyears a person (male and female) would live after birth. Due to improvement in bealtb
 Geog~ap Ilj of I
d
a.nitation services, life CXJ>ecta ,, ,a
llfld 5 ncyntb 1 ~•
. has improved considerably d rth 1r1 lat>I lB9 ~
lJ1 d,a unno u ')
four decades ( fa b lc- 18) ~ le Inst
0
\'er •
Table-IS. shows thnt the dime1encc bet
19 F
98
--.._L__

ale-male hfc cxpcct.n1cy has b"'ceu U1

. t Ween 70 ~-~_..
75
fe1ll o
~~1~-8~5;~=;~:~~s~~.:s~~:~=7!_-~j~. -. :~-:~~[Tf=~j
1 19

I 1 . ,,hereafter it 0 econie
of n1aies .r.in 1970-75 ,_ avour
. [~ 1991
~
r. •our of Jcma cs. t 1s also,, orth . in -95
18' notmg that h 2 60 9
1..etwccnfemalcandrnale li£ce ' t c 001-06 63
gaP L' xpcctancy h 2~ ~~~~-8~~6~6~1~l._
6 ......:!l=1
....aduallv i..,creascd between 1981 - 85 and 2001ns [~~OUOt. ·
~ 11T~6~~8~~ 6~~l~-~:1__J
P" ·
()6. T11s gap IS h ke.ly t~ r~main constant upto 20 -
20 6 ·
-1~6;f--;67;.;3+~69~.~6
S20Diti61:: 4-~1=~
1ti-21 after w luch 1s will mcrease further - . 8~--:7~1~.l~r-~~...J
l~i"l6i:-i2~l*;1-~6;8~
eq . 2021-26* 69
2. Crude Birth Rate (CBR) C
.
.
· rude birth
~~~°!=-~
Sourc O
~.8~L7~2::.:.3J_~+~2~5__ j
ra~e 1s expressed 1Il terms of number fb . . e: i Premi Mahendra K. and Das Dependra
th 2012
,,ear per thousand of mid year pop:l t~rtbs m_a ~. < )Populationoflndia2011,p
., . . a 10n. It IS
worth notmg that only hve births durin th .
c··u)
Base A~hish (2010). India's Quest for
I, . g e ,,ear Population Stabilisation, p. 89.
ll are to be taken mto account. It is calculated as
under:

[ CBR=.1/,1 1000 I
where Bt = live birth during the year.

and P = estimated mid-year population

This is the simplest and most widely used measure of human fertility. CBR in India has
fallen from 49.2 per thousand in 1901-11 to 21.8 per thousand in 2001-11 . This is an indication
of some success in controlling the birth rate.
3. Total Fertility Rate (TFR). One of the major factors which affects population growth.
is the rate of birth which is closely related to fertility rate (the other major factors are morrnlit)
rate, migration and longevity). TFR (Total Fertility Rate) is number of children bt1rn ro a
woman during her entire reproduction age. TFR has been exceptionally high in ln"lfa The
country took a long time of about 45 years to reduce TFR from 6 in 1960 to 3 in 20t) " ln
comparison, Nepal (42 years), Indonesia (31 years), Myanmar (27 years), Bangladtsh (.20 ye.1r~)
and China (9 years) took much less time to do so. However, trends after 2005 rue qmtc cn~oumg1ng
as 'fFR declined from _ in -06 to 2.2 in 20 I 5- J6. Thus India is about t,, 1c.,ch the 1t>pl.~w:,cnt
level · h 2 7 2005 h ve already achieved rcplacc,ue,n I,·, d tc,llht\.
Ab Wit respect to TFR. So far, 24 states ah either replacement fertih11 lt.1S been rca~heJ
°~t 60% of the population resides in states w eret (Kerala Tamil Nadn. K.tunnt,1k.,l, Andhra
p0r Will soon be met. These me . Iude the southem sta es. a'Punjab. To achie, ~. the cotmtry's
radesh, Telangana), west Bengal, Maharashtra- GuJarat sur
 Geogrr1phy of India

'fo ble- 19 : Religion-wise .,.. .

• , ti c govcrnm cn t
population control target ta st er, 1
1
• Religion 2015- 16
has decided to accclcrc1tc famil y plann:i~ g
. 6 r ·t . cts where 1 f· R 1. Hindu 2 13
measures b, idcnt1f, mg 14 c 15 n 1: of the 2. Muslim 2.6_1_ _
280 0
1s more than 3 and " hich .1dd up to "
3. Christian 1.99
population 4. Sikh 1.58
Tablc-19 gives TFR for different religious 200
5. Buddhist/Ne 1.74
.
groups m India. It s hows th a t Muslims
. .
have the Buddhist
highest TFR of2.6 l (in 2015-l 6)- This is follo':ed 1-6-_-J_a_in-- -;---1-.2-0---+-
by Hindus (2.13), Chri st ians (1. 99 ), Budd hists 7. Other 2.57
th
( I. 74) and Sikhs f 1.58). The Jains had e lowe~t Total 2.20 I
TFR Of 1.20. However, one heartening feature ts Source: National Family Health Survey (NFHs
the declining trend among all religious groups. ,
Replacement level is a situation where children take place ~f their parents and the·~
significant growth of population. Thus India is expected to achieve the stage of 'pop~
stabilization ' very soon.
The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) of2015-16 has revealed that Muslims
recorded the highest TFR decline from 3.40 in 2005-06 to 2.61 in 2015-16 while Hindus
gone down from 2.59 in 2005-06 to 2.13 in 2015-16. All other religious communities have~
below replacement levels.
Bihar is the only big state with TFR above 3 while other four states which were in the
a decade ago-Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand-were below
markin2015-16.
Predictably, when looking at the fertility rate of different wealth quintiles (one-fifthr
population;, the section with lowest income had the highest number of children at 3.2 a:-.j
richest had the least at 1.5. Scheduled tribes, the least developed among social categories.
the highest fertility rate of2.5, followed by 2.3 for scheduled castes and 2.2 for other back'i
classes. The upper castes had the lowest fertility rate of 1.9.
According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) of201 S-l 6, almost 30o/oYiC
with one child had got sterilised, suggesting that they did not want any more children.A"'
84% of the women with two children had got sterilised. This was the case for 77% 0:
poorest women who had two children and almost 89% of women in the highest wealth qut'
with two children.
4· Crude Death Rate (CDR). ~~
It is the simplest measure of mortality indicating thenu
of death s in a particular year per thousand of population. It is expressed as under :

CDR- ~ 1000
 Geography o•
'J
Ind·
.,a
where D = Number of death .
s In a Year
p = Estimated mid-year P .
opu 1ahon
cDR in India declined from 4 ? 6
. . . d Pc t lho11s ~nd · 1901
,.,oot-11. Th1s1sai11n tcat1onofirnp1ovem , t · ' ,n -11 toamere7.l perthous,mdin
"'health factTti
1 es.
en tn o111 health sciv .,ccs ancl increased availability c,f

5. Infant l\1ortality Rate (11\1R) 1

. c al cu1ate d f'01 connoting m . tnfnnt
. .c,.nts and 1s . Mort~lit
c Y l',::ite reters
r
to the death rate among
1t11oP Ot 1
a ity amon h 1·1d
expressed as wider : gc ren ofless than one year of age. It 1s

00
CDR= 1000
Bl
6.
where Do ' = number of deaths 0 f ch1·1ctren under one year of ·age
0 and B 1 = nlli?ber of live births.
,,
. ratio between numb er of deaths among children under one year of age to
Thus IMR. is the
the number of hve.births.
e ·· decrease to 54 per
In India . . rate was 61 per th ousand m
. ' infant mortality · 2001-06 which
thousand m 2006-11. It is likely to fall to 44 per thousand in 2016-21 and further to 40 per
thousand in 2021-26. This is an indication of our concern about the newly born infants because
this section of population will decided the future course of populati'an tr~nds in India.
6. Under Five Mortality Rate. This is another health indicator which is concerned wiili
children below the age of 5 years. Drive to care for children especially in the rural areas, has paid
rich dividends. It is heartening to note that under five mortality rate decreased considerably in the
Post-Independent era, from 326 per thousand in 1951 to 55 per thousand in 2011. ·
7. Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) is the indicator of health of women during pregnancy
and delivery. MMR declined from 20.2 per thousand at the time of Independence to a low of 1.ess
than 4 per thousand in 2011. This decline is the result of medical facilities available to prospecuve
mothers. Levels of MMR vary greatly across regions due to variation in access to emergency
obstetric care (EOC), parental care, anaemia rates among women, education level of women and
other factors. ·· ·

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT :
h bOth growth and development refer to changes O\ er a
Ith
. Growth and Development. A oug h ther Growth is . •
'quant1tat1ve and , alnc ncut1a
. \
penod of time, yet these terms differ fro~ eac ~ · th t the change may be either positive
wh · h .. f e sign. This means a . .
. IC may have a positive or a nega iv th other hand is qualitative change which 1s
· (decrease ) · Development on e t take place unless there 1s
(10crease) or negative . .
an increment
always value positive. This means that development cann°
 Geography of India
~ . . n iitions Development occurs when positive 0
or add ition to the cx1stmg co ' · t,ro\1/tl
' .. d ., ,ot alwn'-'S lend to development. Development Gee, 1 •t
Yet pos1t1vc growt 11 Ol s r ,; • f . , rs Wh
' · . . F 0 r >xomplc if the population o a city grows fro t
positi, e change 111 quo ity. 1 c. '. . . . rn fiv
. d - • ~ we say the city lw s grown. Rut if the basic facilit·1 e1 .
]akhs OVl'r 11 pcrto o1 1um:, . es of
, ., . tr·rnsport -;cvcrc1gc etc, remain the same or do not grow. I re urce
hou~mg " atcr, ro" l':l, • ' • b 1n p
.' grow tll , tll•"n the growth has not been accompanied y development • r
popu Iat1on ..,
·., ...
B e t c1 c 19905,
a country's development was gauged as a measure of its econorn c
• d" . 1
•
· . . . d th~t countries with better economic con 1t1ons were more deve\on...1 ~y em,
T1llS llllp 1IC ~, . l'"U'Ji
con ,der
countnes• were 1ess developed · This however' did not reflect the true nature of deve\ oprne
thenvai\
.m many cases the benefit of economic growth did not reach the common man wh" de~f\ •J
which 1
most. Qua Iity of life of the people, the opportunities they have and the freedoms they country
important a~pects of development. show t
The above mentioned ideas were clearly spelt out for the first time in the late 19
early J 990s by two great economists of Asia. One was Dr. Mahbub-ul-Haq ofPakista,
other was the Nobel Laureate Dr. Amartya Sen of India Dr. Mahbub-ul-Haq createdthe\l
Development Index (HDD in 1990. According to him, development is _all about enlargingp,: farme
choices in order to lead long, healthy lives with dignity. Dr. Haq believed that people are more
to all development. The choices of the people are not fixed but keep on changing. Toe
objective of development is w create conditions in which people can live meaningful lives. poll
A meaningful life is not just a long one. It must be a life with some purpose. Thisme:::-
people must be healthy, be able to develop their talents, participate in society and be ~ cap1
achieve their goals. incr
ofl
Dr. Amartya Sen expressed the opinion that an increase in freedom (or dee~
unfreedom) is the main objective of development. Increasing freedom is one of the moste::c
,,
ways of bringing about development. He laid much emphasis on the role of social and ~~
institutions and processes of increasing freedom.
Following three are the most important aspects of human development:
(i) Leading long and healthy life.
(ii) Attaining ability to gain know-ledge.

(iii) Having enough means to be able to live a decent life.

In view of the above mentioned aspects, it is essential to have access to resources. t:
and _educati~n. But very often, people fail to attain capability and freedom to make e,~n:~
c~m~es: T~ts may be ~ue to various reasons of which lack of knowledge, povert), ·\i''
d1scnmmat1on etc. are important. Such a situation pre ts f ding hea1th}
. ven peop Ie rom 1ea boicr.·
bemg able to get educated and to lead a decent life. Therefore, is order to enlarge the c
 Ge0
. . . Craph 0
ple, 1t 1s csscntrnl to b . 1 Y J Ind/
the pi;;
00 .. u1 d thei a
rcso urccs. The cho1Ccs bcco me.. ltrn
. itt ,capab·
. ti t i·1t1cs
cu 111
. •
in the
General .I, speaking " 0 eve)o 1c abse nee of nr a of\\ 11th d
•oci~tcd ,, ,th modcrnisati Pn1~•ll is f the e cnp b t1 n
9S!- • • • on , lei 1l't•d a thti
c(lrT1putcnsatton. mdustrialisation i::flis:1re, com for om ". Deve\o
·tern, ad, anced and modern ' ic1cnt trans t nnu afflue Pm nt nd fr d 1
s)!- tncd " Port nee \
ess co nsidcrcd as the" mbols of d
.. C\ clop
icaJ fnciliti Undcommun1 n the pr nt
cs, sari cat1on n t
llaat 1nc•'-ailab1hty and access to these m ment. teveJ o ety and securit w rk, I rg
jch is often called the 'west odcrn things B f development .15 y of md1v1du I
allse \\ h . • ern or · ut thi · mensur d
,,.,untn hke Indra, colonisation
~~· , inarg1. euro•centr· tc' vie
. sis only one s·d e with
e view f d re P
I d
lthe 1·
shO'., the other face of.developme n t . na tsation, social d:'1scnm1nat·
o: ~evelopment. Foroa po ev tco\
\ p
ate . d
In n ra, eve Iopment is a . ' ion and .
regional d1spanty et
I d mixture of c
fe,r people .m urban
1· . .areas are eni .
~oymg all thopportuniti es as well
\ast humamty ivmg m rural areas a d e facilities of d as _neglect and deprivation A
people belonging to scheduled ca tn urban slums do not hmo em hfe while on the other hand
s es sch d l ave even th b .
J"armers,
ii
slum dwellers etc •
are the ' e
worst f-" u ed tribes la
, ndl ess agr·e laSic amenities of\ife .
more pathetic. su ,erers. The condif f ,cu tural labourers, poor
10n o female population is even
raJ
jef .LackA.of development
·1 leads to d et .
enoratmg. hu
..
pollut10n.
. Ir, SOI , water and noise poll ut·Ion are posiman conditions and results ·m env1ronmenta\
.
society.
. . Consequently, the
. poor are being sub" ngtha great
. . ~ected to . threat to the very existenee o t~ our
at capab1ht1es; 1.e. ( 1) social capabilities_ d . • ree mter-related processes of declinino
. I) (2) .
an d weakenmg. social ties (social: :,
capita , environmental capabilities- ct t ue to displacement
.
to . • • 'd . 1
ue o po lutton and (3) 1 ...
mcreasmg
. mc1 ence of diseases and accide t Th" . ' adpersona cccapab1ht1es-due m
n s. 1s, m tum has . •
of hfe and human development. • verse euects on then qualny
tn
e Why Human Development ?
al According to Paul Streeten, human development is necessary due to follov... ing reasons :
I. The m ain purpose of human development is to improve the human conditions and co
enlarge people's choices.
It is a major tool of achieving higher level of productivity. Awell-nourished. he,1\th,.
2.
educated, skilled, alert labour force is the most productive asset. Therefore. in, estme"ts
on these sectors are justified on grounds of productivity too.

3. It helps in reducing the rate of growth of population.

. . dl t th physical environment .1lso. D~for~st'-ui1.m.
O
4. Human development 1s fr1en . dY 1· ewhen poverty dcc 1•rncs.
desertification and soil erosion ec me d . .11 soc1et),
rt contribute to a hc\1\th) Cl\ .

5. Improved living conditions and reduce pov~ . y

social stab1hty.
enhanced democracy and greater
 Geography of lnd;a

1 · ·d c·ng civil disturb,mces in the . .

6. Human development also he ps m re u 1 - so~iety
increasing political stnbility. ~
The Four Pillars of Human Dcvclo1nucnt :
Just as an) bu tiding is supp01 tcd by pil lm s, the idea of human development is SUpr,u
• b 't . d t " ·ty and empowerment. ~
the concepts of cqmty, sustama 1 tt\ pro uc 1v1 · thef1'\
1. Equity. Equity means making equal access to op?ortuniti~s available to every 1t1f

The opporturuties avatlable to people must be equal irrespective of their ~ender, race, incoil'le fefO
f,CO
in the Indian case, caste. Yet this is very often not the case and ha~pens m almost every~
pro
Normally. the poor and persons belonging to socially and econorrucally backward grouµsfa gro
have access to equity. oev
2. Sustainability. Sustainability refers to continuity in the availability of opportullit
This means that each generation must have the same opportunities. Therefore, we must use
environmental, financial and human resources in such a way that our future generations are~
deprived of these opportunities.
3. Productivity. Productivity means human labour productivity or productivity in tera.
of human work. It must be enriched by building capabilities in people. In fact, people of a count;-
are its real wealth. As such sincere effort should be made to increase their knowledge and pro1~
better facilities of health and education so that they can attain better work efficiency.
4. Empowerment. It refers to have power to make choices. Such power comes frc:::
increasing freedom and capability. Good governance and people-oriented policies are required1n
empower people. The empowerment of socially and economically disadvantaged groups 1s cf
special importance.
Indicators of Human Development:
Although it is not possible to have a flawless quantitative measure of human develo1)metlL
the United Nations Development Progtamme (UNDP) has developed a composite index, now
known as the Human Development Index (HDI). It includes (i) longevity of life, (ii) kno\\looge
base, and (Hi) a decent material standard of living. To keep the index simple, only a limited
number of variables are included. Initially, life expectancy was chosen as an index oflongevit\
adult literacy as an index of knowledge and per capita Gross National Product adjusted fo
Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) as an index of decent life. These variables are expressed io
different units. Therefore, a methodology was evolved to construct a composite index ratberthaft
several indices.

In India, three sets of indicators have been selected for preparing the Human Development
Report. Among them, a core set of composite indices presents the state of human development
th
for the society as a whole. Besides, Gender Equality Index has been estimated to reflect e
 Geog
'"Phy <>" In 1·
'J (. ' " ~
inrnents of women, and the 1, {(~, ·
• eatta
JgtJV .
1unvm (
ll
OVcrty Ind
'J
~ c1ety. ex to eva\u t h . .
11e s0 a ct estate of depnvation
ifl t eral other variables have gradu
sev . a 11 y been 'lei i
,r1 H
J.,ealth indtcatory related to longevity
• •
b:
nrc irth
< ed to the above sets of ·,nd r-t A
1ca ors. mong
the , rtality nutntlon, and life cxpcctanc b' tHte, <leath rate with . \ "
t mo ' Y nt II th So,· . . spccia re,erence to
i11f:Je Jjterac!, enrollment of school-going child~cn c~:I ln<hcator~ include \iteracy particularly
fef11 ·c indicators are related to wages in ' op out ratio, and pupti-teacher ratio.
noJTll , come and cm \
fcO t incidences of PO\ crty and employme t ' ? oyment. Per Capita Gross Domestic
n opportunity a l r.
Producfhe, ' rt d . • • • •
are conve e mto a composite ind re a so ,avoured md1cators m th1s
.-rroUP·I prnen.
t· t ex to present the holistic picture of the Human
vere 0
s.
WHAT IS HUMAN DEVELOPMENT?

''Human development is a process of e 1 · h

.. . n argmg t e range of people's choices, increasing
. orturut1es for education: health care In .
their opp . , come and empowerment and covermg the fu\l
range of human chmces from a sound physical environment to economic, social and political
freedom."
Thus, enlarging She range of people's choices is the most significant aspect of human
development Pecple's choices may involve a host of other issues, but, living a long and
healthy life, to be educated and have access to resources needed for s decent standard of
filing including political freedom, guaranteed human rights ana personal self-respect, etc. are
considered some of the non-negotiable aspects of the human development.

Approaches to human development :

Four important approaches to human development are:
I. The income approach;
2. The welfare approach;
3. Minimum needs approach;
4. Capabilities approach.

Measuring Human Development Development lndex (HDl). 1

d · terms of Human · ·ndex an
Human Development is measure m d velopment in one simple composite 1 d f
t . basic human e . k , areas of health, e uca io
measures average achievem:n sin asis of their performance tn e) n O & 1 that a count
Produces a ranking of countnes on the b b sed on a score betwee
kings are a to resources.
and access to resources. These ran h ducation and access
eam from its record in key areas of healt ' e
 Geography of India

Table-20 : Apprmu.hes to Human Develop.-.,.

Health . The indicc1to1
1.
chosen to assess health is life
expectancy at birth. It means tha t
people have a better choice to lead
longer and healthier life. Higher the
life expectancy at birth, higher is the l-----t-::::-:--=-----.---;--~--==~
human development index.
2. Education. Education here
involves adult literacy rate and gross
enrolment ratio. It means that a
country should have larger number
of adults who are able to read and
write and larger number of children
enrolled in schools to be placed
higher in human, development index.
3. Access to resources.
Access to resources is measured
terms of purchasing power (in U.S.
·••ent
I. Income This is one of the oldest approach
Approach develoJ:?ment. H~man deve\opme es ~1:1 hu
being linked to mcome. The id/t_1s ~ I\
level of income reflects the level ~ 1s th:
ind1v1dual enjoys. Higher the le~ trCeo,Jt:)¾
the higher is the level ofhumanJ· de of in¼lh.
eve1() -,"'
2. Welfare This approach looks at huma ~rn~
Approach beneficiaries or targets of all nd be1n~ tl
. ..
act1v1t1es. The apdp~oac h argues eve\o
for~~ ' (
government expen 1ture on educati •11~ \
social secondary ana amenities. Peoo~, he;.i
participants in development but on) eare11q
recipients. The government is respoy ~~
increasing levels of human develo:1 le~
maximising expenditure on welfare. rn.em
3. Basic This ap_proach was initially_ proposed b
Needs International Labour Orgarusation (lLo{ \
basic needs i.e. health, education, rood ·Sn.
Approach
supply, sa~itation and housi~g w~re id~~
The question of human choices 1s ignored
in the emphasis is on the i provision of b~
needs of d~fined sections. clSit

dollars). 4. Capability .This-- approach .is . ass?ciated with Prot

•1•1t I'
Approach Amartya Sen. Bmldmg human capabillties m
The Human Development the areas of health, education and access to
Report was fi~st published in , 1990 resources is the key to increasing human
development. -
by the United Na ti ons ,. . .....
._-_-_-_-_-_-_:_-_...._....._-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-___
D evelopment Programme ] (UNDP). Since then it is published every year. This re-port 1
gives an interesting rank wise list of the member countries i according to the level of human
development. The Human Development index and the Human Poverty index are two i
important indices to measure human development used by the UNDP.

International Comparisons :
H uman D evelopment is not necessarily related to size or per capita income of a country.It
has been found that smaller and economically poorer countries are often ranked higher in tenw
of human development than the bigger and richer countries. For example Norway and Icelao
are much smaller and poorer countries in terms of GDP than the U.S.A. But these two sma
countries rank much higher than the U.S.A. with respect to HDI value. Similarly Sri Lank
Trinidad and Tobago have smaller economies than that of India but have higher rank than 1nc
in terms of human development index (HDI). In India, Kerala h as higher rank than Panjaba
Gujarat despite having lower per capita income than these states.

into three broad groups on the basics of the hut

Member countries have been divided
development scores earned by them. Countries with a score of above 0.8 are termed as ha'
~ S~ ''lq \
l'nblc
lt~q ~ti q~ /
'-'Q t {L i
iHDI i '
(}Q) 'IQ
ll~o
fl)

h
l
0.909
\ fed. 0.804
e t; 0.789
t b 0.766
ks
0.754
0.738 14 1

=l=2t·~-t-~f =t=~~=i
• .8
0.691 I 64 76.0 7.6
Indonesia 0.689 713
0.053 7.1
south Africa 0.666 119 1 69.1 79
2,087 ·
wdia 0.624 131 57.7 10 3
5,663 68.3 ·
0.579 139 63
3341 ·
0.550 72.0 52
147 5,031 66.4 5.1 0.742
World 0.717
14,447 71.6
Source: Economic Survey. 2016-1 7, p. 275
83 0.938

high index value. Countries

. withs core o f between
. 05 d
development. Countnes having <level opment mde
. 1
b ·1 an 0. 799 are placed in medi·urn eve
development. x e ow 0.5 are said to have low level ofhumru:

Computing the H D/ :
Tothe
each of construct the :Index, fixed minimum and
indicators .
maximum values have been establi,hed for

• Life expectancy at birth : 25 years and 85 ye~rs;

• General literacy rate : 0 per cent and 100 per cent;
• Real GDP per capita (PPP$).; PPP$ 100 and PPP$ 40,000
• Purchasing power party.
Individual Indices are computed first on the basis of a given fo,mula. HDI i, ., ~"npk
average of these three indices and is derived by dividing the smn or th<'><' three in,h~.:-s h) 3.
With normalisation of the values of the variables that mak.: up th<' HDl. ,ts ,,1l11c ranges
!om Oto 1. The HDI value for a country or a region shows the distance that ,t h:is to tm el to
acb the maximum possible value of 1 and also allows intercountry compansons.
jiP

Geography of l11din
(~·
The closer a score is to one, th e greater is th e level of human development. l'heref
score o f·o . 98"
development.
l _l wou t: .. · u,
Id b, "or1side1cd vc,y high while 0 .268 would mean a very low level ofhOtc l

HDI of India. India has consistently improved with respect to human developrnen~ey
. b . . fHDlrcportsbythcUND PAspcrthc HumanDeveloprr(" .. R'!port(tr
since t 11e egmnmg o fi 2014 · 0 llI)lt
20 I 5, India ranks 131 out of 188 countries. India's HDI valu~ or is 609 Which is
. •
1mpr0\ emcnt m 11er ra
nk by 6 places as compared to her rank m 2009 l n comparison th
. . "-' o
• BRlCS grouping India has the lowest rank with Russia at 49, Brazi at 79, Chin"
nations m , . '' a\,i
and South Africa at 116 (Table-21). India's HDI of0.624 ts also below the average of count
in the medium development group (0.630) but marginally higher than the HDI average of So:
Asian countries (0.607).
India's Gross National Income (GNI) increased by 338 per cent between 1980 and 20·4
Over the same period, the Life Expectancy at Birth (LEB) i~creased _by 14.1 years and mean yea_-:
of schooling by 3.5 years. As compared to other BRICS nations, India has repo~ed the leastm~
years of schooling, an LEB that is lower than that of Brazil. China and Russia, but higher~
South Africa. Bangladesh, with a lower GNI per capita than India has much higher LEB.
HDR, 2015 has also given the Gender Development Index (GDI) for 188 countries.11-..e
HDI value for families in India is 0.819 in 2015 . Except Pakistan, all other south Asian count;=~
have reported higher HDI values for females in. comparison to India.
SEX COMPOSITION :
Sex composition of the human population is one of the basic demographic characterist~,
which is extremely vital for any meaningful demographic analysis. Changes in sex compos,t~r
largely reflect the underlying socio-economic and cultural pattern of a society in different \lic\-S
It is an important social indicator to measure the extent of prevailing equity between males i::-
females at a given point of time. "The separate data for males and females are importa1l fur
various types of planning and for the analysis of other demographic characteristics such as natalit'J,
mortality, migration, marital status, economic characteristics, etc. The balance of sexes affects
the social and economic relationship within a community". (Chanana: 2012)

Sex composition is expressed with the help of a ratio known as sex ratio. Sex ratio inlnd~l
is defined as "number of females per 1,000 males in the population" It is expressed in the followin;
form.

Sex Rati·o _ Number of females

- ~--=----=---:..:.. x l 000
Number of males

Thus, a sex ratio of 1 000 · 1· . . boYe

1 000 • d" ' imp ies comp 1ete parity between the two sexes. Ratios a
10
' icate excess of females over males; those below 1,000 indicate a deficit of fema\es,
 . Gcog,aphy of Indio
Sex ratio of populatiot
.
f
1 o n conntt • .
tht.~ outcome of the tntcrpla)' of . . , . :' 1s tnu1nl y l nble-2 2
. . I . "CXdtffct't · l . lndm.19012011
nortaI 1ty, sex sc cctn c migt ""'t ton
· sex t ·en H1 s m Year,s
<:ensi Sex Rntio
l
and at times
• .' inHl
the sex diffc 1 cnttal
enumeration. According tor
10
nt birth
.
Popnl.1t1on 1911
972
%4
cit a\ 10

r --=➔1~90~1::\==~~==t:fYe~atr
1961
1971
Ccnsu
:±:J~I:J
tguics of2011 192
li&l
outoftotalpopulationofl2IO.l m'tr census, l 955
are males and 580 4 millions a , ~ons, 623.7 millions 1931 950
re iemales Th h 1941 845 a:n
overall sex ratio for Indian pop 1 . . · us, l e 1951 946 2011 Ci4Q
u ation is 940 . Th"ts source : Nallonal Farmly Health Survey (NFHS) ,101s 16
suggests that the number of fem I .
- a~IB~~
980
. . to males · In other words
Jess as compared
970
912 INDIA
SEX RATIO
the sex rat10 m the country had a1ways
remained unfavourab
. le to .&-1ema1es . ii 960
950
Moreover, barnng some hiccups, it has ~-
shown a long term declining trend. The sex 940
1
ratio at the beginning of the twentieth j 930
920
century was 972 and thereafter showed
910
continuous decline until 1941. In 1951 there
was a marginal increase of one point, but 900++---,l--+-+--+---+~~-l---l--l--+-l-
1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011
CemusYears
the country saw the sharpest decline of 11 Fig. 11 : Sex ratio in India from 1901 to 2011.
points in sex ratio from 941 in 1961 to 930
in 1971. A slight improvement of 4 points in 1981 could not be maintained and there was a fall of
7points from 934 in 1981 to 927 in 1991. Increase of six points from 927 in 1991 to 933 in2001
stic~ and seven points in 2011 is a welcome improvement and it is hoped that the same trend will
ition continue in the coming decades. However, it may be mentioned that the net deficit of fema1..es
ays. which was 3 .2 million in 1901 has now widened to over 37 .3 million at the time of 2011 census
and Table-21 and Fig.-11 show the trends in sex ratio in India from 1901 to 2011.
for
Sex ratio in India is substantially low as compared to Russian Federation (1.167), Jap~
(1,055), Brazil (1,042), the USA (1,025), Nigeria (1,016) and Indonesia (988). The \\Orld se'\.
ratio declined from 986 in 2001 to 984 in 2011.
· · rtant factors responsible for low and declining sex ratio.
Fo 11owing are some 1mpo
~ This is almost a worldwide phenomena and lndia 1s
I· More males are bom than iema. es.1
. b •rths that took place in hospitals and health centres
11100 1
fi d t be 942 for the country us a
no exception. In a study of about two nu . .
~1..- • • 1949 58 the sex ratio at birth was oun o
uuoughout India dunng - ' . G India regarding six million live births that
1
hole. The data collected by the RegtS trar thenerat, and institutions located mostly in urban
. h ·t ls heal cen res
k place during 1981-91 1n ospt a '