Module – 4

Population Profile Of India

4.1 Trends of Population growth and
distribution

Introduction:
Population growth and distribution are critical
factors that affect the economic and social
development of any country. India is the world’s
second-most populous country, with a
population of over 1.3 billion people.
Understanding the trends of population growth
and distribution in India is essential for
policymakers to plan and implement sustainable
development strategies.
Trends of Population Growth in India:
India’s population has been growing rapidly
over the last few decades. According to the
United Nations’ World Population Prospects
2019 report, India’s population is projected to
reach 1.5 billion by 2030 and 1.7 billion by
2050. Here are some key trends of population
growth in India:

High Fertility Rates: India’s fertility rate has

been declining over the last few decades but still
remains high compared to other developing
countries. The total fertility rate (TFR) in India
was 2.2 in 2019, down from 5.9 in the 1950s.
However, the TFR in some states is still very
high, such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and
Rajasthan, where it is above 3.0.
Increasing Life Expectancy: Life expectancy in
India has increased significantly over the last
few decades due to improvements in healthcare
and sanitation. The life expectancy at birth in
India was 69 years in 2019, up from 41 years in
1960.

Migration: Migration from rural areas to urban

areas is a significant driver of population growth
in India. Urbanization has been increasing
rapidly, and it is projected that by 2050, almost
50% of India’s population will live in urban
areas.

Ageing Population: India’s population is

ageing due to increasing life expectancy and
declining fertility rates. The proportion of the
population aged 60 years and above is expected
to increase from 9.5% in 2020 to 19% by 2050.

Trends of Population Distribution in India:

The distribution of India’s population is uneven
across the country. Some regions are densely
populated, while others are sparsely populated.
Here are some key trends of population
distribution in India:
Concentration in the Indo-Gangetic Plain:
The Indo-Gangetic plain is one of the most
densely populated regions in India, comprising
the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar, and West Bengal. This region accounts
for more than 40% of India’s population.
Coastal Regions: The coastal regions of India
are also densely populated, mainly due to the
availability of resources and employment
opportunities. The states of Maharashtra,
Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu have a high
population density due to their location along
the coast.
Low Population Density in North-East India:
The North-Eastern states of India have a low
population density due to their difficult terrain,
lack of infrastructure, and cultural isolation.
Urbanization: Urbanization is a significant
trend in population distribution in India. The
growth of cities has been increasing rapidly, and
it is projected that by 2050, almost 50% of
India’s population will live in urban areas.
Causes and Consequences of Population
Growth and Distribution Trends:

Pressure on Resources: The rapid population

growth in India is putting pressure on resources
such as water, land, and energy. This pressure is
leading to environmental degradation and a
decline in the quality of life for many people.
Uneven Development: The uneven distribution
of the population in India is leading to uneven
development across the country. Some regions
are more developed than others, leading to
income inequality and social unrest.
Overcrowding
Overcrowding is one of the most significant
social implications of population growth and
distribution in India. The high population
density in many parts of the country has led to
overcrowding in cities, towns, and rural areas.
Overcrowding is a situation where too many
people live in a confined space, resulting in
inadequate living conditions, congestion, and a
lack of privacy.
Conclusion: India’s population growth is a
complex phenomenon influenced by various
factors Such as fertility rates, urbanization, and
aging. The demographic dividend presents an
Opportunity for economic growth and
development, but it also poses challenges such
as Providing healthcare and education to a
growing population. Policymakers in India will
need to Address these challenges to ensure
sustainable development and a better quality of
life for its Citizens.
4.2 Causes and Consequences of
Population Growth in India
Population growth
Birth rate and death rate are the two parameters
used to measure the population growth of a
country. Population growth is determined by the
difference between the birth and the death rate.

Causes of population growth in India

 Decrease in the death rate due to improved

medical facilities with the birth rate
remaining the same is one of the major
causes of population growth in India.
 Illiteracy prevalent in major parts of India
make people believe that ‘children are
god’s blessings’ hence making them
against the concept of ‘family planning’.
 People of India follow different religions
of which some of them do not advocate
the concept of ‘family planning’.
 As most of the families in rural areas are
below the poverty line, they think having a
large family will increase their source of
income by sending children to work.
  Decrease in infant mortality rate due to
improved medical facilities.
 Many of the Indian families are
superstitious about the fact that ‘children
are a sign of prosperity’.
 Indian families believe that a male child is
responsible to continue one’s lineage and
the constant attempt to have a male child
results in number of female children.
 Industrialization and growth of
opportunities in urban areas have
increased the urban population.
 Average life span of people has increased
due to control of epidemics by
immunization programs.
 In rural areas, children are considered a
source of recreation, hence giving birth to
more children is a practice in rural areas.

Consequences of Over-population in
India
Overpopulation is one of the hazards & serious
problem, which creates a great obstacle in the
way of national development. It has direct effect
upon the society and development of nation.
The overpopulation creates or results into some
problem which can be stated as,
The consequences of overpopulation are as
follows
1) Pressure on food, clothing &
housing : A country with fast growing
population has to face a serious problem of
scarcity of necessary food, minimum
clothing & proper housing facilities, which
are basic needs of human life. Thus, it
affects the life style and results slum areas,
starvation etc.
2) Unemployment : The overpopulation
aggravates the unemployment & disguised
unemployment problem. The vacancy rate
is negligible as compared to wants of
employment, which ultimately results into
 low income groups and large families
depending upon single earning person
(earner).
3) Standard of living : The overpopulation
creates or give rise to large families with
low income reducing the standard of
persons living therein. The slum areas,
starvation and frequently epidemics are the
results affecting health and standard of
persons within such nation.
4) Decrease of forest area : The basic made
of the growing population is of residence
and shelter. To construct houses and place
of shelter, man is greatly cutting and
reducing forest to make a place to live.
5) Environmental pollution :Over populated
passion creates a large affect on the
environment by exhausting a large
proportion of waste. On the other hand
reducing forest which results the growth of
pollution.
6) Education : The low income of large
family dose not afford to provide
education to their children. Which results
into creating a problem of illiteracy and
again none awareness among the class.
7) Energy crisis : Population explosion
accompanied with rapid industrialization
and urbanization has led to greater demand
for already deficient energy (fuel wood,
fossil fuel and electricity).
8) Hygienic condition : More people in a
small area breed unhygienic condition
which has ill effects on human health.
9) Eco-degradation : Overpopulation
leads to eco-degradation by increasing air,
water, soil and noise pollution, unhygienic
condition, deforestation leading to flood
and soil erosion. So rapid human
population growth is creating increased
pressure on the infrastructure, economy,
environment, availability of primary health
care and nutrition.

4.3 Population Policy – Population

Policy in India ,Evaluation of
Population Policy

POPULATION POLICY
Population policy refers to a set of
measures and strategies that a government
or an organization uses to influence the
size, distribution, and growth rate of a
population. The aim of population policy
is to achieve demographic objectives, such
as improving the quality of life of citizens,
reducing poverty, promoting sustainable
development, and preserving natural
resources.
There are several types of population
policies that can be implemented,
including:
Fertility policies: These policies aim to
increase or decrease fertility rates through
measures such as providing family
planning services, promoting the use of
contraceptives, or offering incentives for
having children.

Migration policies: These policies aim to

regulate the inflow and outflow of people
from a country or region by controlling
immigration and emigration. This includes
policies that encourage or discourage
migration, such as offering visas or work
permits.
Population control policies: These policies
aim to limit the size of the population
through measures such as enforcing birth
control, limiting family size, or even
implementing forced sterilization or
abortion.
Health policies: These policies aim to
improve the health and well-being of
citizens, including measures to reduce
infant mortality, improve maternal health,
and prevent the spread of infectious
diseases.

Education policies: These policies aim to

improve access to education and promote
awareness about population issues, such as
family planning, reproductive health, and
sustainable development.

The Implementation of population

policies is often controversial, as they can
involve sensitive and complex ethical,
cultural, and political issues. Therefore, it
is important for governments and
organizations to consider the potential
benefits and drawbacks of different
policies and to engage in open and
inclusive discussions with stakeholders to
ensure that policies are effective,
equitable, and respectful of human rights

POPULATION POLICY IN INDIA

Population policy in India has been a

significant area of focus for the
government for several decades. The
population of India has been increasing
rapidly, which has led to concerns about
the availability of resources and the ability
of the government to provide adequate
services to the population. The following
are some of the key elements of India’s
population policy:

Family Planning: One of the primary

goals of India’s population policy is to
promote family planning and control
population growth. The government has
implemented several initiatives to
encourage the use of contraceptives and
family planning methods.

Health and Nutrition: The government

has also focused on improving health and
nutrition services to address the needs of
the growing population. This includes
programs to improve maternal and child
health, immunization, and nutrition.

Education: The government has

recognized the importance of education in
reducing population growth and has
implemented several programs to promote
education, especially for women and girls.

Awareness Campaigns: The government

has also launched awareness campaigns to
educate people about the benefits of
family planning and the consequences of
overpopulation.

Incentives and Disincentives: The

government has used a combination of
incentives and disincentives to promote
family planning. For instance, some states
have implemented policies that offer
financial incentives to couples who
undergo sterilization.

Population Control Boards: The central

and state governments have established
population control boards to oversee the
implementation of population policies and
programs.
Overall, India’s population policy has
evolved over time, and the government
continues to take steps to address the
 challenges posed by population growth.
While progress has been made, there is
still a long way to go in achieving the goal
of sustainable population growth .

4.4 Current Population Related Problems

Major Population Related Problems of India

Some of the major population problems of India

are as follows:
1. Rapid Growth of Population
2. Disproportionate Gender Composition
3. Poor Standard of Living and Malnutrition
4. Unemployment.

Rapid Growth of Population:

We know that in spite of many attempts to
check population growth, the birth rate is still
high (annual exponential growth rate is 1.64 per
cent as per 2011 census), but the death rate has
been checked because of the development and
extension of medical facilities.
Family planning is not practised sincerely on a
large scale, especially in rural areas. This
situation has resulted into large proportion of
youth (15-24 years, 2%) along with the aged
(32% in 2011) who are dependent on relatively
small workforce of the population.
This large proportion of young population puts
great pressure on the available medical,
educational and other social amenities. It is
estimated that due to the rapid population
growth, 25 million people are homeless and 171
million people have no access to safe drinking
water.
2. Disproportionate Gender Composition:
According to Census 2011, national sex ratio
(females per 1,000 males) is 940. Most
countries in the world have more women than
men. But India and some South Asian and East
Asian countries differ. Female mortality is
higher in these nations.
This has resulted in there being more men than
women in India and the sex ratio is lower than
1,000, except in two states—Kerala (1,084) and
Pondicherry (1,083). India is one of the few
countries where the child sex ratio between age
of 0-6 has been declining.

The falling child sex ratio Is the result of two

main factors:
High female infant mortality (relative to male
infant mortality)
Female foeticide.
Both in turn reflect parental and social
discrimination against girls and has been
recognized essentially as an attitudinal problem.
Experts cite societal pressure and dowry
demands as the reasons for this menace rather
than lack of education and awareness.
3. Poor Standard of Living and Malnutrition:

Standard of living in a country is also affected

by its population. In India, there is a great
shortage of nourishment, especially that of
balanced diet. The standard of living is low and
housing conditions are often very poor which
lead to health problems such as deficiency
diseases. The ignorance of people, inadequate
medical facilities, and lack of financial
resources come in the way of improving the
housing and health conditions.
4. Unemployment:

The pressure of unwanted population growth

increases the army of unemployed youths of
employable age. Such desperate youths become
a burden on the society. They may indulge in
unlawful activities and cause harm to the law-
abiding people. In India, a large proportion of
population is dependent on agriculture which is
mostly done by traditional methods, obsolete
equipment’s and inadequate financial resources.
Consequently, the production per unit area is
low.
The secondary and tertiary sectors (industries
and services respectively) are relatively less
developed. Thus, there are very limited
employment opportunities for both the unskilled
and semi-skilled people. The agricultural sector
does not provide employment to a large number
of unskilled workers.
The educated and skilled persons also have very
limited opportunities of employment.
Consequently, both the uneducated and
educated, skilled and unskilled, workers migrate
to urban areas in search of jobs.
Thus, the towns and cities have become
overcrowded, making living conditions poorer
and resulting into socio-economic and
environmental problems such as problems of
crime and delinquency, prostitution, pollution,
transportation, violence, etc.
The population growth leads to poverty;-Due to
uncontrolled population, there is shortage of
food, shelter, clothing, resources, pure drinking
water etc and a common family is not in a
position to afford all the things to its members,
if having more number of children.

5.Uncontrolled population leads to illiteracy:-

 The uncontrolled population in family leads to
illiteracy also. The parents are not in a position
to provide better education if they are having
more number of children and some time the
elder daughter has to sacrifice her education to
take care of younger brothers and sisters.
6.The increasing population also leads to
bonded labor system;-
Due to increasing population, there is threat of
bonded labor system. Due to the marriage of
daughters, the head of the family, sometimes
borrow the loan and to repay their loan with
interest, he sends his son to work in landlord’s
house up to repay the loan the son worked as
bonded labor. Some time it continues to
generation to generation.

7.The increasing population may leads to

increasing the anti social activities in the
society;-
Due to the more number of children, it may
leads to frustration among family numbers leads
to inferiority complex, mental depression, and
some time they can attract towards to anti social
activities to get moneys as fast as possible. It
leads to creation of underground world
activities.

8.The increasing population may also leads to

environmental pollution:-
The population explosion also leads to the
environmental pollution because it demands
more area and to achieve this, there is
deforestation. It also leads to environmental
pollution.