Thursday, August 16, 2012

Just don’t miss the woods

Stabilising population growth requires a more holistic approach

One-sixth of world’s population lives in India; and with its current growth rate, it is poised to overtake China by 2040. Its present population of 1.2 billion is a more than threefold increase from 361 million in 1951 – and with a density of 789 persons per square mile, which is one of the highest in the world – it is clear that India’s population control program is a failure from the roots.

While one thought process says that population is actually India’s strength (as more people buying products would mean more GDP), the fallacy of this philosophy is unresolved where the majority of our population (400 million plus) lives below the poverty line, unable to procure subsistence food, leave alone purchase any product. To that effect, India is one of the first nations to launch an official family planning program in 1951, but over 5 decades have passed without substantive success.




at