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  Meaning of Population: The term population refers to the whole number of people or inhabitants
in a country or region.

 What is the Study of Population called? “Demography” is the name for the social science which
concerns itself with studying populations. Specifically, it is the science of the social statistics of
populations, such as births, deaths, diseases and marriages.
 The word comes from "demos," an Ancient Greek word meaning "the people," and
"graphy," which means "measurement."
 Demography involves studying the size, structure and distribution of people and how
things, such as birth, migration, aging and death, change population over time.

 Factors determining population growth

The basic factors determining population growth are:

 Birth rate
 Death rate
 Migration
 Out-migration (Emigration)
 In-migration (Immigration)

Birth Rate: The birth rate (technically, births/population rate) is the total number of live births per 1,000
of a population in a year. Birth rate has a positive influence on growth of population. Higher the birth rate,
higher will be the growth of population.

The birth rate depends on the following factors:

 the age of marriage
 the rapidity of child birth
 social customs and beliefs and
 Illiteracy and ignorance of controlling births

Death Rate
 Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific
cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time.
 Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of deaths per 1,000 individuals per year; thus, a
mortality rate of 9.5 (out of 1,000) in a population of 1,000 would mean 9.5 deaths per year in that
entire population, or 0.95% out of the total.
 Lower the death rate, higher will be the population growth and vice versa.

Migration
 Human migration is the movement by people from one place to another with the intentions of
settling, permanently in the new location.
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  The movement is often over long distances and from one country to another, but internal
migration is also possible; indeed, this is the dominant form globally.
 Migration may be individuals, family units or in large groups.

 How is Migration different from Birth Rate and Death Rate?

 As compared to birth rate and death rate, migration affects the size of population differently.
 Migration is not a biological event like birth rate and death rate, but is influenced by the social,
cultural, economic and political factors.
 Migration is carried by the decision of a person or group of persons.

 Population and Economic Development:

 Population growth helps the process of development in certain ways and hampers it in certain
other ways.
 This is so because the relationship between population growth and economic development is
intricate, complex and interacting.

 Population as a stimulant to economic development

 Availability of labour force

 Increased demand
 Attainment of specialization
 Due to population growth, the supply of goods and services increases. Increased supply results in
increased production, which in turn results in specialization.
 Specialization will induce technological improvements.
 Technological Improvements
 Increased demand and increased supply of products result in scarcity of resources, which induce
technological improvements.

 The rising population in India affects economic development in the following ways:

 Food Shortage
 Burden of unproductive Consumers
 The greater the increase in population, the greater is the number of children and old persons.
 Children and old persons consume without their making any contribution to output.
 Reduction in National and Per Capita Income
 The fast-growing population retards the average growth rate of national income and per capita
income.
 This is because whatever is added to the national income is consumed by ever-increasing
population.

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  Low savings and investment
 Reduction in Capital Formation
 Unemployment and Underemployment
 Loss of Women’s Labour
 Low Labour efficiency
 More Expenditure on Social Welfare Programmes
 Agricultural Backwardness
 The increase in population has led to uneconomic holdings through subdivision and fragmentation
of land holdings in India.
 The size of holding is so small that mechanized farming is not possible.
 Although some successful efforts towards development of agriculture have been made under the
Five-Year Plans, agricultural production still far short of the requirements of the population and the
agro-industries in the country.
 Underdeveloped Industries
 The rapid growth of population adversely affects industrial development.
 This is the reason why neither the cottage and small-scale industries nor large-scale industries could
develop adequately in the country.
 Financial Burden on Government

 Population Explosion:

What is it? Population explosion means the alarming and rapid rate of increase in population.

 It is a huge problem in India. In fact, in all over the world, it is increasing, especially in the
poorer countries it is developing.
 During the 1951 Census, the Population increased by 361 billion. During the 2011 Census,
the Population increased by 1.21 billion.
It is an unchecked growth of human population caused as a result of:

 High Birth Rate

 Low Death Rate
 Early Marriage
 Social and Religious reasons
 Poverty
 Illiteracy

 Theories of Population:
We shall be having a look at the different theories of population:
 Malthusian Theory of Population
 The Theory of Optimum Population
 The theory of Demographic Transition
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  Malthusian Theory of Population:
 The Malthusian theory of population is the most well-known theory on population in economics.
 Malthus pointed out that an accelerated increase in population would outweigh the increase in
food production. This would have an adverse impact on the development of an economy.

This theory is explained in the following propositions:

 The rate of growth of population is limited by the availability of the means of subsistence i.e. food.
If the means of subsistence increase, population also increases unless it checked.
 Population increases at a faster rate than food production. In other words, while population
increases in a geometric progression, food production increases in an arithmetic progression.
Thus, population would soon exceed food stores.

 The preventive and positive checks are the two measures to keep the population on the level with
the available means of subsistence.
Preventive checks are those checks applied by man to reduce the population. The
preventive checks include late marriage, self-restraint and other similar measures applied by
people to limit the family.

Positive checks affect population growth by increasing death rate. The positive checks on
population are many and include every cause either from vice or misery which helps to
shorten the life span.
Common diseases, plagues, wars, famines unwholesome occupations, excess labour,
exposure to the seasons, extreme poverty, bad nursing of children are a few examples for
positive checks.

Malthus thus recommended that the preventive checks can be used by mankind to avoid
misery or else the positive checks would come into operation.

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  An important criticism of this theory was put forth by Karl Marx: He rejected the
ideas of natural order of population increase.

 Instead he argues that capitalism drives population growth as a way to increase

pool of cheap labour.

 The Theory of Optimum Population:

 The optimum theory of population was propounded by Edwin Cannan in his book Wealth published
in 1924 and popularized by Robbins, Dalton and Carr-Saunders.
 Unlike the Malthusian theory, the optimum theory does not establish relationship between
population growth and food supply.
 Rather, it is concerned with the relation between the size of population and production of wealth.
 The Malthusian theory is a general theory which studies the population problem of a country in
keeping with its economic conditions.
 Thus, the optimum theory is more realistic than the Malthusian theory of population.

But what is optimum population? The optimum population is the ideal population which combined with
the other available resources or means of production of the country will yield the maximum returns or
income per head.

Assumptions:
This theory is based on the following assumptions:
 The natural resources of a country are given at a point of time, but they change over time.
 There is no change in techniques of production.
 The stock of capital remains constant.
 The habits and tastes of the people do not change.
 The ratio of working population to total population remains constant even with the growth of
population.
 Working hours of labour do not change.
 Modes of business organization are constant.

The Theory:
 Given these assumptions, the optimum population is that ideal size of population which provides
the maximum income per head.
 Any rise or diminution in the size of the population above or below the optimum level will diminish
income per head.
 Given the stock of natural resources, the technique of production and the stock of capital in a
country, there is a definite size of population corresponding to the highest per capita income.

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  Other things being equal, any deviation from this optimum-sized population will lead to a
reduction in the per capita income.
 If the increase in population is followed by the increase in per capita income, the country is under-
populated and it can afford to increase its population till it reaches the optimum level.
 On the contrary, if the increase in population leads to diminution in per capita income, the country
is over- populated and needs a decline in population till the per capita income is maximized.

 The Theory of Demographic Transition

 The demographic transition brings out the relationship between fertility and motility, i.e. between
the birth rate and the death rate.
 This theory points out that there are three distinct stages of population growth.

Let us study each stage in detail:

Stage I: High Birth Rate and Death Rate

 In the first stage, the country is backward and less developed.
 Agriculture will be the main occupation of the people and primitive mode of cultivation will be
used.
 The standard of living of the people will be low.
 This stage is characterized by high birth rate and high death rate.
 In this stage, the rate of growth of population is not high since high birth rate is offset by the high
death rate and the population growth stagnates.

Stage II: High Birth Rate and Low Death Rate

 As a country advances, it might result in increase in industrial activity, creating more employment
opportunities.

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  This will raise the national and per capita income of the people, thereby increasing their standard
of living.
 The economy reaches the second stage of high birth rate and low death rate.
 The birth rate still remains high due to the resistance to change, and the long-established customs
and beliefs.
 Thus there is an imbalance between high birth rate and low death rate resulting in high population
growth, and the country witnesses population explosion.

Stage III: Low Birth Rate and Death Rate

 Economic development leads to change in the structure of the economy from an agrarian to a
partially industrialized one.
 With the increase in industrialization, people migrate from rural to urban areas, and there is a
change in the attitude of the people.
 With the spread of education, people prefer small families in order to increase the standard of
living. Thus, the birth rate is reduced.
 Implementation of better medical facilities, control of disease and public sanitation result in low
death rate.
 During this third stage of low birth and death rates, the growth of population tends to be stable.

 Census

Census in India
 The decennial Census of India has been conducted 15 times, as of 2011.
 While it has been conducted every 10 years, beginning in 1872, the first complete census was
taken in the year 1881.
 Post 1949, it has been conducted by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India
under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
 All the census since 1951 are conducted under 1948 Census of India Act.
 Census is useful for economic planning, and for implementing welfare schemes and measures.
The details recorded in the population census are as follows:
 Total Population
 Sex Composition
 Rural versus Urban population
 Age Composition
 Density of Population
 Literacy Rate
 Urbanization
 Occupational Pattern

 Decadal Population Growth in India

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Facts about Population Distribution in India

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Population of 0-6 Years: The total number of children in the age-group 0-6 is 158.8 million (-5 million
since 2001). Highest population in this age group is in Uttar Pradesh.

Gender Composition of India’s population:

 India Sex ratio is 940 as per Census 2011.
 The sex ratio was 933 as per 2001 population.
 The sex ratio at 940 is highest Sex Ratio recorded since Census 1971.
 Kerala has highest sex ratio (1084) while Daman & Diu has lowest sex ratio (618).
 Mahe district of Puducherry is the district in India with highest sex ratio (1176), while Daman district
in Daman & Diu has lowest sex ratio (533).

India’s child sex ratio (0-6 years) is 914, which is lowest since independence. Further, the three major
States (J&K, Bihar & Gujarat) have shown decline in Sex Ratio as compared to Census 2001.

Literacy in census 2011

 India’s literacy rates stands at 74.04 % for age 7 and above.
 The literacy has increased by 9.2% from 2001 Census.
 Male literacy stands at 82.14 and female literacy stands at 65.46.
 The gap of 21.59 percentage points recorded between male and female literacy rates in 2001
Census has reduced to 16.68 percentage points in 2011.

Population density
 As per the provisional data of Census 2011, population density of India stands at 382, which is
17.5% more than 325 in Census 2001.
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  NCT of Delhi with 11297 is has highest density in India, followed by Chandigarh where population
density stands at 9252.
 Population density of Arunachal Pradesh is 17 (Lowest among all states and UTs in India). Lowest
Population density among UTs is of Andaman & Nicobar Islands (46).

Population Distribution by Religion

 Population Pyramid: A population pyramid, also called an age pyramid or age picture is a graphical
illustration that shows the distribution of various age groups in a population (typically that of a
country or region of the world), which forms the shape of a pyramid when the population is
growing.

How is it constructed?

 The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females
on the right.
 The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as
horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest
at the top.
 The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality,
and international migration trends.
 Indian Pyramid and its comparison with China

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  Although India & China are the most populated countries, we notice that Indian Pyramid has a
strong base, with more youngsters, well balanced, smooth pyramid.

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  Whereas China seems more imbalanced by the day due to their stringent policies of population
control which will one day lead to the stage where there would be more senior citizens than
youngsters & working population.
 It will be a great chance for India to seize such an opportunity because going forward, a country’s
greatest asset would be its population (Whereas population was perceived as a burden during
1970s).

 Family Planning in India

 In 1952, India became the first country in the world to initiate a family planning program. The
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is the government unit responsible for formulating and
executing family planning in India.
 Population control and family planning has been included on concurrent list under Schedule VII of
Constitution of India.
 Family planning in India is based on efforts largely sponsored by the Indian government.

Total Fertility Rate (TFR):

Overall, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) or the average number of children per woman has also
gone down from 2.7 in NFHS-3 to 2.2 in NFHS-4.

 Population Policy of India: National Population Policy 2000

Long-term objective of the policy:

The policy states that “the long-term objective is to achieve a stable population by 2045, at a level
consistent with the requirements of sustainable development, and environment protection.”

Features of the National Population Policy 2000

 The National Population Policy (NPP) 2000 has the immediate objective of addressing the unmet
needs of contraception, health infrastructure, health personnel and integrating service delivery for
basic reproductive and child health care.
 It also lays emphasis on the medium-term objective of bringing total fertility rates to replacement
level by 2010.
 A Total Fertility Rate of 2.1 is known as replacement level fertility.

Measures to achieve a stable population

The National Population Policy has listed the following measures to achieve a stable population by 2045.
 Reduction of infant mortality rate (IMR) below 30 per 1,00,000 live births
 Reduction of maternal mortality rate (MMR) to below 100 per 1, 00,000 livebirths
 Universal immunization
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  To achieve 80 percent deliveries in regular dispensaries, hospitals and medical institutions with
trained staff
 Access to information, containing AIDS, prevention and control of communicable diseases
 Incentive to adopt two-child small family norm
 Strict enforcement of Child Marriage Restraint Act and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act
 Raising the age of marriage of girls from 18 to 20
 A special reward for women who marry after 21

The Action Plan of the programme includes the following:

 Self-help groups at village Panchayat levels comprising mostly of housewives will
interact with health care workers and gram panchayats
 Elementary education to be made free and compulsory
 Registration of marriage, pregnancy to be made compulsory along with births and
deaths.

 Steps/Measures to Control the Population Growth of India by the Government of India

Some important On-going interventions:
 National Family Planning Indemnity Scheme’ (NFPIS) under which clients are insured in the
eventualities of deaths, complications and failures following sterilization and the providers/
accredited institutions are indemnified against litigations in those eventualities.
 Compensation scheme for sterilization acceptors - under the scheme MoHFW provides
compensation for loss of wages to the beneficiary and also to the service provider (& team) for
conducting sterilisations.
 The "Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh" (JSK) (National Population Stabilization Fund) has been registered
as an autonomous Society established under the Societies Registration Act of 1860. JSK has to
promote and undertake activities aimed at achieving population stabilization at a level consistent
with the needs of sustainable economic growth, social development and environment protection, by
2045.

New Interventions under Family Planning Programme

 Scheme for Home delivery of contraceptives by ASHAs at doorstep of beneficiaries

 Scheme for ASHAs to ensure spacing in births: The scheme is operational from 16th May, 2012,
under this scheme, services of ASHAs to be utilised for counselling newly married couples to
ensure delay of 2 years in birth after marriage and couples with 1 child to have spacing of 3 years
after the birth of 1st child.
 Boost to spacing methods by introduction of new method PPIUCD (Post-Partum Intra Uterine
Contraceptives Device.
 Introduction of the new device Cu IUCD 375, which is effective for 5 years.

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  Scheme for provision of pregnancy testing kits at the sub-centres as well as in the drug kit of the
ASHAs for use in the communities to facilitate the early detection and decision making for the
outcome of pregnancy.
 RMNCH Counsellors (Reproductive Maternal New Born and Child Health) availability at the high
case facilities to ensure counselling of the clients visiting the facilities.
 Celebration of World Population Day 11th July & Fortnight: The event is observed over a month-
long period, split into fortnight of mobilization/sensitization followed by a fortnight of assured
family planning service delivery and has been made a mandatory activity from 2012-13 and starts
from 27th June each year.
 FP 2020- Family Planning Division is working on the national and state wise action plans so as to
achieve FP 2020 goals.
The key commitments of FP 2020 are as under:
 Increasing financial commitment on Family Planning whereby India commits an
allocation of 2 billion USD from 2012 to 2020.
 Ensuring access to family planning services to 48 million (4.8 crore) additional
women by 2020 (40% of the total FP 2020 goal).
 Sustaining the coverage of 100 million (10 crore) women currently using
contraceptives.

 Reducing the unmet need by an improved access to voluntary family planning services, supplies and
information.

In addition to above, Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh/National Population Stabilization Fund has adopted the
following strategies as a population control measures:

 Prerna Strategy:
JSK has launched this strategy for helping to push up the age of marriage of girls and delay in first child and
spacing in second child the birth of children in the interest of health of young mothers and infants. The
couple who adopt this strategy awarded suitably. This helps to change the mindsets of the community.

 Santushti Strategy:
Under this strategy, Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh, invites private sector gynaecologists and vasectomy
surgeons to conduct sterilization operations in Public Private Partnership mode. The private
hospitals/nursing home who achieved target to 10 or more are suitably awarded as per strategy.

Mission Parivar Vikas:

 On the World Population Day, that is, 11 th July, 2017, the Union Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare has launched family planning programme aimed at "stabilizing" population growth in 146
districts of seven states that account for nearly 28 per cent of the country's population.
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  The highly-populated districts in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand and Assam have a total fertility rate (TFR) of three and above.
 These districts have been identified as high focus areas under the programme to accelerate access
to high quality family planning choices based on information, reliable services and supplies.
 Under the initiative, specific targeted initiatives shall be taken for population stabilization through
better services delivery.

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