Stories
India's Population to Shrink Soon, Fertility Rates Plummeting: Sanjeev Sanyal
- •Sanjeev Sanyal, member of the PM's Economic Advisory Council, states India's population could begin shrinking in a few years.
- •Many of India's largest states already have fertility rates comparable to Europe and East Asia, falling below replacement levels.
- •Sanyal highlights that government policy still focuses on population control despite the demographic shift.
- •He notes that significant funds are still allocated to population control measures, even in states with low fertility rates.
- •Concerns were raised about district-level sterilization targets, citing Andhra Pradesh where 70% of married women are sterilized.
Key Questions Answered
Sanjeev Sanyal stated that India's population could start shrinking in a few years as the country is already below the replacement level. He noted that several of India's largest states have birth rates close to those of Europe and East Asia, and fertility is falling even in the few states where it remains above replacement.
Sanyal criticized the government for continuing to spend thousands of crores on population-control measures even though fertility rates in large states mirror Europe or East Asia. He pointed out that district magistrates were given sterilization targets until very recently, noting as an example that 70 percent of all married women are sterilized in Andhra Pradesh.
Sanyal projected that China will face a steep fall in headcount, losing about 80 million people a decade from 2030 until the end of the century. He noted this equates to losing the population of Germany every single decade, with very little China can do about it now.
