According to UN estimates, India overtook China as the most populated nation in the world last year.
You would assume that the nation would be quiet about having more children given its current population of about 1.45 billion. But you know what? All of a sudden, the conversation has increased.
Recently, the leaders of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, two southern states, have called for more children.
Citing low reproduction rates and an older population, Andhra Pradesh is considering offering incentives. The “two-child policy” for local body elections was also abandoned by the state, and rumors indicate that adjacent Telangana may follow suit shortly. Tamil Nadu, which is next door, is also making similar but exaggerated noises.
India now has a fertility rate of two children per woman, down significantly from 5.7 in 1950.
In 17 of the 29 states and territories, fertility rates have dropped below the replacement threshold of two births per woman. (A replacement level is when there are enough new births to keep the population steady.)
With replacement-level fertility far ahead of other states, the five southern Indian states are at the forefront of India’s demographic change. Tamil Nadu achieved the milestone in 1993, Kerala in 1988, and the remaining states by the middle of the 2000s.
Mr. Goli says, “India is getting old before getting rich”.
