India’s greatest problem is
population growth. Were it not for population growth, India’s per capita income would have been
higher than the current figure. If the
population growth slows down, the percentage of people living below the poverty line will also decline. This is the standard argument, and no doubt there is an element of truth to it.
But it is also true that feeding a large population is a burden only because of low agricultural productivity. There is pressure on agricultural land and natural resources due to a large rural population. It would be more accurate to say that there are problems related to poverty and unemployment, and a large population only aggravates them.
The author says that population growth is not the problem per se. The basic problem is with the lack of public governance – the inability to provide basic services such as
education, health, sanitation, drinking water, power, and roads. In other words, the inability of the state to cope with the consequences of population growth. A subsidiary problem is “jobless” growth, that is growth and development without the creation of new employment avenues.
As incomes increase, population growth tends to slow down due to a decline in infant mortality and improvement in female literacy. The population growth is a serious problem in poor and backward states ( Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh) and less so in other states. The problem has been compounded by poor economic growth in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
The author says that India is entering into a demographic transiton, similar to what took place in the south-east Asian nations. Babies born some twenty years ago are now entering into the labour force, and the percentage of population in the productive age-group is increasing. But this will contribute to economic growth only if jobs can be found for them, and they possess the required skills.
The problem with primary education in India is not the availability of schools, but the quality of education being imparted. To a large extent, the literacy problem is a female literacy problem – overall literacy will not improve until female literacy improves.
The author argues that population growth ceases to be a problem if we can provide quality education and jobs for the surplus people. The author argues for greater flexibility in labour laws, and creation of more jobs in the services sector (which is more labour intensive). He also argues for removal of inter-state restrictions, to allow freer movement of both goods and people.