Despite being the worldโs most populous country, India is seeking to increase its population. This is because it is facing a demographic challenge due to rapid population aging and a decrease in the fertility rate.
Last year, the nation surpassed China in terms of population. However, studies already predict the date when, after reaching a peak, the population will decrease.
## Why India is encouraging its citizens to have more children
Concern and action by authorities
Leaders from two southern states, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, have started to encourage their citizens to have more children.
Andhra Pradesh is even considering offering incentives, citing low fertility rates and an aging population.
Indiaโs issue: seeking to increase its population.
The state has also abandoned its โtwo-child policyโ for local elections, and there are reports indicating that the neighboring Telangana could soon do the same. Tamil Nadu, next door, is also taking similar, even more extreme, measures.
The countryโs fertility rate has substantially decreased: from 5.7 births per woman in 1950 to the current rate of two.
Even fertility rates fell below the replacement level of 2.1 births per woman in 17 of the 29 states and territories.
Rapid aging
According to demographers, the main challenge is the rapid aging of the population, driven by declining fertility rates.
While countries like France and Sweden took 120 and 80 years respectively to double their aged population from 7% to 14%, India is expected to reach that milestone in just 28 years, said Srinivas Goli, a demography professor at the International Institute for Population Sciences, to the BBC.
Fertility rates dropped rapidly despite modest socioeconomic progress, thanks to aggressive family welfare programs that promoted small families through targets, incentives, and disincentives.
The unintended consequence? With growing debt and limited resources, it is even more challenging to sustain higher pensions or social security for a rapidly aging population.
The issue of low birth rates, not just in India
This issue already affects several countries. In May, the president of South Korea declared that the historically low birth rate was a โnational emergencyโ and announced plans to create a government ministry dedicated to this.
What is happening with the world population.
Greeceโs fertility rate has plummeted to 1.3, half of what it was in 1950, prompting warnings from Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis about an โexistentialโ threat to the population.
Developed countries, unable to reverse falling fertility rates, are focusing on healthy and active aging. With measures such as extending working life by five to seven years and improving productivity in older populations.
Demographers argue that India will need to significantly extend retirement ages, and policies should prioritize increasing healthy years.
This includes better health screenings and stronger social security to ensure a more active and productive