Source: Pexel
India is currently the second-most populous country globally with a population of 14066 million and is supposed to surpass China, which has a population of 1448.5 million to become the most populous country by 2028. China is experiencing a decline in the population rate by 0.3 per cent every year whereas India is seeing an annual increase of 0.9 per cent.
While having such a large democracy is advantageous in some ways, its negative impacts of it can be worse. And having the increment at such a high rate, it would become difficult to manage such a large population. As is the global trend, India is also witnessing the same – a decline in the fertility rate. As of 2022, fertility is 2.159 births per woman according to the Historical Fertility Rate. The causes of the same could be a rise in education levels, urbanisation and alleviation of poverty.
The government of India is trying to promote family planning by introducing schemes like National Family Planning Indemnity Scheme (NFPIS), ASHAs, Postpartum Family Planning (PPFP) and others. The state governments are launching welfare schemes at the state level also. With all these efforts, still, India is witnessing a splurge in population rate. The consequences of overpopulation are harmful as it can lead to stagnated growth and development of the economy. Let’s look at some of these effects.
1. Health: The health of such a large number of people is jeopardised due to the less availability of health care facilities. The overpopulated is prone to many health issues due to the high proximity between the people in residential areas and streets. This is especially seen when viral and bacterial infections spread. The epidemics prove havoc on the nation.
And in times of such crisis,’ the medical care facilities prove insufficient and inefficient. This is exactly what happened in India during the second wave of the pandemic, people found it difficult to find oxygen cylinders and beds in hospitals. Dead bodies were dumped in pits due to long lines on crematory grounds. It was a harsh time for the country.
2. Unemployment: As it can be seen, the unemployment problem persists and is rising. The high number of unemployed youths is giving rise to poverty, low education levels, wastage of human resources and stagnated growth and development of the economy. An increase in the population would lead to a larger number of unemployed people. As the vacancies and jobs are not going to increase at the same level, many people will be jobless. Low income or no income can result in an increase in the crime rates inside the country as many people would turn to illegal means of earning money.
3. Technological Advancement: Overpopulation provides not only negative but positive impacts as well. As there are a huge number of people, brainstorming could lead to some cool ideas on the plate. The research and development department could see massive growth with so many people contributing to it and technology growing fast-paced. The technological advancement in the country could reach a new milestone.
4. Living Costs: The demand for resources in the country would quadruple. Food, clothing and shelter - and not present in abundant quantities - are the necessities of survival. And as there are only a limited number of resources available, the consumers would have to live with them leading to a decline in the living standards of the people and an increase in the level of poverty. High-population countries generally have more people fighting poverty than the countries with low populations.
The problem of overpopulation cannot be controlled with a one-stop solution, it will require gradual and non-stop action by the government and the citizens to curb the issue. The government needs to make people aware of this persisting issue, especially the rural population. They need to take conscious efforts to promote family planning and contraceptives to ensure that the public has complete knowledge about them.
The citizens need to take it upon themselves to be responsible and plant the birth of a child in their family with proper means to provide education and facilities to it. With the growth of people at this high rate, if not curbed now, the nation would not be able to fulfil the needs and requirements of all the citizens living now and the future progeny.
Written by: Vanshika Rathour
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