Related Topics

Civil Registration System
2023 SEP   19
Census
2023 MAY   26

India's Population: Benefits & Challenges

2023 APR 26

Mains   > Society   >   Population, poverty & associated issues   >   Population & Census

IN NEWS:

  • According to the recently published State of World Population Report by the United Nations, India has a population of 142.5 crore, surpassing China for the first time.

BENEFITS:

  • Demographic dividend:
    • Demographic dividend is the economic advantage a country possesses due to its high working age population and low dependency ratio.
    • The number of adults of working age is projected to continue increasing both in number and as a proportion of the total population through mid-century, ensuring a continuing economic growth.

  • Hub of human resource:
    • Most countries are experiencing some degree of population ageing. However, Population ageing is unfolding more gradually in India. In this scenario, India can become the hub of labour force in the coming years.
  • Fiscal benefits:
    • Large workforce >> smaller dependent population and higher savings >> lesser welfare spending >> more financial resource to invest in physical and human infrastructure
  • Increase in consumption:
    • Better education, home ownership, healthcare, economic security and desire for more durable goods are the cause and consequence of young demographics.
  • Accelerate globalisation:
    • Younger population tends to be more mobile and willing to travel in search of better opportunities. This could increase the rate of urbanisation, industrialisation and interconnectedness across the world.

CHALLENGES:

  • Lack of employable skills:
    • Most of the future jobs will be created in skill intensive sectors. However, according to PLFS 2021-22, only 1.3 % have technical education and only 0.7% have diploma/certificate graduate level in vocational education.
  • Fragmented skill training system:
    • Skill training continues to remain secondary to rote learning. Vocational training remains neglected in India and linkage between industry and academia is non-existent.
  • Poor socio-economic parameters:
    • India ranks 130 out of 189 countries in UNDP’s Human Development Index, which is alarming. Therefore, health and education parameters need to be improved substantially to make the Indian workforce efficient and skilled.
  • Underfunded public services:
    • Despite having numerous schemes and measures, facilities for the common man remains underfunded. This is severe in the healthcare and education sector, where the public spending stands at a dismal 1.4% and 3% of GDP respectively.
  • Dominance of informal economy:
    • Factors such as lack of social security cover, limited avenues for skill training and exploitation of workforce reduce the scope of effective realization of the benefits of demography.
  • Rising inequality:
    • Recent studies points towards a fall in income growth for the poor and middle-income households, whereas that of the high-income households surged.

  • Shortage of adequate jobs:
    • There are not enough jobs getting created. According to Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2021-22, on the basis of current weekly status, unemployment level remained stagnant at 8.8%, without declining much since 2017.
  • Lack of quality employment:
    • The rise in income inequality is leading to the creation of low-paid and low-productive jobs such as housekeeping, security services, and other gig-type jobs such as food delivery workers. This does little to the long term economic progress of the country.
  • Workforce stuck in low-productive sectors:
    • According to the PLFS 2021-22, agriculture still remains the largest source of employment, employing 45.5% of the workforce. There has been an increase in self-employment in low-productive agriculture and the urban informal sector.
  • Low labour productivity:
    • India’s labour productivity – economic output per hour of work – is just 12% of the US levels. In purchasing parity terms, GDP per hour worked is USD 70.68 for the US, in comparison to India’s USD 8.47
  • Stagnant wage growth:
    • There has been no significant growth in real wages at the all-India level over the past eight years. This perpetuates the vicious cycle of poverty.

  • Marginalisation of women:
    • Issues arising out of the patriarchal Indian society, like gender bias, early marriages and limited role of women in decision making continues to hinder the effective realization of full demographic potential.

  • Asymmetric demography:
    • Due to the stark differences in fertility rates, the demographic growth is likely to be concentrated in the northern states, while the southern states will see a rise in geriatric population. This creates challenges in formulating effective policies for the population.  

 

WAY FORWARD:

Population is not a ‘problem’ but rather an asset. This potential is greater in India because of the high proportion of young people in the population. However, maximizing the potential benefits of the favourable demographic situation will depend critically on investments in the education and health of youth and on policies to facilitate their productive employment and to ensure equal opportunities for women and girls.

                         

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. “Demographic Dividend in India will remain only theoretical unless our manpower becomes more educated, aware, skilled and creative.” What measures have been taken by the government to enhance the capacity of our population to be more productive and employable? (GS 2, 2016)

Q. “While we flaunt India’s demographic dividend, we ignore the dropping rates of employability.” What are we missing while doing so? Where will the jobs that India desperately needs come from? Explain. (GS 3, 2014)