Nahraf
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India has very high population density compared to Pakistan. The India seems to be following China's lead to slow down population growth.
India giving couples cash to postpone having babies to curb high birth rate | Posted | National Post
Jitendra Prakash/Reuters
Jodi Lai August 22, 2010 – 5:18 pm
In an effort to curb India’s high birth rate, the government is offering to pay newly married couples to postpone having children.
The Indian population stands at about 1.2 billion people and the demographic is proportionally young with more than half that number under 25 years old, the New York Times reports. In order to keep its population an asset to the country’s growth and stop it from becoming a crippling burden, India’s government is paying about 5,000 rupees (about CAD$100) to couples to wait until they have children, promising that more resources will be available to the child if they wait.
India’s birth rate is 2.6 children per family or 21.34 births per 1,000 people. Canada’s rate by comparison is 10.28 births per 1,000 people and China’s is 12.7 per 1,000. Some economists predict that India will surpass China in economic growth rates within five years because China’s population is getting older and India’s workforce is only getting bigger, the Times reports. India’s population is also expected to surpass China’s within the next decade.
But some demographers say India’s efforts are coming too late and its booming population will soon become a burden as resources resources such as food and government services such as schooling wear thin.
From the Times:
“It’s already late,” said Sabu Padmadas, a demographer with the University of Southampton who has worked extensively in India. “It’s definitely high time for India to act.”
Along with cash bonuses, local health authorities are trying to curb teenage marriages and promoting the use on contraceptives. Since 2009, 2,366 couples in the town of Satara have enrolled in the bonus program, which has been dubbed the “honeymoon package.”
In Satara, the birthrate has fallen to about 1.9 children per family, partly because of the honeymoon package, with many women opting for sterilization after their second child.
One doctor says he expects the majority of the births will come from India’s poorest states, where much of the population is uneducated and malnourished.
“An educated girl is your best contraception,” said Dr. Amarjit Singh, executive director of the National Population Stabilization Fund.
India giving couples cash to postpone having babies to curb high birth rate | Posted | National Post
Jitendra Prakash/Reuters
Jodi Lai August 22, 2010 – 5:18 pm
In an effort to curb India’s high birth rate, the government is offering to pay newly married couples to postpone having children.
The Indian population stands at about 1.2 billion people and the demographic is proportionally young with more than half that number under 25 years old, the New York Times reports. In order to keep its population an asset to the country’s growth and stop it from becoming a crippling burden, India’s government is paying about 5,000 rupees (about CAD$100) to couples to wait until they have children, promising that more resources will be available to the child if they wait.
India’s birth rate is 2.6 children per family or 21.34 births per 1,000 people. Canada’s rate by comparison is 10.28 births per 1,000 people and China’s is 12.7 per 1,000. Some economists predict that India will surpass China in economic growth rates within five years because China’s population is getting older and India’s workforce is only getting bigger, the Times reports. India’s population is also expected to surpass China’s within the next decade.
But some demographers say India’s efforts are coming too late and its booming population will soon become a burden as resources resources such as food and government services such as schooling wear thin.
From the Times:
“It’s already late,” said Sabu Padmadas, a demographer with the University of Southampton who has worked extensively in India. “It’s definitely high time for India to act.”
Along with cash bonuses, local health authorities are trying to curb teenage marriages and promoting the use on contraceptives. Since 2009, 2,366 couples in the town of Satara have enrolled in the bonus program, which has been dubbed the “honeymoon package.”
In Satara, the birthrate has fallen to about 1.9 children per family, partly because of the honeymoon package, with many women opting for sterilization after their second child.
One doctor says he expects the majority of the births will come from India’s poorest states, where much of the population is uneducated and malnourished.
“An educated girl is your best contraception,” said Dr. Amarjit Singh, executive director of the National Population Stabilization Fund.
