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An Overview Of The Viable Impact Of Rising Population On The Economy And Analyzing Population Control Policy With A Special Reference To UP Population Policy 2021 (By-Vidhi Panjwani)
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An Overview Of The Viable Impact Of Rising Population On
The Economy And Analyzing Population Control Policy With A Special Reference To
UP Population Policy 2021
Authored By-Vidhi Panjwani
Abstract
The
world's population has become one of the most pressing challenges in terms of
socioeconomic progress of the various countries. Population is the one of the
core factors which determines basic standard of living in any country.
Increasing Population is becoming a liability on the developing countries
rather than an asset. The present paper throws light on the ambits of
increasing rate of Population in India and their relative effect on the
Economic Development of the Country. The paper analyses the possible impacts of
upcoming population control bills in different states of India. The paper also
discusses the population growth as a constraint to the economy and further
gives some suggestions and recommendations for the Population Control. The
paper compares and analyzes the socio-economic condition of India with other
countries of the world where there is effective population control laws and
policies.
Material And Methods
The
methods used in this research is an amalgamation of Doctrinal and analytical
methods. The researcher has collected data from information such as journals,
websites, newspapers, reports, articles and other relevant sources of data.
Introduction
It is a well-established
fact that resources are limited and wants are never-ending. With the rapid
increase in Population, these resources will be consumed by a greater number of
people keeping in mind the fact that the number of resources present is the
same. Accordingly, the number of natural resources reserved for each individual
will decrease and will also lead to starvation, war and diseases. The problem
of Increasing Population is now handled by various countries by enacting the
Population Control laws which set out different policies to combat the
situation. These Laws also have varied impacts on the Socioeconomic development
of that particular country.
Increasing
Rate Of Population
We all knew that the
population is increasing at a faster rate than the increasing resources
available to all of us. With an increase in population, the need for Land,
water and food also increases by default, which directly affects the poverty
rate and living standards as people go deeper in their existing
intergenerational poverty. The Human Population Increase expansion is also a
major contributor to the environmental issues existing all over the world[1].
Causes for this expanding
population may be different in different countries but almost all of them are
related to Poverty, decreasing child and infant mortality rate, immigration,
lack of education, migration etc. There is an apprehension that increasing
population will also increase innovation and will take production to higher
levels but we must not forget that there is an equal or large number of
consumers too and they need more resources to thrive[2].
Coming to India, the
Population is rapidly growing to pose a serious threat to the economy and
society as well. It has become the second most populated country in the world
and will soon surpass China in this race if the percentage of the increasing
population remains the same. This also has various effects such as lack of
water, lower life expectancy, extinction of wildlife animals, climate change
and the list go on.
Population
And Its Effect On Economy
This is simple and very
clear from ages that as soon as the population will increase, consumers will
increase and automatically the supply will increase in the market. Also, the
growing population tends to make innovations and technology. We must remember
that the birth rate is directly proportional to the number of parents investing
in their education, lifestyle, big homes to ensure the comfort and privacy of
their children and this all have a positive effect on the economic growth of a
country. Because as the population increases, so does the sales of products and
services.
But not to forget that
the broader view of the growing population is completely different. The
increasing rate of population hinders the economic development in many ways
such as:
- With an increase in population, there is
overusing of natural resources which are limited on earth. In a case where
people are more dependent on agriculture for their livelihood, there is a
declining area of cultivable land available to each family as we know that
land supply is inelastic. Also, the fertility of soil may decline at one
point in time or another and this is again a problem in growing crops
efficiently.
- In counties where the development is still in
process, a large number of people reside in rural areas and their main
occupation is agriculture and its related activities. And all members of
the family get themselves occupied on the same piece of land even when
there is no need for more people. This is what is known as Disguised
Unemployment and also declines the per capita productivity as an effect of
the same.
- The problem of growing Population further retards
the Capital formation. Per capita income declines with a rise in the
number of populations as now parents have the responsibility to nourish
more children with the same income. This leads to a condition of low
savings and consequently low investment.
- The problem of unemployment and under-employment
is also one of the disadvantages of the increasing population. With the
growing population, there is pressure to expand jobs in the country. This
also reduces income and investment. And as a result, capital formation
gets retarded and employment possibilities are reduced.
- Not only these but also various other problems
occur as a result of Overpopulation. Some of these are Inadequate
rainfall, high child mortality rate, extreme poverty, loss of ecosystems,
deforestation, increased pollution, countless airborne diseases
A Brief About China’s Population Control Policy
To
boost the economy and living standards, China implemented the one-child policy
in 1979. In addition to it, it also provides birth control programs and various
economic incentives to parents with fewer children. In 2016, China abolished
this policy and allowed couples to have two children to overcome the ageing
problem and gender imbalance in the country.
The
situation remained the same and China continued observing the sharp decline in
its population. One of the main reasons for such decline was the developed
mindset in the couples to have one child only, due to several reasons or we can
say consequences of on child policy implemented for decades. There was
workplace discrimination and women still have to face the consequences of their
maternity choices. Although, there are various laws to curb this discrimination
but they take a lot of time to provide justice.
UP Population (Control, Stabilization, And Welfare) Draft
Bill, 2021
The
Draft was released by Law Commission on 11th July 2021. The main aim of the
draft bill is to control population, Affordability of better and quality sexual
and reproductive health and related facilities, to promote sustainable
development with equitable distribution, to decline the percentage of gross
fertility rate and for the welfare of its population.
As
per the draft bill, the policy of two children will be implemented in the state
and the violators will be debarred from competing in local body elections,
applying in all kinds of Governments jobs, receiving government subsidies and
limit of ration card units up to four.
Besides
all the disincentives, there are incentives too for public servants who will
adopt the two-child policy. Incentives such as two additional increments,
maternity and paternity leave for 12 months, three per cent increase in the
employer’s contribution fund under the national pension scheme, free health
care and insurance services to spouse and rebate on charges of water,
electricity, house tax etc.
Advantages:
- Quality Education: The right to education is
guaranteed as one of the fundamental rights in the Indian Constitution.
The main objective is to provide quality education and not just education
to the students who cannot afford to go to private schools and pay a hefty
amount of fees. Poverty and education are directly proportional to each
other in the case of
a
country like India, where people below the poverty line generally don’t spend
on their children’s education, especially in the case of girls. With the
implementation of this draft bill, people will spend more on the education of
the children considering the fact that they will have only two children to
spend their income and savings on.
- Environment: With the decrease in
Population, there will also be a decrease in pollution levels in the
state. Article 48 (A) of the Indian Constitution also imposes the duty on
the state to protect the environment[3].
Rising Population and Environment are directly linked with each other. As
soon as the population rises, there is an increase in the cutting of trees
due to more consumption and will expose people to all kinds of pollution.
Disadvantages
- Low female-to-male ratios: A long term effect of this
Draft bill in human diversification can be a skewed sex ratio. With each
passing year, the number of girls in India is declining. In a country like
India, where people still are of the patriarchal mindset, where without
such restriction on no. of children per couple is not prevalent, even then
there exists massive discrimination based on gender and leads to
sex-selective abortion. Restricting the couples will lead to female
foeticide as demand for boys in both urban and rural is well documented[4].
The Two child policy will increase the already existing imbalance between
sex ratios.
- Violation of Reproductive
Rights: This
policy will lead to the violation of a woman’s freedom to make decisions
related to her body. As in the case of Suchita Srivastava & Anr. V.
Chandigarh Administration, the Supreme court observed that women have the
right to make reproductive decisions related to them. It is also an
integral part of their Right to personal liberty guaranteed under Article
21 of the Indian Constitution[5].
This draft bill provides the public servants with multiple incentives who
will adopt this policy and hence it will exert an influence on their Right
to Reproductive freedom.
- No Significant increase in
Natural Resources: The rich always consume more of the natural resources
than the poor section of society.
And
if the proposed draft bill is implemented, then there will be no significant
increase as rich people will continue consuming that number of resources with
the use of money in hand. So, the only change this policy aims at is to reduce
the number of poor families in India.
- Poor People will become Poorer: Nowadays, it is observed that
educated couples give birth to fewer children. It is generally the poor
people who have three or more children. And so, denying them subsidies and
other benefits of government welfare schemes will push them deep into
poverty and will give rise to hunger deaths even.
- Effect on the economic
development of the country: This proposed legislation will increase the poverty in
the country and will result in problems such as low standard of living,
less investment, less saving and hence, a decrease in per capita income of
the people.
Suggestions
And Recommendations To Overcome The Problem Of Population Explosion
- Raising Awareness: Awareness is the most important
step which must be taken to curb the rising population. Government must
take steps to aware people living in rural areas, illiterate people about
family planning and other benefits of having not more than two children.
- Empowering and Educating
woman: Education
has a strong motivational impact in controlling the issue of
overpopulation. They must be taught the advantages of a small family so
that they develop an understanding of having not more than two children
after getting married. Women living in male-dominated societies do not get
access to education in their childhood and are pressurized to have three
or more children after the marriage. More and more women must be empowered
to take their reproductive decisions themselves.
- Promoting Family Planning: Family Planning involves
planning the number of children, and the period between two children. It
is done with the help of various contraception methods. Family planning
not only helps the couples in having the desired number of children but
also help in improving the mother’s health and contribute significantly to
the social and economic development of the country.
- Economic Development: China had seen economic progress
with the increasing population. Also, if the people in India, are made
aware of the fact that even they can become rich and enjoy all luxuries enjoyed
by wealthier sections of society. This will also ingrain a thought in them
that if they give birth to one or two children, then their way to becoming
rich will be achieved sooner.
- Adoption should be also
prioritized: There are many children who don’t have
parents or any guardian to take care of them. If adopted they can get
better education and upbringing and will also stabilized the problem of
rising population.
Some
other Suggestions are as follows:
·
Investment in Health Infrastructure and
services: to reduce child and infant mortality rate.
·
Focusing more on Socio-economic issues.
·
Focusing on Gender equity.
·
Increasing the standard of living pf people.
Conclusion
In
India, the population is rising at a level higher than the resources and it’s
the high time, people of India must be made aware about the self-control
methods and the need to control population.
The
government should also focus on improving the health of children and especially
the maternal health, nutrition, education. Through these steps, not only we’ll
move forward with stabilization of the population but also the quality of the
population will be improved which can surely help the economy of the country in
the longer run. Despite the various efforts taken by the government, the issue
is still the same and more serious. And to combat such a problem we must take
measures at an individual level too.
Bibliography
·
The
Constitution of India, 1950
·
Flavia
Agnes, Law and Gender Inequality – The Politics of Women’s Rights in India,
Oxford University Press.
·
THE
UTTAR PRADESH POPULATION (CONTROL, STABILIZATION AND WELFARE) BILL, 2021.
·
Vidhi
Panjwani, Death in womb- Female foeticide, SBHAMBHRIADVOCATES, (July 24, 2021) https://www.sbhambriadvocates.com/post/death-in-womb-female-foeticide.
·
Ecavo, Overpopulation: The Causes, Effects
and Potential Solutions, (July 28,2021)https://ecavo.com/overpopulation-causes-effects-solutions/.
·
Puja Mondal, Population Growth:
Characteristics and Explosion of Population Growth, (July 28,2021)
https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/population/population-growth-causes-characteristics-and-explosion-of-population-growth/9968
Article Information
An Overview Of The Viable Impact Of Rising Population On The Economy And Analyzing Population Control Policy With A Special Reference To UP Population Policy 2021 (By-Vidhi Panjwani)
Authors: Vidhi Panjwani
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2022/08/20
- Volume 2
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Access Open Access
- License CC 4.0
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