Volume : 2, Issue : 10, OCT 2016

POPULATION GROWTH – INDIA’S CURRENT PROBLEMS : AN OVERVIEW

Dr. Sudhansu Sekhar Nayak, Dr. Anil Kumar Sahu

Abstract

India ranks second after China in total population. Its population is growing 20% per decade, leading to problems that include food deficits, sanitation deterioration and pollution. Although economic growth numbers look promising, the living standards of most citizens are not changing. Over 30% are living below the international poverty line, and there are not enough jobs to change that condition. The food and nutrition deficit has created a 20% death rate due to malnutrition. Clean drinking water is in short supply, and severe water shortages are common. Sanitation is a massive ongoing problem that the government has been unable to address. For example, 8% of India's population has no access to toilets, and 75% of surface water is contaminated by human waste. Moreover, 60% of India's GDP is lost to health-related costs. China and India are the two most egregious environmental polluters in the world. India uses coal for 80% of its power requirements, and it has been slow to transition to cleaner energy sources. New Delhi and other cities in India are among the most polluted in the world, and car emissions in these urban areas are creating breathing and skin ailments. Therefore, an all out effort has to be made to reduce birth rate through a comprehensive programme of family planning so that sufficient resources are released for the economic development of the country. It is found that in India Poverty it is also the main cause of rapid population growth. Poverty prevents better education and better living standard. Thus, population explosion is both a cause and an effect of poverty.

Keywords

Egregious, Transition, Emissions, Ailments, Epidemics, GDP.

Article : Download PDF

Cite This Article

Article No : 17

Number of Downloads : 533

References

(1) Census Report of India, 2011 to 2016. (2) Economic Survey, Govt. of India, New Delhi, 2014-15, 2015-16. (3) Statistical Abstracts, Govt. of Odisha, BBSR, 2013. (4) Districts at a Glance, Govt. of Odisha, BBSR, 2016. (5) Economic Survey, Govt. of Odisha, BBSR, 2013-14 and 2015-16. (6) Population Total, Govt. of Odisha, BBSR, 2011.