NEW DELHI: Sounding a note of caution, the Economic Survey Thursday said India is set to witness a sharp slowdown in population growth over the next two decades, and suggested raising retirement age and merging schools as there would be less children.
Although the country as a whole will enjoy the ‘demographic dividend’ phase, some states will start transitioning to an ageing society by the 2030s, as per the Economic Survey 2018-19, presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
“It will surprise many readers to learn that population in the 0-19 age bracket has already peaked due to sharp declines in total fertility rates (TFR) across the country,” it said.
At present, TFR of 2.1 children per woman is called the replacement level fertility, which is the average number of children a woman would need to have in order for the population to replace itself.
The southern states, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal and Maharashtra now have fertility rates well below the replacement rate. TFR in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are above the replacement rate but are also experiencing significant declines. (AGENCIES)
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