Of all the social problems of India the population problem is the most formidable one which puzzles the social scientists and economists. The production capacity in every field has to be increased many times to meet the demands of the increasing population and every year the nation is put to severe strain in stepping up considerably its production capacity. But this is simply impossible and that is why with all the scientific and technological developments and the new farming techniques many do not have enough food, are half-clothed and remain uneducated. Our budgetary resources are scarce and however hard the Government tries to alleviate poverty its efforts end up in miserable failure.
The root of all the problems is this menace of population growth. Once we tackle it skillfully bringing down the rate of population growth and strictly observing the norm of one child for one family, then the economic and social scene of India will brighten.
The Malthusian theory of population growth is that population grows at a geometric progression i.e., a progression of numbers with a constant ratio between each number and the one before as 1, 3, 9, 27, 81 and so on. It is said that production in every field is in the arithmetic progression i.e., an increase or decrease by a constant quantity e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., while production increases, and 9, 7, 5, 3, etc., while production decreases. Now, we can clearly see why the population probkem is an insurmountable problem.
There are Family Planning and Welfare Associations which do wide propaganda on the importance of small families. Incentives are given by the Government to the married men who undergo vasectomy (the removal of the spermatic duct from the testical to the urethra) and to the married woman who undergo tubectomy (the removal of a fallopian tube). Vasectomy and tubectomy control the birth of children. Both the husband and the wife need not undergo the surgery. If one of them undergoes the surgery it helps cntrol the birth of children.
When India attained independence our population was 34.5 crores, but now it is a mind-boggling figure of 105 crores. In just 57 years India's population has tripled. The percentage of population increase is 1.6 per cent every year and this startling increase shows the India overtakes China which is the most populous country in the world. In rcent years China has made great efforts in controlling the population growth. It is said that it has succeeded in bringing down the population growth to 0.9 percent.
A significant reason for the recent uncontrollable population explosion in India is the decrease in the mortality rate. The latest advances in India is the decrease in the mortality rate. The latest advances in the medical sciences have helped to arrest many severe diseases of people thereby increasing their longevity.
India is an overpopulated, underdeveloped country or a third world country. Economists and sociologists say that it is the lack of political will that is responsible for the growing population. A UNO study reveals that on the basis of the Human Development Index (HDI) India ranks as the 135th country whereas China with its vast population and inadequate resources ranks as the 99th country. It is stated that it was because of the political will of the Chinese Government that the population growth of the country has been controlled and that its economy has registered a spectacular growth.
The political will of the Government and a strong social awareness among the people will certainly help to reduce the population growth to a great extent.
