India’s Billion Plus Day: Not Just Numbers, It’s How We Manage It!

Today, May 11 is indeed a day of special observance. On this day in 1999, India was blessed with the one billionth child who would be later named ‘Aastha’. Indeed a landmark day to remember and reckon with. India crossed the billion mark on May 11, 1999. The billionth child – ‘Aastha’ was born on this day, in Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital; a symbolic girl-child who would later go on to live and experience the Indian dream until now, which has been a 24 years journey so far.

It is said that India has 5 million more people than China, as reported in Bloomberg quoting World Population Review in January 2023. The country has, nevertheless, successfully crossed many stumbling blocks since its Independence in 1947 and is currently dubbed as the fifth-largest economy in the world. There are many sectors where substantial progress is documented, yet multiple challenges stare at us, and the aspirations of many young and old, are not fully met.

In the context of the ICPD-94 (International Conference on Population & Development, Cairo- 1994), it was indeed not the numbers alone but more critical has been how the respective governments managed the growing populace.  It is noteworthy that given the advancements made in health services and the allied sectors, life expectancy has considerably improved and so has the infant mortality reduced. The demographic “bulge” of adolescents/youth and elderly populations is largely considered as ‘dependent age groups’, thus dependency ratio is one critical area which needs urgent attention by political and policy leaders.

From ‘Family Planning’ to Holistic Sexual & Reproductive Health Programme

Though India was the first developing nation to have initiated a full-fledged family planning program, it continued to struggle with a galloping population and maternal health issues. From a political perspective, since resources are limited, concerns about increasing numbers are natural. It is apparent that natural resources are increasingly getting depleted with the challenges of global warming. Quantitatively, India houses 18% of the world’s population which has only 2.4% of the surface area and 4% of the water resources of the globe. It is projected that India will be the most populous county in the world with the population projected to cross about 1.5 billion in or around 2050.

The country’s family planning program went through various stages of metamorphosis; this was obvious in the five-year plans. Experiences made it clear that coercion was not going to work well and that a comprehensive and well-rounded program covering women’s health was needed. Hence, the family planning program became the family welfare program and therefore, the second national population policy further integrated child services, maternal health, women empowerment and offering multiple choices in contraceptives. India, along with the other 178 member nations, was a signatory to the ICPD Programme of Action and committed itself to promoting a more comprehensive and holistic policy and program, which must include informed choices for young people, women and men, also giving strategic focus on addressing adolescents with a broad base to cover the lifecycle of women.

Time To Invest in Adolescents and Youth: If Not Now Then When?

India’s programme reflects immense gains made in areas such as total fertility rate (TFR) in several states and yet in some other areas such as quality of care (QOC) in providing an informed-choices framework for a variety of family planning methods to all, including adolescents, or even filling the skills-gaps in the skilled-birth attendants – still looms large.

India has a strong population programme, witnessing consistently falling fertility rates and death rates. Additionally, India is experiencing a demographic transition, which opens the window of opportunity for making gains through the demographic dividend.

The Govt. of India has very well embraced demographic dividend as a strategic tool in gaining momentum in economic development. However, the demographic dividend will not be a natural outcome, as it shall only provide an opportunity, which must be caught on to. Multiple research studies have demonstrated that to accomplish the gains of such a dividend, crucial investments in family planning, reproductive and child health, nutrition, education, youth job training and labour force resources are highly critical. Therefore, India stands at a threshold where it is pertinent to prepare for education, health and skills development of the adolescents and youth that also fulfils the market needs and provides this group of the populace with the requisite information empowering them to make voluntary choices on a multitude of life-skills issues, including about sexual health and sexuality concerns. Needless to mention, the life skills for adolescents and the young populace shall also inherently comprise enhancing their ability to decide how many children to have, when to have them and which method of contraception to use.

Political leadership and policy experts reckon that empowering girls with education and skills (as the data suggests girls with Class XII pass produce 1.7 children, while it is 3.1 for those with lesser education) is the cornerstone of a rights-based and well-informed strategy. As is prioritised by the Niti Aayog under the Chairmanship of the Honorable PM, aptly skilling boys and girls should be based on the market requirements in India, which is crucial. It is noted by the demographers that India needs to prepare well for the demographic bonus as it shall take place at varied times in different states.

It will also result in internal migrations and urbanisation. It is noteworthy that India will also need to prepare for external migration as many developed countries shall have ageing populations and thus, will need skilled manpower. It is highly pertinent for the leaders, population experts and young people themselves to reflect, synthesise and advocate for a more strengthened policy provision of life skills education to adolescents and young people

‘Aastha’s Journey

For the unversed, it would be interesting to know how India’s one billionth child ‘Aastha’ is doing as she turns 24 this year. What were her challenges as an adolescent? Who supported her when she faced these challenges? How much has she studied? What is she doing now? Is she planning to pursue a profession? If, and when she plans to get married? Is she prepared to face her motherhood later in life? How is her health? As was gathered, she is finishing her specialised course in Nursing and wishes to be a change-maker in the public health field.