The policy positions adopted by previous regimes have left the present and future regimes in an unenviable spot. For decades major macro level policies have been based on generalised, popular perceptions without any regard for long term consequences. For generations multiple governments have poured millions into population control while significant sections of the country, especially areas inhabited by tribal communities, have been left untouched by modern infrastructure. In essence for the last five decades governments have either directly or indirectly placed the burden of population control on the general population while simultaneously ignoring the need to pour more resources into human development. It is not to claim that controlling population is an unimportant part of governance but it requires policy adjustments in other fields of policy making, something that has not been done, and may be too late now to make adjustments.
The sombre realisation is based on the report by the National Family Health Survey, which was based on data collected before the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the report the country’s fertility rate has fallen below the required replacement levels of 2. This trend has continued even after the effects of the pandemic subsided as the birth rate dropped by 1.22% in 2021 in comparison to 2020. The fall of fertility rates should by no means be unexpected given the campaign to control population. But one will be hard pressed to find any policy adjustment to deal with this phenomenon. Two areas that the present regime needs to re-evaluate in this context would relate to social security and health care. As the trend continues, the growth of the aging population will be much higher than the younger and more productive population. This would then require the government to devise policies to combat the imbalance by ensuring social security for this demographic group. Secondly, given the rise in aging population the present and future governments will have to revamp the medical care sector as the population ages cases of non-communicable diseases will increase drastically, requiring reforms in the medical sector. Beyond the questions of policies the governments also has to ensure that more awareness is spread regarding the reproductive health of young women. As more recent surveys have found, every 1 in 5 women in India suffer from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. This not only affects the reproductive health of young women but contributes to multiple physical and mental illnesses of children. Unfortunately given the general ignorance of female health in Indian society this particular issue has received little attention, forcing women to suffer in silence. Given the growing trend of this condition it is essential to ensure that proper and inexpensive infrastructure is created to tackle this problem not only from a fertility point of view, but also from a perspective of gender equality. Thus, it is high time that policy experts along with the government look into these issues in a more rounded manner to ensure that our society does not fall into a demographic crisis.
