Arrival of two baby girls in Uttar Pradesh and Manila marks the milestone
New Delhi, October 31
The world’s population today crossed the seven billion mark with the arrival of two baby girls, one in India and the other in Philippines. That the birth of girls should mark the milestone is good augury in times when there’s greater evidence than ever before to point out that women have a larger role to play in population stabilisation.
As the world welcomed its symbolic 7 billionth babies -- Nargis born to Ajay and Vineeta in Mal, 20 km from Lucknow, and Danica May Camacho born in Manila - UN Population Fund Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin commented, “Given greater opportunities and rights, women make decisions that slow population growth, and this impact is being seen worldwide.”
His sentiment was echoed by policy planners back home, with the Registrar General of India and Census Commission C Chandramauli pointing out that now is India’s best chance of reducing population and sustaining that reduction.
“Census 2011 revealed rapid strides in female literacy. Not only was female literacy more than male literacy in urban and rural areas, even the gap between the two had reduced substantially. If this trend continues, women’s aspirations for smaller families and better standards of living will grow. This will fuel population stabilisation,” Chandramauli told The Tribune today.
Asked how he viewed today’s landmark, the Census Commissioner said it was a “mixed event”. “We must celebrate the arrival of every child but we must also seriously introspect. According to projections, we will cross China’s population in 2030. This is a revised projection. Earlier, we were to cross China’s numbers in 2060. We must work to revise the 2030 projection and push beyond,” he said.
The Registrar General pointed out that current trends in population reduction were promising and if sustained, they could prevent us from crossing China’s population by 2030. “A revision of 2030 is very much possible provided we sustain our gains. For the first time in three Censuses, our most populated states showed a decline of 4% in population growth rate in 2011. Decadal growth rate of population also declined for the first time ever to 17.64%. It had been otherwise rising. Uttar Pradesh, which had been growing in excess of 25% in three Censuses, grew at 20% in 2011. This was true of other populous states. If we sustain these levels, we can surprise ourselves,” Chandramauli said.
Census 2011 trends showed that the population growth in UP dropped from 26 to 20% between two decades; in Bihar from 29 to 25%; in MP from 24 to 20% and in Rajasthan from 28 to 21%.
Chandramauli further pointed out that in 2011, India posted a record high gap in its numbers with China. “The population gap between India and China was 238 million in 2011. In 2011 it was just 131 million. This means we can do well provided we create an enabling environment powered by education and health where couples realise the importance of smaller families. Our strategy must be multi-pronged and the focus should be on improving the quality of people and reducing their quality by population stabilisation,” he said.
The RGI described investments in the education and skill development of youth as critical if the fruits of demographic dividend are to be reaped.
New Delhi, October 31
The world’s population today crossed the seven billion mark with the arrival of two baby girls, one in India and the other in Philippines. That the birth of girls should mark the milestone is good augury in times when there’s greater evidence than ever before to point out that women have a larger role to play in population stabilisation.
As the world welcomed its symbolic 7 billionth babies -- Nargis born to Ajay and Vineeta in Mal, 20 km from Lucknow, and Danica May Camacho born in Manila - UN Population Fund Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin commented, “Given greater opportunities and rights, women make decisions that slow population growth, and this impact is being seen worldwide.”
His sentiment was echoed by policy planners back home, with the Registrar General of India and Census Commission C Chandramauli pointing out that now is India’s best chance of reducing population and sustaining that reduction.
“Census 2011 revealed rapid strides in female literacy. Not only was female literacy more than male literacy in urban and rural areas, even the gap between the two had reduced substantially. If this trend continues, women’s aspirations for smaller families and better standards of living will grow. This will fuel population stabilisation,” Chandramauli told The Tribune today.
Asked how he viewed today’s landmark, the Census Commissioner said it was a “mixed event”. “We must celebrate the arrival of every child but we must also seriously introspect. According to projections, we will cross China’s population in 2030. This is a revised projection. Earlier, we were to cross China’s numbers in 2060. We must work to revise the 2030 projection and push beyond,” he said.
The Registrar General pointed out that current trends in population reduction were promising and if sustained, they could prevent us from crossing China’s population by 2030. “A revision of 2030 is very much possible provided we sustain our gains. For the first time in three Censuses, our most populated states showed a decline of 4% in population growth rate in 2011. Decadal growth rate of population also declined for the first time ever to 17.64%. It had been otherwise rising. Uttar Pradesh, which had been growing in excess of 25% in three Censuses, grew at 20% in 2011. This was true of other populous states. If we sustain these levels, we can surprise ourselves,” Chandramauli said.
Census 2011 trends showed that the population growth in UP dropped from 26 to 20% between two decades; in Bihar from 29 to 25%; in MP from 24 to 20% and in Rajasthan from 28 to 21%.
Chandramauli further pointed out that in 2011, India posted a record high gap in its numbers with China. “The population gap between India and China was 238 million in 2011. In 2011 it was just 131 million. This means we can do well provided we create an enabling environment powered by education and health where couples realise the importance of smaller families. Our strategy must be multi-pronged and the focus should be on improving the quality of people and reducing their quality by population stabilisation,” he said.
The RGI described investments in the education and skill development of youth as critical if the fruits of demographic dividend are to be reaped.
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