Bhubaneswar: Population growth is a boon for India because it will fuel the growth of economy, experts said on the eve of World Population Day. However, the population may decline after a few decades as many states, including Odisha, have a low birth rate, they said.
Amarendra Das, an associate professor of humanities and social sciences of NISER, Bhubaneswar, said India is now enjoying a demographic dividend stage, which may continue until 2045.“We are now in Rostow’s third stage or take-off stage. We can become a developed country by 2047 as we would have passed that important stage by then,” he added.
He said the country’s population may stabilise at 2 billion.
“Now, the dependency rate is very low because the population of elderly people and children is less. Maximum number of people are in the working age group and they are productive. They will contribute to the economic growth of the country, and it will continue till 2047,” he added.
Das said population growth is not a worrying trend at all. “In fact, I can say India will have to worry about decline in population by 2047. We need to think about the situation and prepare a policy to tackle it. TFR (Total fertility rate) of 11 states, including Odisha, is decreasing,” he added.
According to National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) data, TFR of Odisha has gone down to 1.8 (2020-21) from 2.1 (2015-16). Odisha’s TFR is lower than the national average of 2. Major reasons for the drop in TFR included increased awareness about family planning methods and a preference of couples to have one or two children.
Manoranjan Mohapatra, a research investigator at Population Research Centre, Utkal University, said population growth is not a worrying trend but rather a natural process with regional variations across the country and in states.

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