Indian leaders and religious figures are calling for action to reverse declining birth rates, warning of potential consequences for the country's future.
A file picture of a crowded street in the city of Trivandrum in India's southern Kerala state, where Catholics are being urged to have bigger families. (Photo: AFP)have lauded the chief minister of a southern state for raising the issue of falling birth rates in the world's most populous country and urged the government to encourage couples to have more kids.
“A young and vibrant population is an asset for any country and its decline is a matter of serious concern for everyone,” said Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) spokesperson Father Robinson Rodrigues. Andhra Pradesh chief minister, N Chandrababu Naidu, raised concern over declining birth rates in his own constituency and said last week that “India should not repeat the mistakes committed by other countries such as South Korea and Naidusaid. Naidu, who represents the city of Kuppam in the state legislature, was shocked to find the birth rate in his constituency had fallen to 1.5 — below the national average of 2. India’s current demographic dividend could last till 2047, but “if less than two children are born , then the population will fall ,” the chief minister said. Naidu said the decline was “a worrying trend and needed a nationwide discussion on population management.” Many young couples, according to him, were reluctant to have children, prioritizing personal wealth over family growth. “Had your parents thought like that, would you have come into this world?” he said and recalled how “childlessness was once considered a stigma in the country.”due to an aging population. “Naidu’s concern is justified as no nation can survive without a vibrant young population,” Rodrigues told UCA News on Jan. 10. The priest said India still lacks basic infrastructure for education, housing and healthcare to take care of all its people. “The government should improve basic amenities and encourage youths to have more kids,” he said. Father Aloysius Ephrem Raju Alex, deputy secretary of the regional Telugu Catholic Bishops’ Council, with jurisdiction over two Telugu-speaking southern states — Telangana and Andhra Pradesh — welcomed Naidu’s stance on the falling birth rate in states.Alex said it had become a trend among educated, working couples to delay having children. “The Church encourages Catholic couples to have more children to avoid a population decline in the future,” he added. More than 50 percent of India’s 1.4 billion people are below the age of 25, and over 65 percent of the population is under 35 years. A 2022 Federal Ministry of Health and Family Welfare report said between 2015-16 the fertility rate fell from 2.2 children to 2.0 per women.However, in certain parts of the country like Andhra Pradesh, the average fertility rate dropped to 1.5. Among Christians, the TFR fell to 1.88 in 2019-21 from 2.87 in 1992-93, according to a National Family Health Survey (NFHS) report
BIRTH RATES POPULATION INDIA CONCERN GOVERNMENT
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