Why is a growing rural population is more worrisome in India?
In India, the problem is more with its rural population. In rural India, level of illiteracy is very high and unemployment is also prevalent. Rural population is a bigger problem, because they have lower contraceptive prevalence rate. Even if they accept sterilisation, they do it late, perhaps after three or four children. In the agricultural set-up, children are perceived to be assets. High rural population results in migration of labour which overpopulates the urban centres resulting in growing number of slums and unavailability of medical, sanitation and housing facilities. It also increases the pollution level. What further measures need to be taken to curb the population growth rate? Soon, India will be the most populated nation in th world, if policies announced are not immediately implemented. Effective policy implementation is needed, especially in four large North Indian states. There is an urgent need to focus on the following: imaginative use of electronic media to change at
