India fertility rate slips below replacement, Sanjeev Sanyal urges rethink
India
India's average fertility rate has slipped to around 1.9 to 2.0 children per woman, now below the population replacement baseline of 2.1.
Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, says this could mean fewer young people in the future and calls for a rethink on old-school population control policies.
Sanjeev Sanyal suggests family planning, healthcare
States like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have some of the lowest rates (1.3 to 1.6), while even places like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are seeing declines.
Sanyal suggests India should focus more on family planning, better healthcare, and skill-building to handle an aging population and keep the economy strong as things change.