Is the two child policy working In India | Is two child better than one

Is the two child policy working In India | Is two child better than one

India has had an official population policy for more than a half century. Are the goals of this population policy achieved? Critically examine.

Is India ready for two child policy

Two Child Policy has been implemented in China since 2016, replacing the country’s previous one-child policy.

What is a two-child policy

A two-child policy is a government-imposed limit of two children allowed per family or the payment of government subsidies only to the first two children.

Plea in Supreme Court In Favour of Two Child Policy

A plea filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay in Supreme Court has sought the declaration of the ‘two-child norm’ as a mandatory criterion for government jobs, aids and subsidies and urged that the law dealing with the condition for recognition of a state or national party be suitably amended in this direction.

The Plea Lists The Following Appeals

A. The non-compliance of the norm should lead to the withdrawal of citizens statutory rights including the right to vote and contest elections.

B. Declaring of first Sunday of every month as ‘health day’ to spread awareness against population explosion and providing contraceptive pills, condoms, vaccines to economically-weaker sections and families below poverty line.

C. Setting 21 years as the minimum marriageable age for all citizens

D. Implementation of the 24th recommendation of the National Commission to review the working of the Constitution (NCRWC) which proposes to control the population by means of education and implementation of small norms.

E. The two child norm for contesting local body elections has been adopted by state like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Haryana has yielded very positive results in reducing the population growth in those states.

F. People representatives are not only public servants but also lawmakers. Hence they should set an example for others for adopting two child norms so that common people of the country can be encouraged to emulate two-child norm.

Could two child policy save India from Overpopulation?

India’s population currently stands at 1.31 billion and it is expected to surpass China as the most populous nation in the world sometime in the mid-2020s.

According to government data, India’s fertility rate has dropped to 2.3 births per woman in 2016, compared to 3.2 births per woman in 2000.

The average number of children that a woman is expected to bear in her lifetime is called the total fertility rate (TFR).

A TFR of about 2.1 is considered as replacement-level fertility – if achieved, it will lead the population to stabilise in the long run.

Population Policy Followed In India since independence

In April 1976, the First National Population Policy was framed by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Planning which suggested a wide spectrum of programmes including raising the statutory age of marriage, introducing monetary incentives, paying special attention to improving female literacy etc. Though this policy was endorsed by the parliament, it was planned at a time when the Emergency was clamped all over India.

The National Population Policy 2000 provided a comprehensive framework to provide the reproductive and health needs of the people of India for next ten years. It has fixed short term, medium term and long term goals as follows:

Short Term Goal : Addressing the unfulfilled needs of contraception and health care infrastructure. Provision of integrated service for basic reproductive and child health care.

Medium Term Goal : Bring down the total fertility rate.

Long Term Goal : To achieve a stable population by 2045.

Did India Succeed?

India’s national population have failed to achieve their objectives as we remain world’s second largest populated country. The population of India in 1951 was 35 crore, but by 2011, it had increased to 121 crore.

Population Table of India

Year Population Growth Rate
2019 1,368,737,513 1.08%
2018 1,354,051,854 1.11%
2017 1,339,180,127 1.13%
2016 1,324,171,354 1.15%
2015 1,309,053,980 1.24%
2010 1,230,980,691 1.47%
2005 1,144,118,674 1.67%
2000 1,053,050,912 1.86%
1995 960,482,795 2.00%
1990 870,133,480 2.17%
1985 781,666,671 2.33%
1980 696,783,517 2.32%
1975 621,301,720 2.34%
1970 553,578,513 2.15%
1965 497,702,365 2.06%
1960 449,480,608 1.89%
1955 409,269,055 1.69%
1950 376,325,200 0.00%

Advantages of One Child Policy

  1. Control of Population
  2. Job Opportunities : As the number of retirees rises, young generation will fill the available jobs.
  3. Better Life : All attention, love and financial resources of the parents will be enjoyed by the child.
  4. Incentives : For complying with the policy, parents used to get and enjoy some perks such as getting discounts.

Disadvantages of One Child Policy

  1. Forced Abortions
  2. Added burden on Children
  3. Increased Adoption Number : Parents who did not want to abort their second children to either hide them or send them up for adoption.
  4. Transference of Frustration : Parents who had to follow this forceful and stringent policy had kept their frustrations inside and over the years, transferred their emotion to children.
  5. Lack of Skills

What countries have two child policy?

  • China
  • Hong Kong
  • United Kingdom
  • Vietnam
  • India

All the best for your upcoming exam!

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