The Sample Registration Survey’s Statistical Report, released last week had some significant numbers. One, India’s total fertility rate has dipped – it has gone down from 2.0 and now stands at 1.9, as of 2023. The second significant number was that for the first time, the total fertility rate in rural India has reached replacement levels. Replacement level is the average number of children each woman needs to give birth to for one generation to replace the other. There are, of course, wide regional disparities – some States in the country have fertility rates much below replacement levels of 2.1, while others continue to have higher numbers. India’s crude birth rate is declining, while at the same time, the report found an increase in the number of people aged over 60. How is the dipping fertility rate going to impact India’s population going forward? Will some States continue to grow population wise, while others see a steep fall? What does this mean for population stabilization and decline in the future? And how fast is our country ageing?

Guest: Sonalde Desai, Professor at the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), and Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland, U.S.

Host: Zubeda Hamid

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

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