INTRODUCTION
Individuals are both means and ends of economics and economic development[i]. The population in India has surpassed the optimum threshold and has become a problem. So, the population explosion problems in India have demonstrated a great obstacle to the success of economic planks and legal development. It is implicit that the population of a country has its own impact on the country. Whether it be distribution and allocation of resources or employment, there are serious implications on all such factors. It is therefore important to study the impact that population growth brings with itself.
The rapid growth in the population and the growing number of workers both employed and unemployed are putting more and more pressure on the education and guidance amenities and degrading the value of teaching availability[ii], which is a serious problem that is mounting economies in the current time scenario.
The growing population is pushing the very limits of land. The availability of the land per farmer is thinning at a very great pace. [iii]As a result, the economic progress in the country is badly affected. All such aspects lead the economy of the country towards the depression phase.
THE ILL EFFECTS
As the population increases unemployment rises. [iv]There is competition among individuals for obtaining work and jobs. Some who refuse to work hard end up opting for alternatives which are namely theft, murder, robbery etc. This boosts the crime rate. This has the biggest implication on the law.
Men have increasingly dumped waste into the environment because of its destructive activities. As man-made waste is not processed, it degrades and reduces the environmental capacity to absorb other waste. In addition, waste leads to pollution of air and water. As a result of its destructive activities, the increasing population has increasingly dumped waste into the environment. [v]
Development of agriculture and industry, urbanization and infrastructure expansion combined with population increase leads to the deterioration of the environment.[vi] The degradation of the environment damages public health, reduces productive capacity and contributes to the deficit of facilities and services.
FACTORS PUSHING THE POPULATION NUMBERS
1. Fertility Rate
The most important factor that affects population growth is the rate of fertility. The birth rate is usually determined by the number of kids per child-bearing woman. So, if the fertility rate is above 2, the thumb rule is that there are more children.[vii] If the ratio is lower than 2, on the other hand, there may be a decrease in the population of the area.
2. Mortality Rate
Death or mortality rates are a key factor that affects population growth. As new children are born, the size of the population is increased. The factors influencing the mortality rate provide the accessibility and cost-effectiveness of quality healthcare and lifestyle habits, such as smoking or regular physical exercises.[viii]
3. Immigration and Emigration
The act of families moving from one part of the world to another is cross-border immigration. It impacts both the host and destination countries’ size of the population. When an individual emigrates from a country, the population declines. It is known as immigration once someone drifts from another location to a country. The country which is hosting this person controls that not every person is allowed to immigrate.[ix]
4. Government Actions
Some people around the world, along with politicians, think that a restriction of the birth rate is necessary for some countries-indeed, for instance, China had its commonly-recognized one-child policy. [x]Such a limitation would discourage couples from having more than a limited number of children. The reasoning here is that these restrictions will result in fewer resources being utilized and overcrowding being prevented.
LEGAL ASPECT
Population Regulation Bill, 2019
The government presented the Population Control Bill, 2019[xi] in July calling for disciplinary action against citizens with more than two children and making them deprived of all government facilities. The proposed bill aims at exempting individuals who have more than two children from becoming an elected official, restricting financial benefits and the reduction in incentives under the Public Distribution System (PDS). The bill further proposes that state workers shall not procreate more than two kids[xii].
There has to be the implementation of policies such as the limit of children that one family can have like we have seen in the case of China. This is a serious concern. The issues of overpopulation and efforts to slow urbanization were devoted to great attention in recent years. The quantity of people is increasing rapidly, endangering both the immediate environment and the quantity of human existence.
STRATEGIES TO TACKLE THE PROBLEM
Whether population growth is positive or negative is controversial. The excessive population and continued population growth contribute significantly to the obliteration of life support systems on Earth. Even in the past, people have seldom been explosively affected.
In order to solve many poverty issues successfully, the spirit of knowledge sharing and emancipation of individual women and men is the key. Individual and collective perception at the grassroots level on health care, maternal care and women’s education is the foundation for operation.
The development of strategies helps to address problems in the search for collaborative solutions. Fair and equal access to medical care, sex education and healthcare, and the reduction of undesired fertility is desirable in their own right.
CONCLUSION
Individual responsibility, people’s rights and shared responsibility seem to be the best approach for families planning their family’s size and width. A balance between citizenry and manpower is essential. The choice of available resources should be extended to teachers, parents, community potential investors and other stakeholders, particularly women, and opportunities for gender should be equalized from birth on. The practice of taking proper judgment calls in daily life can be used by teachers, parents, other policymakers, politicians as well as other concerned citizens.
India’s population is very strong and growing rapidly. The need for the hour is an effective solution for controlling the population. We know that the biggest cause of the number of births is continuous population increase. Women continue to be discriminated against by other genders. The four curtains of the house are limited for them. They still are limited to child-rearing and carrying. Women should therefore be offered chances for economic and social development. They should be provided with free education. Education’s spread also changes people’s perspective. Highly educated people are well aware of their health and prevent frequent pregnancies, thus helping to reduce birth rates and controlling the population.
[1] Vatsal Bhargava. 3rd year student of Nirma University, Ahemdabad, Gujarat
[i] Eeva Hellström, The economy is a means to an end, SITRA, https://www.sitra.fi/en/articles/economy-means-end/
[ii] Sarah Murray, How education can moderate population growth, WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, (July 27, 2015), https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/07/how-education-can-moderate-population-growth/
[iii] India’s land availability shrinks to 0.3 hectare per farmer, THE INDIAN EXPRESS, (Nov. 6, 2009, 05:55 PM), http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/indias-land-availability-shrinks-to-0.3-hectare-per-farmer/538182/
[iv] Vatsalya Gaur, Unemployment has increased because of rise in population: Yogi Adityanath, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, (Feb. 21, 2020, 07:46 AM), https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/unemployment-has-increased-because-of-rise-in-population-yogi-adityanath/articleshow/74234856.cms?from=mdr
[v] Renewable Resources Co, Causes & Effects of Pollution, RENEWABLE RESOURCES COALITION, (Dec. 18, 2016), https://www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/pollution-causes-effects/
[vi] Radoslava Kanianska, Agriculture and Its Impact on Land‐Use, Environment, and Ecosystem Services, INTECH OPEN, (July 27, 2016), https://www.intechopen.com/books/landscape-ecology-the-influences-of-land-use-and-anthropogenic-impacts-of-landscape-creation/agriculture-and-its-impact-on-land-use-environment-and-ecosystem-services
[vii] Fertility rates, OECD, https://data.oecd.org/pop/fertility-rates.htm
[viii] Mortality Rate, JOURNAL OF HEALTHCARE AND HYGIENE, https://www.imedpub.com/scholarly/mortality-journals-articles-ppts-list.php
[ix]OPM, Immigration vs Emigration: What’s the Difference Between the Two?, NELSON & ASSOCIATES, (Mar. 2020), https://nelsonimmigrationlaw.com/immigration-vs-emigration/
[x] Wendy Connett, Understanding China’s Former One Child Policy, INVESTOPEDIA, (Mar. 30, 2020), https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/120114/understanding-chinas-one-child-policy.asp
[xi] The Population Regulation Bill, Bill No. XVIII of 2019, http://164.100.47.4/BillsTexts/RSBillTexts/asintroduced/population-E-12719.pdf
[xii] Neetu Chandra Sharma, What can help in controlling population in India—society or law?, LIVE MINT, (Aug. 20 2019, 09:06 AM), https://www.livemint.com/news/india/what-can-help-in-controlling-population-in-india-society-or-law-1566269654978.html
REFERENCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY
Articles
“”The Guardian”; UK Needs A Two-Child Limit, Says Population Report; John Vidal; July 2007”
“Abbasi-Shavazi MJ, McDonald P, Chavoshi M. Dordrecht: Springer; 2009. The Fertility Transition in Iran. Revolution and Reproduction.”
“IMO. World Migration Report 2013. Genève, CH: International Organization for Migration; 2013.”
“Vienna Yearbook of Population Research. 2012;10”
“UN. World Population Prospects. The 2012 Revision. Volume I: Comprehensive Tables. New York: United Nations; 2013.”
“Chakravarty S, Chikkatur A, de Coninck H, et al. Sharing global CO2 emission reductions among one billion high emitters. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2009; 106:11884–11888.”
Books
An essay on the principal of population – Thomas Malthus
The population bomb – Paul Ehrlich
The limits to growth – Donella Meadows, Jorgen Randers and Dennis Meadows
Population control: Real costs, Illusionary benefits – Steven Mosher
How many people can the earth support – Joel Cohen
Other Links
Lee, Sebastian, What Factors Affect the Growth of the Population?, BIZFLUENT.COM, (Jan. 25, 2019), https://bizfluent.com/info-8252744-factors-affect-growth-population.html
This article has been written by Vatsal Bhargava, Third-year student at the Institute Of Law, Nirma University.
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