Over the past few weeks, the debate on population control in India has been re-ignited. Uttar Pradesh, the most populous State in India, has introduced a draft bill that says that those with more than two children will be debarred from government-sponsored welfare schemes and from contesting in elections to local bodies, while incentives for those who adhere to the two-child norm include subsidies to buy land and build houses. Assam's Chief Minister recently advised the minority community to adopt "decent population control measures" and calls have come from Karanataka too, for the adoption of a two-child policy.
Even while data shows us that India's fertility rate is declining, our population is set to grow, and to overtake China by 2027 or earlier. But do we need a two-child policy? Do such government regulations on family size work? How have other countries, especially those in Asia, explored population stabilisation measures?
Guest: Poonam Muttreja, executive director, Population Foundation of India
Host: Zubeda Hamid
