• Recently, Uttar Pradesh's and Assam's state governments have advocated aggressive measures to curb population growth. These would include incentives as well as disincentives.
• For instance those with more than 2 children will be denied subsidy and right to contest in local body elections.
• Several other states and UTs are expected to follow suit and declare similar policies.
• The method used is to restrict entitlement to state government benefits based on a two-child policy.

• By 2026, reduce the total fertility rate from 2.7 to 2.1. and by 2030 to 1.7.
• Increase male contraceptive use from 10.8 to 15.1 by 2026 and 16.4 by 2030.
• Increasing modern contraceptive prevalence’s from 31.7 to 45 by 2026 and to 52 by 2030.
• The maternal mortality rate must be decreased from 197 to 150 to 98 and the infant mortality rate must be reduced from 43 to 32 to 22.

• Age-old cultural norm:Sons are considered to be the bread earners of the families as well as carriers of family's name. This age-old thought puts considerable pressure on the parents to produce children until a male child is born. 
• Poverty: Impoverished families have this notion that more the number of members in the family, more will be the numbers to earn income.
• Illiteracy: Women with no schooling have an average of 3.1 children, compared with 1.7 children for women with 12 or more years of schooling. A woman's health, child survival, and the number of children she has are closely tied to her education and health status.
• Low use of preventive measures:
  • Indian still lags behind the use of contraceptives and birth control methods.
  • Many of them are not willing to discuss or are totally unaware of them.
  • Recognising this, in 2017 the health ministry launched mission Parivar Vikas to increase access to contraceptives and family planning services.
• Early Marriage System: The concept of early marriage still prevails in many parts of the country which prolongs the childbearing age.
• Demography:
  • The death rate continued to fall after independence. But the birth rate continues to remain high by current standards => net addition to the size of the popula­tion.

• Disproportionate share: India has 16 percent of the world's population but only 45% of the world's surface area and 4% of its water resources.
• Surpassing China: The World Population Prospects 2019 published by the United Nation Department of Economic and Social Affairs predicts that India will surpass China as the world's most populous country by 2027.
• Economic cost: Due to child malnutrition, India loses up to 4% of its GDP and 8% of its productivity
• Human capital in India is decreasing due to poor health indicators.
• Environmental and resource crunch: The population growth will irreversibly harm India's environment and natural resource base and limit the opportunities available to the next generation.

• Declining Population Growth Rate: The rate of India's population growth is declining. India's population grew by 17.64 percent between 2001 and 2011 to 1,210.9 million. This was the decade for the first time after 1911-21 India added fewer numbers than the previous decade.
• Total Fertility Rate (TFR):
  • The National Family Health Survey (NFHS), which provides demographic estimates, shows India’s TFR was 2.2 in 2016.
  • Eighteen states and five union territories had a TFR of 2.1 or less in 2016 itself.
  • According to reports, the fertility rate has come down below the national average of 2.2 in southern part of India.
  • Also, estimates based on Census data predict that India will reach a TFR of 2.1 by 2021.
• China's Case:
  • China’s one-child policy, introduced in 1979 created more harm than good despite reaching its goal.
  • The goal was to bring down the population. The policy skewed the population, leaving more men than women.
  • It has not only had to reverse this policy but is now encouraging young couples to have more children.
  • According to many studies, any attempt to control the population when it is already stabilizing is likely to create similar situation, or worse, in the future.

• Anti-poor measure: As poor people tend to have more children, the approach can be termed as anti-poor. Depriving them of their entitlements will have long term consequences on national development.
• Patriarchy:According to some reports, the limit of two children had adverse effects on the sex ratio in our population through practices such as female foeticide. It will only increase the 'missing women' in India.
• Women's and Infant's wellbeing: India's strong 'son meta preference' could lead to an increase in these unsafe abortions affecting women's health and mortality. It will also affect the health and survival chances of the infant.
• Dog whistle: The issue of population explosion has been politicized by right wing to target India's Muslims for their lack of family planning. Data clearly proves this wrong nevertheless it will have adverse impact on social harmony.
• Greying of population: Strong measures could land India in similar situation that countries like Japan today find themselves in i.e. disproportionately high old age population.
• Targets and Sterilization Camps: It may take back India to the times when public servants had to achieve targets of sterilization and unsafe camps were used for this purpose.

• More than coercion, this calls for good governance: Enrolment of girls in schools, checking their dropout rate, keeping them longer in schools, and providing job opportunities will help deal with the issue.
• Change in Social Outlook:
  • There is a need to create social and behavioral change in favor of smaller families.
  • This can be achieved better by cajoling rather than coercion.
• Family Planning:
  • It means family by choice and not by chance.
  • The success of this program depends on the awareness and availability of cheap contraceptive devices for birth control. 

Conclusion:

• There has been a significant decline in India's TFRs across most States. State should tackle socio-economic issues confronting India's mainly young population rather than trying to impose neo-Malthusian approaches to population control.