India population - some key finds

Topic : Demographics (Prelims)/ Population and associated issues (Mains GS Paper I)

In this section, we investigate about some of the important features of the population. Again we would be depending upon the Census data for our analysis.

Sex-ratio (or female sex ratio)

• It is the number of females per 1000 of males.
• Sex ratio in India is 940 according to Census 2011. It was 933 according to Census 2001 ie the ratio has improved. (A latest update to Census 2011 has determined the sex-ratio as 943)
• The rural sex-ratio is 947 while the urban sex-ratio is 926.
• State-wise, Kerala records the best sex ratio with a figure of 1084 while Haryana is the worst performer with a figure of 877. Moreover, only Kerala and Puducherry are the states/UTs that comprises of more females than males.

Child-sex ratio 

• It is the number of females per 1000 males in the age group 0-6 years of the population.
• Child-sex ratio in India is 914 according to Census 2011. It was 927 according to Census 2001 ie the ratio has declined. (A latest update to Census 2011 has determined the child sex-ratio as 919) 
• Mizoram with a value of 971 is the best performer, while Haryana with a value of 830 is the worst performer.

The above data implies that, though the sex ratio has improved from the previous decade, it is set to dip in the future decades due to the effect of a falling child sex-ratio. Another observation is the poor sex-ratio in urban areas compared to rural areas. This is mainly attributed to urban in-migration that is mainly constituted by the rural male youth.

Reasons for neglect of girl-child and and low child sex ratio

• Patriarchal mentality prevalent in the society that believes the girl child to be a burden. In many societies, lineage and inheritance runs through the male line.
• Lack of education and poverty, especially in rural areas.
• Exorbitant dowry demand. 

This leads to the neglect of the girl child right from her birth. This has resulted in umpteen number of female foeticides/infanticides in India. This has been further catalysed by

• Small family norm - if every family is to have fewer children, there is a greater anxiety that at least one of them should be male. 
• easy availability of sex determination tests and pre-conception sex selection facilities.

Programmes/policies

• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (Save girl child, Educate girl child) - to address the dipping child sex-ratio and empower the girl-child in the country.
• National Policy for the Empowerment of Women, 2001 and other women empowerment programmes.
• Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 - For regulation and prevention of misuse of diagnostic techniques and prohibition of sex selection.

The following are important initiatives to ensure safety and protection of women

• Domestic Violence Act, 2005
• Prevention of Women Against Sexual Harassment at Work-place Act
• Criminal Law (Amendment) Act - stringent punishment for sexual harassment included in the Code of Criminal Procedure. Age of consensual sex raised to 18 years.
• Nirbhaya Plan - has an important component in ensuring the safety of women in public transport.

Literacy rate

Who is considered a literate ?
Any citizen who is at least 7 years old and who can read and write in any language.

Data on literacy rate

• Literacy rate of India is 74.04 % according to Census 2011. This was 64.8 % in 2001.
• Male literacy rate is 82.14%, while the Female literacy rate is 65.46%.  Significantly, the females who became literate during the last decade has outnumbered the males. But gender gap in outcomes still persists as the data shows.
• State-wise Kerala recorded the highest literacy rate of 93.91% while Bihar, with a value of 63.82% is the worst performer. 
• Again, Kerala tops in female literacy rate (91.98%), while Rajasthan has the lowest value (52.66%)

A low literacy rate has resulted in not so good socio-economic indicators like high population growth, ill-health etc. Moreover the persisting gender gap (that is more than 10%) in literacy has resulted in gender inequality in all sectors. 

Programmes/policies:

• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan - Universalisation of primary education
• Education Guarantee Scheme, "Back to School" camp - for school drop-outs
• National Literacy Mission - or Saakshar Bharath - for adult education ie for those above 15 years of age.

Urbanisation

India's urban areas have acted as the engines of growth, no surprise we witness expansion of urban-settlements.

What is an urban settlement?
The Census of India considers 3 criteria to identify an urban area.

• Minimum population of 5000
• Minimum density of population of 400 person per square km
• At least 75% of the male working - population should be involved in non-agricultural activities.

Such an area is considered as a Census town.

Further, the Government can give recognition to Census towns under a law or statute. It can also declare any cantonment (military) area as urban. Such areas are called as Statutory towns and may consist of urban bodies like municipalities, corporations or notified town-area committees.
According to Census 2011, India consists of 4041 Statutory towns and 3894 Census towns.

Data on urban population

• Urban population in India is 31.16% of the total (Census 2011). This was 27.78% in 2001. 
• The urban population added in the last decade outnumber the rural population added.
• State-wise, Maharashtra has the highest absolute population while Sikkim has the least.
• In percentage terms, Goa tops the list with 62.17% of its total population as urban, while Himachal Pradesh has the lowest value of 10.04%.
• The huge in-migrations to cities have resulted in sprawling of urban areas (with a core and suburbs), otherwise known as urban agglomerations. These have increased from 384(in 2001) to 475 (in 2011).
• Million cities(with a population of more than one million) have become 53.
• Megacities that has a 5 million plus population are eight in number viz. Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune. 
• Mumbai is the largest city in terms of population. But, the Delhi NCR is the largest urban agglomeration if we include its suburbs like Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida etc. 

The reasons for the large urban sprawls are two fold

• the push factors in rural areas ie the poor conditions and lack of employment avenues prompt the rural population to out-migrate to urban areas.
• the pull factors in urban areas ie better employment avenues and living conditions attract the rural population to urban areas.

Concerns:

• Uneven growth of urban areas.
• Institutional and structural failures that result from poor planning.
• Growth of slums that are deprived of legal recognition and hence neglected.
• Deterioration of environment and quality of life.

Programmes/policies

• AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) - An urban renewal mission, (replacing JNNURM) with a special focus on a healthy environment covering 500 cities.
• Smart Cities mission - developing 100 select smart cities by improving urban services and infrastructure management.
• Housing for All or Pradhan Mantri Aawaas Yojana - 2 crore homes to be made available by 2020, especially for the weaker sections in the slums.
• Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission - Providing basic infrastructure and community facilities  in rural areas. This would replace the earlier PURA (Providing Urban amenities in Rural Areas)