Impact of Indian Population Growth on Economic Development

http://www.shanlaxjournals.com 19 £UP® Shanlax International Journal of Arts, Science and Humanities Impact of Indian Population Growth on Economic Development Ilavarasan Full Time Research Scholar, St Xavier College Palayamkottai, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli Dr. Mariammal Assistant Professor, Department of BBA Sadakathullah Appa College Rahmath Nagar, Tirunelveli Manonmaniam Sundaranar University Tirunelveli Abstract The labour force is resourced by the population. The size of the labour force will increase with population size. Nothing can be produced by labour alone. A labour force is a productive asset for a nation if other resources needed for production are also accessible in adequate amounts. A high labour force may impede quicker economic expansion if other resources are not accessible in adequate amounts. Some nations, especially those in development, experience rapid population increase. The population of the globe is expanding by 83 million people year, while 57 billionaires own 70% of the country’s wealth. The mediumvariant estimate states that the world’s population will reach 8.6 billion in 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050, and 11.2 billion in 2100. Growing numbers of people have a detrimental impact on the economy, driving up expenses and decreasing savings, which hurts the middle class and working class. Overpopulation is a primary cause of poverty in developing nations. It also fuels issues with capital formation, unemployment, food scarcity, low per capita income, high levels of stress, social unrest, economic insecurity, and social instability as well as increased environmental pressure and societal instability. This paper provides a theoretical review of the process for population increase and Indian economic development in order to enable human flourishing in a globalised environment. India is facing several significant challenges, one of which is congestion, which has subsided as a consequence of government measures. Keywords: Population, Capital formation, Unemployment, Food Scarcity, Economic Insecurity. Introduction Population growth is one of the main concerns of this world because the human population isn’t a static factor. Rather, it’s growing at a really alarming rate. In spite of the increasing world population, the resources of the world remain constant. Thus, the power to take care of sustainable development is becoming a serious challenge to mankind today. Human increase is the increase in the number of people in a particular area. There has been a decrease in the death rate over the past 200 years due to the changes in public health and sanitation. The advent of antibiotics and vaccines has led to a decrease in the chances of infections in humans. Urbanization and advancements in agriculture have also led to a rise in population. ©»º: 13 ]Ó¨¤uÌ: 2 ©õu®: ö\¨h®£º Á¸h®: 2025 P-ISSN: 2321-788X E-ISSN: 2582-0397 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/ zenodo.17310712 20 £UP® kupah fiy kw;Wk; mwptpay; (kfspu;) fy;Y}up> jpUney;Ntyp gz;ila tuyhWk; jkpou; gz;ghLk; Human capital is a key element of growth, as demonstrated by the histories of all industrialized nations. This is essentially supported by the observation that the availability of human capital determines the resources needed for economic progress. In addition, economies of scale, the potential for a larger market for domestically produced goods, and the new perspectives, ideas, and inventiveness that younger people offer in contrast to the elderly population are all advantages of population increase. However, the growth of a nation may also be negatively impacted by population increase. Regarding the relationship between a country’s population and its economic progress, there are essentially three schools of thought. One is against the beneficial effects on economic growth. Secondly, endorsing the detrimental impact of economic growth. Third, they think there is no connection between population expansion and economic progress. One of the most contentious topics on the planet is how the rate of population growth affects economic progress. Numerous ideas demonstrate that an increase in population has a detrimental impact on a nation’s ability to flourish economically and politically. Population increase is reduced by empowering women and enhancing health. According to at least one economist, the main cause of environmental harm is population expansion. Conversely, the true issue isn’t a lack of people but rather what that population is doing. Population Growth Definition Population Growth can be defined as the increase in the number of people in a given area. Population growth can be measured in a neighborhood, country, or even global level! You can imagine how difficult it may be for each country to accurately count its population. The United States counts its population with a census — an official count of the population in the country. The census occurs once every 10 years and provides valuable information for the United States government. Initially, the census was used to allocate the proper amount of representatives that each state gets elected to Congress. Now, the census is used for a variety of reasons that can include planning infrastructure, distributing government funds, and drawing district lines. The population has grown quite a bit since the United States was founded — but the rate of growth has declined. The 1800s saw a growth rate of about 3% each year. Today, that number is 1%. Objectives of my Study · To study the population growth and economic development. · To examine the types of population growth and population fluctuation. Methodology The present study is primarily based totally on completely secondary reasserts of statistics. The assets had been gathered from numerous books, journals, authorities, reports, and websites. The secondary reasserts of statistics are specifically together with a literature survey, peer-reviewed articles and studies papers, and authorities posted documents. Factors that Influence Population Fluctuation The fluctuations within the population during a given area are influenced by four major factors, which include the following: Natality it’s the number of births during a given period of your time during a population Mortality It is defined as the number of deaths that takes place in a population at a given period of time. Immigration it’s defined to be the number of people who come from another population and increase the population in consideration during a period of time. Emigration it’s defined as the number of people from a population who leave the habitat and attend a special habitat at a given period of time. Thus, it’s clearly visible that the two factors Natality (N) and Immigration (I) increase a population, thus increasing population whereas, Mortality (M) and Emigration (E) decrease the http://www.shanlaxjournals.com 21 £UP® Shanlax International Journal of Arts, Science and Humanities population. The population density (Pt) at a given point of time is often given as: Pt = P0 + (N + I) – (M + E) Where P0 is the initial population density. Two Growth Models Which Describe the Essential Growth Trend During a Population. Exponential Growth In a perfect condition where there’s a vast supply of food and resources, the increase will follow an exponential order. Consider a population of size N and birth rate represented as b, death rate as d, Rate of change of N are often given by the equation. dN/dt = (b-d) x N Logistic Growth This model defines the concept of ‘survival of the fittest’. Thus, it considers the very fact that resources in nature are exhaustible. The limit of resources beyond which it cannot support any number of organisms can be defined as the carrying capacity. The carrying capacity can be represented as K. The availability of limited resources cannot show exponential growth. As a result to which the graph will have a lag phase, followed by an exponential phase, then a declining phase and ultimately an asymptote. This is referred to as Verhulst-Pearl Logistic Growth and is represented using the equation: dN/dt = rN((K-N) /K) Population Growth and Economic Development Economists have been interested in the effects of population expansion on economic development ever since Adam Smith wrote in The Wealth of Nations. “Every nation’s annual labour is the fund which originally supplies it with all the necessaries and conveniences of life,” wrote Adam Smith. The only people who raised the alarm about how population growth would affect the economy were Malthus and Ricardo. But their fears have proved unfounded because population growth in Western Europe has led to its rapid industrialization. It is sometimes said that a growing population helps in economic development by providing an expanding markets for goods. But that is an erroneous notion. Actually over-population retards economic progress. Population growth hampers the economic development in many ways. Over use of Narural Resource The nation’s natural resources are often overused in areas with rapid population increase. This is especially true in areas where the vast majority of people rely on agriculture as their primary source of income. A growing population causes agricultural holdings to shrink and become less profitable to farm. Using additional land will not increase agricultural output in any way. As a result, a large number of households still experience poverty. In actuality, India’s population grew from 102.7 crore in 2001 to 121.01 crore in 2011, putting future generations’ well-being at risk due to exploitation of the land. Percapita Income Population expansion has a negative impact on per capita income. There are three main reasons that population expansion tends to slow down per capita income: Because there is less of the cooperative factor to enhance their supply, it increases the pressure of population on the land, raises the costs of consumer items, and decreases the accumulation of capital because expenses rise with the number of family members. If there are more children in the population overall, the negative impacts of population increase on per capita income will be more pronounced. As a result, having a big child population places a significant strain on the economy because these kids just consume, not contribute to the national output. Agricultural Development Most people in developing nations like India reside in rural regions. Their primary employment is agriculture. Therefore, the land-to-person ratio is spread with population increase. Because the availability of land is not elastic, population pressure on the land increases. In addition to decreasing per capita production further, it increases disguised unemployment. The incomes of landless workers decrease as their numbers rise. Low productivity per capita so lessens the inclination to spend and save. This makes it impossible to employ newer 22 £UP® kupah fiy kw;Wk; mwptpay; (kfspu;) fy;Y}up> jpUney;Ntyp gz;ila tuyhWk; jkpou; gz;ghLk; technologies or make other advancements on land. Agriculture’s capital formation is negatively impacted, and the economy is brought down to a subsistence level. Acute food supply shortages make feeding the world’s population a severe concern. Capital Formation Population expansion impedes the creation of capital. The per capita available income decreases with population growth. With the same money, people must feed more children. It entails higher consumption costs, a decline in savings—which are already low—and a corresponding increase in investment levels. In addition, a population that is expanding quickly due to a loss of income, savings, and investments forces individuals to employ outdated technologies, which further slows down the creation of capital. Employment A population that is growing quickly causes widespread unemployment and underemployment in the economy. The ratio of workers to the overall population rises as the population grows. But employment expansion is not feasible without supplementary resources. As a result, as the labour force grows, so do unemployment and underemployment. A population that is growing quickly lowers investment, savings, and income. As a result, work prospects decrease and capital development is slowed, which raises unemployment. Moreover, complementary elements available per worker decrease when the labour force grows relative to land, money, and other resources. Unemployment rises as a result. Environment Damage to the environment results from rapid population increase. Due to a lack of space and a fast growing population, many people are forced to live in environmentally delicate locations like tropical woods and slopes. It causes excessive grazing and forest clearing for farming, which seriously harms the ecosystem. In addition, the pressure of population expansion compels individuals to buy more food for their animals and themselves. They over cultivate the semi-arid regions as a result. In the long term, this causes desertification since the land will stop producing anything. Furthermore, a big number of people migrate to metropolitan regions with industrialization as a result of high population expansion. Cities and towns suffer from severe air, water, and noise pollution as a result. Social Infrastructure A population that is expanding quickly requires significant expenditures in social infrastructure and takes funds away from assets that may be used for direct productivity. It is not feasible to provide housing, transportation, health, and educational services to the full population due to resource constraint. Everywhere there is overcrowding. Consequently, the calibre of these services declines. It takes enormous financial resources to provide these social infrastructures. Types of Population There are Different Types of Population Finite Population The finite population is also known as a countable population in which the population can be counted. In other words, it is defined as the population of all the individuals or objects that are finite. For statistical analysis, the finite population is more advantageous than the infinite population. Examples of finite populations are employees of a company, potential consumer in a market. Infinite Population The infinite population is also known as an uncountable population in which the counting of units in the population is not possible. Example of an infinite population is the number of germs in the patient’s body is uncountable. Existent Population The existing population is defined as the population of concrete individuals. In other words, the population whose unit is available in solid form is known as existent population. Examples are books, students etc. Hypothetical Population The population in which whose unit is not available in solid form is known as the hypothetical http://www.shanlaxjournals.com 23 £UP® Shanlax International Journal of Arts, Science and Humanities population. A population consists of sets of observations, objects etc that are all something in common. In some situations, the populations are only hypothetical. Examples are an outcome of rolling the dice, the outcome of tossing a coin. Suggestations to Control Population Explosion · Raising the income rate is the most effective way to reduce the population rate. · Encouraging postponed weddings. · Promoting female employment and education. · Providing family planning options through various channels in rural, semi-urban, and metropolitan settings. · The government need to offer rewards and incentives to those who embrace and advocate for family planning practices. · The Indian government has passed several legislation pertaining to family planning, education about child labour, and raising the legal age of female marriage. The government need to enact laws and take severe action against anyone who disobey them. · “Family planning” refers to having children by choice rather than by accident. · Opportunities for economic growth must be distributed more fairly. · To lower the newborn and child mortality rate, invest in health infrastructure. · Social consensus for small family norm is promoted. Conclusion The above analysis shows that high growth rate of population has slowed down the pace of economic development in the developing countries. On the basis of above argument my hypothesis holds true that population growth is constraint for development. It is found that the fast increasing population makes the task of absorbing the labor force in productive activities all the more difficult. So large increase in population is more a liability than an asset in the developing countries. It has also been also examined that increasing demand for agricultural land, firewood, dwelling units’ etc. results in deforestation which adversely affects soil fertility, causes floods and affects the climate. It can be concluded large size of population and its fast rate of growth increases the consumption needs. This increases consumption expenditure. So saving rate and capital formation does not increase much. A part of resources mobilized by such economies are eaten away by fast growing population. Despite this conclusion I want to express that the correlation between population growth and economic development could be favorable only when increasing population is proportionate to resources available in country and resources are to be exploited in its full capacity, in effective and efficient manner by the skillful, talented human resources in the countries like India. Reference 1. Agarwal, S.N.- India’s Population Problems, 1974. 2. Jhingan, M.L. – Demography, Vrinda Publications (P) Ltd. 3. Mamoria, C.B.- Growth of Population in India. 4. JOURNALPratiyogita DarpanIndian Economy. 5. PUBLISHED BY INDIAN GOVERNMENTIndian Census 2001 and 2011. 6. Prof. Trusha P. Gajjar “Effects of population growth on economic development in developing countries” IJIRMPS | Volume 5, Issue 2, 2017 ISSN: 2349-7300. 7. https://www.vedantu.com/biology/ introduction-to-population-growth 8. Our World in Data, Population, 18002021, https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/ population-since-1800?time=earliest.. latest&country=~USA 9. https://byjus.com/biology/an-introduction-topopulation-growth/ 10. https://openbooks.lib.msu.edu/isb202/chapter/ population-growth/ 11. https://byjus.com/maths/population-andsample/