Revision summary
Extra people strain land and services when growth of jobs is slow. Poverty, child mortality, and early marriage keep fertility high as household insurance. Kerala shows social development can cut births without being the richest state. Coercion without security fails as a population policy. The link is two-way; poverty and gender are the main drivers of increase, and numbers then deepen scarcity.
Model answer
Flow diagram
flowchart TD P[Poverty low female schooling] --> F[High fertility] F --> N[More claimants on land jobs] N --> P H[Health literacy work] --> L[Lower TFR] L --> E[Easier poverty exit]
Conclusion
- Reject either–or: poverty and gender inequality fuel births; extra births then crowd services.
- Way forward in policy is female schooling, child survival, decent work, and voluntary family planning, not blame of the poor for existing.
Growing population has made Indian poverty harder to clear, but poverty, child death, and women’s lack of power have been the main engines of high fertility. Treat the pair as a loop, and break it with health and education rather than with a single cause.
Quick related
Students also ask
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How do you explain the statistics that show that the sex ratio in Tribes in India is more favourable to women than the sex ratio among Scheduled Castes?
Next question in the 2015 paper (Q10). View answer →
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Is population the main cause of Indian poverty?
It is a strain, not the original sin. Unequal land, colonial drain, and jobless growth also explain poverty. High fertility then makes escape slower.
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Will poverty vanish if births fall?
No. Low fertility still needs work, skills, and fair public services. Births falling only removes one pressure.
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More from this paper
Q1 · UPSC Mains 2015 · GS I · 12 marks
The ancient civilization in Indian sub continent differed from those of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece in that its culture and traditions have been preserved without breakdown to the present day. Comment.
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Mesolithic rock cut architecture of India not only reflects the cultural life of the times but also a fine aesthetic sense comparable to modern painting. Critically evaluate this comment.
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