India must prepare early for ageing population challenge, coercive controls don't work: Experts

New Delhi: With the Supreme Court saying that laws penalising having more than two children may have lost their relevance, experts feel India has a limited window to benefit from its demographic dividend, and it is closing.

The experts also want India to prepare early for meeting the twin challenge of an ageing population and a shrinking proportion of young people entering the workforce.

Observing that India's total fertility rate (TFR) has dropped from 3 to 1.9 since 2003, the apex court on Wednesday said that laws aimed at limiting population growth have now lost their significance.

"We are of the strong opinion that laws that penalise having more than two children have lost their relevance. The foundation of such laws, i.e., the fear of overpopulation, has crumbled due to demographic changes in the past few decades," the court noted.

Commenting on the observations, Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director, Population Foundation of India, told PTI that India faces the twin task of reaping the remaining demographic dividend while preparing for an ageing society.

It is imperative to revisit the population policy in that context and how it is implemented, she said.

"It means skilling young people, supporting more women to enter the workforce meaningfully, and building social security and care systems for an older population. India's economic future depends a great deal on how well it brings women into the workforce," Muttreja said.

Seema Bhaskaran, gender expert at Transform Rural India, said India's population policy with control over women's fertility and bodies has led to a severe decline in fertility.

"The demographic shift will lead to an ageing population and a reduction in the working-age population. India will have to design social security and health programmes for its senior citizens.

"However, its population will continue growing for some time due to demographic momentum and the working-age population will initially remain large, offering economic opportunities," she said.

Muttreja also said that India's population will continue to grow for some decades, but the change is in our age structure.

"Our projections show the working-age share peaking at around 66 per cent in 2031 and declining thereafter. India has a limited window to benefit from its demographic dividend, and it is closing," she said.

Bhaskaran said India's population policy has instrumentalised women's bodies through stringent measures on various fertility control measures, while entrenched patriarchal thinking has impacted gender responsive policy and planning.

"Further focus on enhancing women's reproductive health and control over the body, with autonomy to make choices, should be the focus of reproductive health programmes," she said.

Bhaskaran also called for population policies aligned with the respective cultural, economic and social milieu of the states.

She said India is relatively underprepared to address the challenges of an ageing population.

"Although the country currently enjoys a substantial working-age population, declining fertility will gradually reduce the proportion of young entrants into the workforce. Simultaneously, rising life expectancy will increase demand for pensions, healthcare and long-term care," she said.

Muttreja said coercive population-control measures are unnecessary and counterproductive, and experiences from countries such as China also reinforce this position.

"Fertility in India declined through choice, not coercion. Going forward, policies should focus on reproductive justice, expanding choice, improving quality, and supporting people to have the number of children they want, when they want and if they want," she said.

On some states continuing to have two-child norms for eligibility in local body elections and government-related benefits, Muttreja said there is no credible evidence that these norms have changed fertility behaviour.

"Fertility fell just as fast in states which did not have the two-child policy. What the evidence does show is harmful consequences. Women, Dalits, Adivasis and poorer families are disproportionately disqualified, and there have been reports of desertion of families, sex-selective abortion and refusal to register births to stay eligible," she said.

These laws penalise exactly the people who have the least control over reproductive decisions, and they must be repealed, Muttreja said.

(This story has not been edited by Mathrubhumi and is published from a syndicated feed.)