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Fertility Rate Dips Below Replacement Level
Context: According to the 2023 Sample Registration System (SRS) report released by the Office of the Registrar General of India, for the first time, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in rural India has dropped to 2.1, the replacement level fertility. Simultaneously, the national TFR has fallen to 1.9, slipping below the replacement level.
What is the Total Fertility Rate?
- The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) represents the average number of children a woman would have over her lifetime if she were to experience the current year’s age-specific fertility rates throughout her childbearing years (typically 15-49 years).
- It is important to understand that TFR is a hypothetical rate for a single year and not the actual number of children born to a specific cohort of women.
- A TFR of 2.1 is considered the “replacement level fertility.” This is the rate at which a population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next, assuming no migration. The figure is slightly above 2.0 to account for female mortality before the end of their childbearing years.
What is the significance of the Total Fertility Rate?
- Population Stabilisation: A TFR at or below 2.1 signals that a country’s population will eventually stop growing and stabilise, assuming constant fertility and mortality rates and no significant migration.
- Demographic Dividend: A declining TFR, coupled with a lag in the decline of the working-age population, creates a window of economic opportunity known as the demographic dividend.
- Policy Planning: TFR helps in projecting future demands for essential services like schools, healthcare facilities, housing, and employment opportunities.
- Social Development: A sustained low TFR is often correlated with improvements in social indicators, particularly female literacy, economic empowerment, and access to health services, which empower women to make choices about family size.
What measures have been taken by the government to reduce the Total Fertility Rate in the country?
- National Family Welfare Programme: Launched in 1952, this was one of the first such programs in the world. It aims to promote responsible and planned parenthood through voluntary acceptance.
- Improving Access to Contraception: The government has consistently worked to expand the basket of choices and improve access to free and affordable contraceptives, including condoms, oral pills, intrauterine devices (IUDs), and sterilisation services.
- Focus on Maternal and Child Health: Programs like the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) provide cash incentives for institutional deliveries, linking financial aid with better health outcomes for both mother and child, which indirectly influences family size decisions.
- Empowerment of Women: Schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao aim to change mindsets and improve the status of the girl child. Higher female education and participation in the workforce are strongly correlated with lower fertility rates.
- Raising the Age of Marriage: The legal age for marriage for women in India is currently 18 years; although the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021 proposed raising it to 21 years to match the age for men.
- Information, Education, and Communication (IEC): Massive public awareness campaigns have been conducted over the years to educate the public about the benefits of a small family size and the advantages of spacing between children.
