Page 64 - DECO502_INDIAN_ECONOMIC_POLICY_ENGLISH

Indian Economic Policy

Notes 2.76 crore and 3.97 crore respectively. In this way, while India’s population had increased by
about 12 crores during the first fifty years of the present century, i.e. during 1901-51, it increased
by about 32.5 crore during the three decade period of 1951 to 1981 itself.
3. The year 1921 is known as the ‘Year of Great Divide’. Here, it may be noted that before 1921, the
growth of population was very slow. A decline was caused by famines and epidemics during
the 1911-21.
Distribution of Population by States : Different States of India have different number of inhabitants
with a large gap. For instance, Uttar Pradesh has a population as large as 16.60 crore while Sikkim
has barely 5.40 lakh people. Some relatively large states have a population of more than 5 crore such
as Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat,
Karnataka and Rajasthan. There are other states with less than 5 crore population.

According to the 2001 census, India is the second largest country in the world with
the total population of 102.7 crore constituting about 16% of the total population of
the world.

Growth Rate of Population
The change in population caused by net migration as a proportion of total population of the country
is almost insignificant and, therefore, can be easily ignored. The birth and death rates in India have
followed the general trends indicated in the theory of demographic transition. The following
conclusions may be made for India’s population growth :
1. The natural growth rate of population picked up to reach the maximum at 22.20 per thousand
or about 2.22% per annum during 1971-1981 (and 21.1% during 1981-91). The crude death rate
showed a marked decline in the decade 1921-31 and ever since has been continuously declining.
However, during this period lasting till the mid-1970s, there was hardly any fall in the birth
rate.
2. The stage for the third phase of transition was set with the beginning with the 1970s when the
birth rate registered a fall. However, this has been neutralised by declining mortality. Here, it
may be noted that the growth rate of population during 1981-1991 and 1991-2001 has been less
than that in 1971-1981 which is an indication of third stage of transition.
Density of Population

The density of population in the country is 324 (Census 2001). It is calculated as a ratio of the number
of persons per sq. km. of land area. It may be noted that a country like Myanmar with a density of
population of only 75 has a per capita income of only $200 as against $530 in India. However, Japan
with a density of 349 has a per capita income of $34,510. In this way, the density of population helps
to determine the magnitude of the burden that land is being called upon to carry and to determine
the future potentials of growth in the country.
Inter-State Variations : Generally, the density is generally high in industrially-developed states or in
those regions which have a better climate, rainfall and irrigation facilities. India is an economy where
the agrarian sector dominates and hence the above factors exercise an influence on the density of
population in the country.

Life Expectancy
The occurrence of high death rate and/or death at an early age means life expectancy will below.
However, if the death rate is low and/or death occurs at an advanced age, life expectancy will be
high for a given area. It has been observed that in the last few decades, the death rate in India has
recorded a perceptible fall which is reflected in the rising life expectancy. At present, life expectancy
at birth is 63.87 years for males and 66.91 years for females. We see that rising life expectancy has

58 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY