Demography Of India

• In 2022, China will see an absolute population loss for the first time, and by 2023, when India's population reaches 1,428.63 million, it will have surpassed China's 1,425.67 million.

What Influences Population Change?

TFR: Total Fertility Rate

• In the past three decades, TFR has decreased for India.
• It decreased from 3.4 to 2 between 1992–1993 and 2019–21; the decline was particularly notable in rural areas.
• In 1992–1993, the typical Indian lady living in the countryside had one more kid than her urban counterpart (3.7 versus 2.7). In 2019–21, that deficit was cut in half (2.1 versus 1.6).
• "Replacement-level fertility" is defined as a TFR of 2.1.
• The TFR is the average number of births by women between the ages of 15 and 49 as determined by surveys for a specific time or year.

Fall in Mortality:

• In 1974, China's crude death rate (CDR) reached 9.5, followed by India's (9.8) in 1994, and both countries (7.3–7.4) in 2020.
• In 1950, the CDR for China was 23.2 and for India, it was 22.2.
• The CDR measures the death rate per 1,000 people annually.
• Mortality decreases with higher levels of education, vaccination campaigns, access to food and healthcare, as well as the provision of sanitary facilities and safe drinking water.

Life Expectancy at Birth:

• Life expectancy at birth increased from 43.7 to 78.1 years for China and from 41.7 to 70.1 years for India between 1950 and 2020.
• Population growth typically follows a decline in mortality. On the other hand, a fall in fertility lowers population growth, leading to absolute declines.

What are the trends' implications for China?

• The total fertility rate (TFR) in China was 1.3 births per woman, which was somewhat higher than the 1.2 in the 2010 and 2000 censuses but still well below the replacement rate of 2.1.
• Officially abolished in 2016 was China's one-child policy, which had been in place since 1980.
• However, the UN estimates a 113 million+ decline in population from the 2021 peak to 1.31 billion in 2050.
• A vicious cycle results when there are fewer individuals working to support dependents but an increase in the number of dependents, which is why China's population fall in prime working age is alarming.
• In 1987, the percentage of people between the ages of 20 and 59 crossed the 50% mark, and it reached its highest point in 2011 at 61.5%.
• By 2045, less than 50% of China's population will be of working age when the cycle turns around.
• Additionally, the population's average (median) age, which was 28.9 years in 2000 and 37.4 years in 2020, is predicted to increase to 50.7 years by 2050.

What steps has India made to control its population?

• In the 1950s, India became one of the first developing nations to establish a state-sponsored family planning programme.
• In 1952, a population policy committee was created.
• A Central Family Planning Board was established in 1956, with sterilising as its main objective.
• India's government unveiled its first national population policy in 1976.
• India's National Population Policy of 2000 aimed to stabilise its population.
• By 2045, the Policy hopes to have a steady population.
• One of its immediate goals is to provide integrated service delivery for fundamental reproductive and child health care and to address unmet needs for contraceptives, health care facilities, and manpower.
• An extensive, multi-round survey known as the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) was carried out in a representative sample of Indian households.

NFHS has two distinct objectives:

• to offer vital information on family welfare and health needed for policy and programme objectives.
• to inform people about significant new health and family welfare challenges.
• The Ministry of Education established a Population Education Program with effect from 1980 after realising the potential of education in addressing the issues caused by the population growth rate.
• A central sector programme called the Population Education programme aims to integrate Population Education into the official educational system.
• It was created in conjunction with the United Nations Funds for Population Activities (UNFPA) and with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's active participation.

Way Forward

• Given that the proportion of its working-age people in the total population just reached 50% in 2007 and will peak at 57% by the middle of the 2030s, India has a chance to benefit from the demographic dividend.
• However, creating worthwhile employment opportunities for a young population is a requirement for reaping the benefits of demographic dividend.
• Infrastructure that is appropriate, social welfare programmes that are supportive, and significant investments in high-quality education and healthcare are all necessary for preparation.
• The only way to guarantee that those already in the 25–64 age range be more productive and earn more money is for them to acquire the necessary skills.
• Women and girls urgently need new opportunities and skills that are appropriate for their involvement in a $3 trillion economy.

Climate Change Performance Index 2023

• The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2023 places India eighth.
• India was ranked tenth in the CCPI 2022.

What is the CCPI?

• Since 2005, Germanwatch, the New Climate Institute, and the Climate Action Network have published an annual report.
• It is an independent monitoring tool for tracking the performance of 59 countries and the European Union in climate protection.
• These countries are responsible for more than 92% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• Its goal is to increase transparency in international climate politics by allowing countries to compare their climate protection efforts and progress.
• Criteria: The CCPI considers four categories, each with 14 indicators: GHG Emissions (40% of the overall score), Renewable Energy (20% of the overall score), Energy Use (20%), and Climate Policy (20%).

CCPI 2023: Overall Performance (National):

• No country performs well enough in all index categories to earn a very high overall rating.
• As a result, the first three overall positions remain vacant.
• Denmark, Sweden, Chile, and Morocco were the only four small countries ranked higher than India, ranking fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively.
• According to the CCPI ranking, India is the only G-20 country in the top ten.
• The United Kingdom was ranked eleventh in the CCPI 2023.
• China is ranked 51st in the CCPI 2023, with an overall very low rating.
• The United States (US) rises three places to 52nd, but its overall rating remains very low.
• The Islamic Republic of Iran was ranked 63rd, finishing last in the CCPI 2023.

India's Position: Performance:

• India-plus has been ranked among the top five countries in the world, as well as the best among G20 countries.
• India is ranked first among all large economies.
• India receives a high rating in the categories of GHG Emissions and Energy Use, with a medium rating in Climate Policy and Renewable Energy.
• The country is on track to meet its 2030 emissions targets (which are compatible with a 2°C scenario).
• However, the renewable energy path is falling short of the 2030 target.

Concerns:

• India has updated its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and announced a net zero target for 2070 since the last CCPI. Roadmaps and concrete action plans for meeting the targets, on the other hand, are lacking.
• India is one of nine countries that account for 90% of global coal production. It also intends to boost its oil, gas, and oil production by more than 5% by 2030.
• This contradicts the 1.5° C target.

Suggestions:

• The experts recommended emphasising a just and inclusive energy transition, as well as the need for decentralised renewable energy and rooftop photovoltaic capacity.
• Key demands include a carbon pricing mechanism, increased capacity at the subnational level, and concrete action plans to meet the targets.

Project Unnati

The Union Rural Development Ministry wishes to tie the labour budget for the upcoming fiscal year to the results of the States under the Unnati initiative.

About Initiative Unnati

• The Unnati project is a skill-upgrading initiative established in 2020 with the goal of enhancing the beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA's skill base and enhancing their quality of life.
• The Deen Dayal Upadhyay Grameen Kaushal Yojana (DDU-GKY), the Rural Self Training Institute (RSETI), and the Krishi Vigyan Kendra are three well-known training programmes that are used to prepare the chosen individuals for the initiative.
• The goal of this project is to offer training to one adult household member (between the ages of 18 and 45) who has worked 100 days under the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA in the fiscal year prior to the project's start.

Features:

• The family from which training candidates are chosen continues to get 100 days of labour under the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA.
• According to the project's requirements, the applicants undergoing training are paid a stipend for a maximum of 100 days and for one programme per household at the going wage rate in the relevant State/UT.
• The Central Government bears all costs associated with a stipend in exchange for wage loss benefits.
• Under this project, training will be provided to a total of 2,00000 beneficiaries over the course of three years across 26 States and 2 UTs.

Significance:

• The project's overall goal is to provide rural residents with access to the different possible sources of income so they can become self-sufficient and pursue sustainable development.
• By giving recipients of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA a skill, whether for self-employment or paid employment, it is enhancing their quality of life.

Challenges:

• Performance thus far has fallen significantly short of this 20% goal.
• For instance, 71 lakh households worked 100 days across the country during the 2020–21 fiscal year as part of the MGNREGS, but only 8,658 people received training as part of the Unnati programme.
• Similar to this, only 12,577 out of 59 lakh eligible households in 2021–2022 received training.
• The project's sluggish deployment is also attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic's startling timing.

Nagoya Protocol

The Nagoya Protocol has yet to provide benefits to indigenous populations in Mexico.

Concerning Nagoya Protocol

• A supplementary agreement to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from Their Utilization (ABS).
• It offers a clear legal framework for the efficient realisation of one of the three goals of the CBD: the equitable and fair distribution of gains attributable to the use of genetic resources.
• The Nagoya Protocol on ABS was ratified on October 29, 2010, in Nagoya, Japan. It came into effect on October 12, 2014, or 90 days later, when the fifty-first instrument of ratification was deposited.
• It is supplementary to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD).

Coverage:

• The Nagoya Protocol applies to genetic resources that are covered by the CBD, and to the benefits arising from their utilization.
• The Nagoya Protocol also covers traditional knowledge (TK) associated with genetic resources that are covered by the CBD and the benefits arising from its utilization.

Importance:

The Nagoya Protocol will create greater legal certainty and transparency for both providers and users of genetic resources by:

• Establishing more predictable conditions for access to genetic resources.
• Helping to ensure benefit-sharing when genetic resources leave the country providing the genetic resources
• By helping to ensure benefit-sharing, the Nagoya Protocol creates incentives to conserve and sustainably use genetic resources, and therefore enhances the contribution of biodiversity to development and human well-being.

India Signatory to Protocol:

• India signed the Nagoya Protocol in 2011 and ratified it in October 2012.
• The ratification by India was done at the 11th Conference of Parties (COP) to the CBD, which was conducted in Hyderabad.

Read Also: Biodiversity And Environment