Indian PM warns of ‘population explosion’
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday warned of the risks of an "unchecked population explosion" in the nation of 1.3 billion people, the first time he has raised the issue, and called for family planning measures.
India is the world's second-most populous country behind China with 1.4 billion, and its population is set to surpass its East Asian neighbour by 2024, according to the United Nations.
"It is time to accept the challenges up front... population explosion. It will bring a lot of challenges for the future generations of this country," Modi said in an Independence Day speech in the capital New Delhi.
"We have to think if we can do justice to the aspirations of our children. There is a need to have greater discussion and awareness on population explosion."
The prime minister hailed an "informed section" of Indians who were already having smaller families as "playing a big role in doing good for the country".
India introduced forced sterilisations for men in the 1970s to limit its population growth, but was forced to abandon them due to widespread anger. More than 1.9 million people, mostly women, were sterilised across India in 2017 and 2018, according to the government's National Health Mission.
Modi also vowed to ban single-use plastics. He called on Indians to make an effort to rid their country of plastic waste and raised the possibility of "strong first steps towards bidding adieu to single-use plastic on October 2."
Comments