Today, India has a population of 1.366 billion people which is second to China, a country that has a population of 1.398 billion people. At the present rate of growth, this small country would only be affected most by the evil effect of the population explosion, especially considering India is doing nothing to fight the rapid population growth. However, China is at least making policies to minimize the population growth. India needs to institute these policies a lot more than China does, especially when you examine the land area that India has, as opposed to China. China has a whopping 3.705 million square miles compared to India’s mere 1.269 million square miles.

India really doesn’t need more people residing there. It’s already at 1.366 billion people and counting, and it’s causing the Indian government great difficulty keeping up with providing its people with public services. India’s population is so high, that there is virtually no more land left in the urbanized cities, such as Mumbai and Delhi, which is causing severe pollution issues, especially factoring the staggering number of people who drive cars over there. The only benefit of the excessive population, is that India has  many young people who can uplift, revitalize, and keep its economy going. However, the disadvantages clearly outweigh the benefits.

Due to a lack of family planning especially in rural areas, more youth are being born in India. The large youth population causes the Indian government to feel the weight and pressure given, to provide adequate and available medical, educational, and social services. According to several experts, it is estimated that because of the rapid population growth, approximately 25 million Indians are homeless and about 171 million indians do not have access to safe drinking water. This number is very heartbreaking and concerning to many, even those outside of India. It also proves that the Indian government really needs to implement a population reduction policy such as monetarily incentivizing people if they have less children and practice family planning. 

The jarring increase in India’s population as time goes by, attributes to people having a poor standard of living and also being victims of malnutrition. In India, most people, especially poor people, don’t have a balanced diet and the standard of living is so poor, which leads to causing health problems such as deficiency diseases or even cancer. The lack of attention paid to the growing number of people residing in India, increasingly substandard or inadequate medical facilities, and the growing lack of financial resources, have all put a damper in improving India’s housing and health conditions. 

The increasingly rapid growth of population in India also contributes to India having an increasingly large disparity in gender composition. Most developed countries have a fairly equal gender index, meaning the number of males and females are fairly equal in other South Asian countries/developing countries. Although, there are more males than females due to the heartbreakingly high rates of female mortality and female foeticide(the killing of a female fetus). Female foeticide and the high rate of female mortality are reflective of social and parental discrimination against girls, thus essentially causing an attitude problem. Many experts on this subject say that the severe gender disparity amongst India’s population is due to societal pressure and dowry demands, more than a lack of awareness and education. 

Curbing India’s population through a legislative agenda or a public resolve will deal with the issues of a high gender disparity, the inability of the government to provide services for the population and deal with its rapid growth. Curbing India’s population will also help fight against a poor standard of living that many Indians face as well as its increasing displaced population.