India is the seventh largest country in the world. Its population is growing speedily. At the time of Partition, the population of India was 40 crores.
About 10 crores went to Pakistan and 30 crores remained in India. Since independence our population has increased from 30 crores to 80 crores, which is more than 2Vi times.
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It is growing at the rate of 50 lakhs per year. What will be the situation by the year 2000 is really a matter of worry. By 2000 A.D. it may touch a billion.
The fast growing population is proving very harmful for our country. Indian economy is already in a bad shape. A large number of its citizens are living below the poverty line. Some die of starvation.
It has become difficult to arrange food, shelter, education and work for its teeming millions.
Since Independence the government has started so many programmes to improve the lot of Indian citizens but most of them prove inadequate because of growing population.
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All the efforts made to improve the life of citizens have failed to make any improvement because of growing number of citizens.
When the population grows at a fast speed, there are more persons to be fed, educated and employed. It makes the country poor. Unemployment grows. Housing problems become more severe.
Likewise, food becomes scarce and even health facilities run short of requirement. It is an accepted fact that we must check our population urgently if any real improvement in the living standard of its citizens is desired.