Economic Challenges of the Next Decade

By

M. Aakash SinghviB. Ramasubramanian

From

Jawahar Higher Secondary SchoolAshok Nagar, Chennai – 600 083

Contents

• Introduction• Population Explosion• Poverty and Unemployment• Infrastructural Challenges• Environmental Problems• Gender Inequality• Conclusion• Bibliography

Introduction

• Economic Growth is the increase of Per Capita GDP or other measure of aggregate income.

• It is often measured as the rate of change in real GDP.

• Economic Growth refers only to the quantity of goods and service produced.

• It can either be +ve or –ve.• Negative growth can be referred to by saying

that the economy is shrinking.• It is associated with economic recession and

economic depression.

Population Explosion

• The alarming and rapid rate of increase in population is known as Population Explosion.

• India is the 2nd largest populous country in the world.

• About 16.87 per cent of the world population lives in India while she has only 2.4 per cent of the total land area of the world.

• According to the latest census of 2001, the population of India is estimated at 1027 million.

• The pace of population growth and the resultant population explosion have necessitated population studies all over the world.

Growth of Population in India

Year Population(in crores)

Increase in Population(in crores)

1901 23.8 ---

1911 25.2 1.4

1921 25.1 -1.0

1931 27.9 2.8

1941 31.9 4.0

1951 36.1 4.2

1961 43.9 7.8

1971 54.9 10.9

1981 68.4 13.5

1991 84.6 16.1

2001 102.7 18.1

20112021

122.1137.5

19.415.4

Ten most Populous Countries of the World

S. No

Country Population

(in crores)

1. China 127.76

2. India 102.70

3. USA 28.40

4. Indonesia 21.21

5. Brazil 17.01

6. Pakistan 15.65

7. Russia 14.69

8. Bangladesh

12.92

9. Japan 12.69

10. Nigeria 11.15

Birth Rate, Death Rate and Growth Rate of Population in India

Period Birth Rate Death Rate Growth Rate

1901-10 49.2 42.6 6.6

1911-20 48.1 47.0 1.1

1921-30 46.4 36.3 10.1

1931-40 45.2 31.2 14.0

1941-50 39.9 27.4 12.5

1951-60 40.9 22.0 18.9

1961-70 41.2 19.0 22.2

1971-80 37.2 15.0 22.2

1981-90 32.5 11.4 21.1

1991-2000 29.2 10.1 19.1

2001-11 26.0 8.0 17.4

2011-21 23.1 6.0 14.3

Causes of Population Explosion

• Expansion of Medical and Health facilities.

• Fall in Infant Mortality rate.• Increase in Food Production.• Ineffectiveness of Birth Control

Measures.• Illiteracy.• Lack of Recreational Facilities.• Urbanization.• Joint Family Systems.

Consequences of Population Explosion

Pressure on Land

FoodProblem

Low per Capita Income

Problem of Unemployme

nt

UnfavorableBalance ofPayments

Burden of Rising

Population

Problem ofCapital

FormationLow Standard of

Living

Consequences of

Population Explosion

Rural – Urban PopulationYear Ratio of Rural

PopulationRatio of Urban

Population

1901 89.0 11.0

1911 89.7 10.3

1921 88.8 11.2

1931 87.9 12.2

1941 85.9 14.1

1951 82.0 17.2

1961 82.8 18.0

1971 80.0 20.0

1981 76.7 23.3

1991 74.0 26.0

2001 72.2 27.8

20112021

69.866.4

30.233.6

Control Population Explosion

• Couple Protection Rate• Infant Mortality Rate• Industrialization of the Country• Increase in Female Literacy Rate and

Education• Late Marriages• Legal Steps

Poverty and Unemployment

• The World Bank has defined poverty as, “the inability to attain a minimal standard of living”.

• Reducing Poverty is one of the major goals of planning in India.

• Unemployment refers to a situation in which the workers who are capable of working and willing to do work do not get employment.

• High Population Growth is a major cause of Unemployment.

Causes of Poverty in India

• Low Level of Economic Development• Unequal Distribution of income• Rapid Growth of Population• Under-utilization of Natural Resources• Illiteracy• Backwardness of Agriculture• Social Factors• Political factors

Poverty Ratio and Number of People below Poverty

LineYears Poverty

Ratio(per cent)

Number

(crores)

1973-74 54.9 32.1

1977-78 51.3 32.9

1983-84 44.5 32.3

1987-88 38.9 30.7

1993-94 36.0 32.0

1999-2000

26.1 26.0

2007-08 19.3 22.0

2014-15 15.4 19.0

Measures to Solve Poverty

• Redistribution of Income.

• Stability in price level.

• Change in techniques of Production.

• Increase in productivity of the poor.

Unemployment

Causes of Unemployment

• High Population Growth• Insufficient rate of Economic Progress• Absence of employment opportunities

in activities other than agriculture• Seasonal Employment• Joint Family System• Increasing turnout of students from

Indian Universities• Slow Development of Industries.

All India Unemployment Rates

Years Usual Principal

Status

Usual Principal

and Subsidiary

Status

Current Weekly Status

Current Daily

Status

1977-78 4.23 2.47 4.48 8.18

1983 2.77 1.90 4.51 8.28

1987-88 3.77 2.62 4.80 6.09

1993-94 2.56 1.90 3.63 6.03

1999-00 2.81 2.23 4.41 7.32

2009-10 3.04 2.05 4.89 7.45

2015-16 3.95 2.54 5.26 8.67

Consequences of Unemployment

• Loss of Human Resources

• Increase in Poverty• Adverse Effect on

Capital Formation• Social Problems• Political Stability• Exploitation of

Labour• Limited Market

Infrastructural Challenges• Energy Crisis : Energy

in a developing country is a basic input required to sustain economic growth and to provide basic amenities of life to the entire population of a country.

• Transport and Communication also plays a very important role in developing the economy of a nation.

Environmental Problem

• Pollution problems• Degradation of ResourcesCauses• Increasing Industrialization• Vehicular Traffic• Presence of Suspended Particulate

Matter• Increasing use of conspicuous

consumption

Gender Inequality

• Gender problem is an emerging issue in the Indian Economy.

• The degree of sex discrimination is very high in India.

• There existed a biological difference between the two genders.

• Therefore, Female Literacy Rate needs to be increased in order to achieve a stable economy.

Conclusion

• Not only India, most of the countries in the world are going to suffer in the next decade because of economic challenges.

• Population, poverty, unemployment, infrastructure are a few of them.

• There are many measures to overcome these challenges.

• The main thing is that the public should act towards it.

Bibliography

• The internet sources are Wikipedia, Indian economy, challenges to the economy.

• The statistical data are taken from the 2001 Census, 2002-03 Economic Survey and World Development Report 2003.