00:00This is India. 140 crore plus people living in this country, thriving each and every day.
00:08On my back here, you can see shanties like these, where people not just live, but their
00:14families also stay with them. They work here in big cities, earn their living and only
00:21count their blessings for the next day. Right opposite to these shanties are the big skyscrapers,
00:29the multinational companies that are making this part of the national capital their hub.
00:37Whether it is in sync with what India needs as of now, and can India really stand up to
00:46the expectation of the world with a population as big as 140 crore? Is it possible for India
00:52to make this resource, this big demographic dividend, a thing to their advantage? Come,
01:01let's find out.
01:22It depends on the population. The more the population, the more pollution. So, it depends
01:49on the population.
02:05According to me, it is harm for the country. Like, I can take the example of my hometown,
02:10Muzaffarnagar. There are, if we can take 100% area around 10 years back, only 20% is populated
02:1980% contains the trees and agriculture fields. But now, 50-60% is occupied with the population
02:29within the 10 years and only 40% of the land is available for the agriculture. So, we can
02:36clearly see that the agriculture is declining, population is increasing. So, from where did
02:42we get the food, the wheat, rice and veggies? So, this leads to increase the burden on the
02:49government.
03:09Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. No one had thought that in a country as big as India, this particular
03:14signature of keeping India clean would resonate with the masses. Now, today, we are assessing
03:22the role of India as the world celebrates Population Day. This is something which is
03:27very innate to India, very important for India to take note of and needless to say, staying
03:33standing in the heat of this summer in the national capital of India. One thing is pretty
03:39certain, as you heard many people saying also, that for India as of now, the road ahead is
03:45only to make, create jobs and also empower the younger generation and make them aware
03:52about the merits and demerits of family planning and also taking a holistic approach of how
04:00this population, this big population can be put to practice. Countries like China have
04:04done it before, they have tried implementing one child policy but it has backfired at them
04:10and like many other countries where the older population starts increasing and the workforce
04:15starts decreasing. In India, the situation is different. Nearly 74% of the Indian population
04:21as of now is under 35 years of old. That's as per the 2011 census and if that is the
04:29scenario, then India has the potential and all the chances to convert this demographic
04:35dividend into one of its biggest strengths. This is Pankaj Mishra, signing off for One India.
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