New Delhi: Four decades ago, China introduced the controversial one-child policy in a bid to control its massive population. Now it is planning to implement a three-child policy after the failure of its two-child policy, which was implemented only a few years ago.
Zee News anchor Aditi Tyagi discussed China’s policies over the years to regulate its population on Monday (May 31). She explained why the country, which once propagated the one-child policy, is moving towards a three-child policy.
China is the first country in the world to enact a strict population control law – the one-child policy in 1979. This policy remained in force in China for 37 years. In 2016, it introduced the second child policy. Now the country is going to implement a third child policy, which means that people will be able to give birth to three children. The Chinese position on population control over the past decades has completely changed.
Why does China now want to increase the population?
The first reason is the historic decline in the rate of population growth in China. When China introduced the one-child policy in 1979, its national birth rate was 5.9%. But due to the policy, in 1990 the national birth rate was reduced to 1.7%.
When the second child policy came to China in 2016, it made no difference. Today, China’s national birth rate has fallen to just 1.3%.
To maintain population stability, the national birth rate must be at least 2.1%. This is why the declining birth rate is a matter of concern for China.
The second reason is the decrease in the number of people of working age. For the economic progress of any country, it is necessary that the number of people between 15 and 60 years old be sufficient. In China, the population of this age group is rapidly decreasing.
Over the past 10 years, the share of people of this age has fallen from 70% to around 63%, while the elderly population is growing rapidly.
For any country, aging is not a healthy sign and that’s why these figures worry China.
Why has China’s second-child policy failed?
The main reason for this is the lack of interest in marriage among the people there. Many young people no longer marry in China. On top of that, young people also have to fight for jobs. Given this, the pressure on the government to retire men at 60 and women at 50 has increased.
If we talk about India, the challenge that awaits it today is not to increase the population but to control the population. In 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his Red Fort speech on August 15 that India will face many problems due to population explosion. He also said that those who have a small family, contribute to the development of the country which is a form of patriotism.
Today, when China has come up with a three-child policy and wants to increase its population, India should also look into this and take concrete steps to control the population.
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