Demographic change and levels of living

Economic development has to be ul timately assessed by the enhancement of the freedom that people enjoy. Freedom does not always mean political independence but also the socio-economic dimentions that people perceive. The book is concerned with the magnitude of economic freedom of one seventh of the world's population i.e., the poverty-ridden people of India. After 41 years of Independence, India today stands on the threshold of a mighty economic transforma tion. Profound break-through is noticeable in all walks of socio-economic life; yet 37 per cent of its population is still lying below the poverty line.

Excessive population growth frustrates economic development and living standards in India. Demographically its Net Reproduction Rate is 1.51 and its population is increasing by 16 million every year and is likely to overtake China for the dubious honour of the world's most populous nation by the year 2020 A.D. Although more than 76 million births have been averted since Independence, yet the crux of the problem of stabilization of population growth in India is to bring down birth to the level of death rate to achieve zero growth rate of population.