Demographic dividend or doom? What awaits India as the world’s most populous nation

On April 19, the United Nations declared India is poised to overtake China as the world’s most populous nation, with almost 3 million more people than its neighbour by the middle of this year.

The United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) ‘State of World Population Report’ said India's population by mid-year is estimated at 1.4286 billion, against 1.4257 billion for China - 2.9 million fewer.

The UN data has triggered a debate in India over whether this population will be a boon or bane for the Indian economy. While some say, India is headed for a demographic disaster, others say the country is on course to derive demographic dividend.

As per the United Nations Population Fund, demographic dividend is “the economic growth potential that can result from shifts in a population’s age structure, mainly when the share of the working-age population is larger than the non-working-age share of the population”.
Many in India feel, the population explosion will lead to a fierce contest for resources and increase the gulf between haves and have-nots.