Syllabus: 

GS2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources. 

Context: The latest Sample Registration System Statistical Report 2023 shows India's elderly population is growing rapidly (nearly one in every ten Indians is now above the age of 60), raising concerns over healthcare, pensions, and social security.

Key Highlights of the Report:

• Ageing populations: India is getting older as fertility falls and life expectancy rises.

• Seniors make up 9.7% of the population, up from 8.6% in 2011; 6.4% are aged 65 and above.
• Kerala tops the list with nearly 15% of its population aged 60 and above.
• Bihar, UP, MP, and Jharkhand have the lowest elderly population, around 7–8%. 

• Total Fertility Rate (TFR): India’s TFR had fallen to 1.9, after hovering at 2.0 in 2021 and 2022.  

• 18 States and UTs reported a TFR below the replacement level of 2.1.

• Crude Birth Rate (CBR): India’s CBR had declined to 18.4 in 2023 from 19.1 in 2022.

• In 2023, the highest Birth Rate was observed at 25.8 in Bihar, whereas Andaman & Nicobar Islands has the lowest Birth Rate of 10.1. 

• Sex Ratio at Birth: The sex ratio at birth (SRB) in India stood at 917. 

• Chhattisgarh (974) and Kerala (971) had the highest SRB, while Uttarakhand had the lowest at 868.

• Crude Death Rate (CDR): India's death rate declined from 14.9 in 1971 to 6.4 in 2023.

• In 2023, Chhattisgarh had the highest death rate (8.3), while Chandigarh had the lowest (4.0).

• Infant Mortality Rate (IMR): The IMR in 2023 is 25, less than one-fifth of the 1971 level of 129.

• In 2023, IMR was highest in Chhattisgarh, MP, and UP (37) and lowest in Manipur (3).

• Gross Reproduction Rate (GRR) for 2023 is estimated at 0.9, which means that on average, each woman in India is having one daughter who survives to reproductive age and has children of her own. 

• Rural GRR (1.0) was slightly higher than urban GRR (0.7), which suggests that women in rural areas are having more daughters than women in urban areas.

Reasons for India’s ageing faster now: 

• Falling fertility: India’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has dropped below the replacement level of 2.1, meaning fewer children are being born each year.

• TFR for rural India for the first time touched 2.1 - the replacement rate.

• Rising life expectancy: On average, Indians now live about 68.5 years (men) and 72.5 years (women), with states like Kerala and Delhi crossing 78 and 74 years respectively.

Together, these trends mean more people are living longer, while fewer children are entering the population base.

Key terms 

• Total Fertility Rate (TFR): The TFR denotes the average number of children expected to be born per woman during her entire span of reproductive span. 

• Replacement level TFR: It denotes the average number of children each woman needs to give birth to for one generation to replace the other.

• Crude Birth Rate (CBR): It gives the number of live births per thousand population in a given region and year. 

• Sex Ratio at Birth: In India, sex ratio at birth is defined as the number of female births per 1,000 male births. 

• Crude Death Rate (CDR): It is defined as the number of deaths per thousand population in a given region and time period. 

• Infant Mortality Rate (IMR): It is defined as the number of infant deaths under one year of age, per 1,000 live births. 

• Gross Reproduction Rate (GRR): It is a refined measure of fertility that accounts for future mothers and measures the average number of female children a woman is expected to give birth during her entire reproductive span conforming to the age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) for a given year, if there is no mortality.

About the Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report

• It is a large-scale demographic survey conducted every year by the Office of the Registrar General of India in all States/Union Territories.

• Background of SRS: 

• The Registration of Births & Deaths Act 1969 was enacted to unify civil registration in India.
• Despite making birth and death registration mandatory, under-reporting persists in some States/UTs. 
• To address data gaps, the Sample Registration System (SRS) was launched in 1964–65 (pilot) and fully in 1969–70.

Sources:

Business Standard
The Hindu
The Hindu