India needs national policy on population control, says RSS

India needs a population control policy to tackle the demographic challenges in the next 50 years, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has reiterated.

“The Sangh has already passed a proposal keeping an eye on the future of the nation in the next 50 years. This nation needs a policy for a longer period for population control. We advocate a national population control policy,” RSS joint general secretary Manmohan Vaidya said at a press conference on Monday.


RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had earlier last year also exhorted the government to come out with a population policy for the next 50 years as the demographic imbalance had become a problem for the country.

"While reimagining the country's development, one predicament comes to the fore which appears to concern many. The rapid growth of the country's population may give rise to many problems in the near future," the RSS chief had said in his annual Vijaya Dashami address last year.



"Therefore, this challenge must be duly considered. A resolution was passed on this issue during the Akhil Bharatiya Karyakari Mandal (All India Executive Committee) meeting of Sangh held at Ranchi in the year 2015."

India is projected to surpass China as the world's most populous country next year, according to the World Population Prospects 2022 report which was released in July this year. According to the report, India's population stands at 1.412 billion in 2022, compared to China's 1.426 billion.



India, which will surpass China as the world's most populous nation by 2023, is projected to have a population of 1.668 billion in 2050, way ahead of China's 1.317 billion people by the middle of the century.