A rock and a hard place
There are no easy solutions for Indian authorities. India’s environmental problems play out against a backdrop of sweltering global temperatures and international pressure to reduce emissions… both of which have to be balanced against providing energy and industry for the country’s burgeoning population.
Indeed, India overtook China’s long-held position as the world’s most populous country last April, having counted over 1.4 billion residents. Looking ahead, India’s population is virtually guaranteed to keep reaching new heights for decades to come.
China saw its numbers fall for a second consecutive year in 2023, as the recent pivot to a three-child policy failed to kickstart birth rates, which have fallen to record lows. India’s population, however, is showing no signs of slowing down — and, unlike China, the US, and several other major economies, its population is actually getting younger, with some 86,000 babies born on average every day in India.
