publications

By S Irudaya Rajan, US Mishra

A hurried strategy of reversing fertility trends sounds rather premature and with a high likelihood of having no meaningful effect. The North-South demographic divide has raised concerns over its implication for political representation given the delimitation exercise that would follow after a Census conducted after 2026. In fact, a similar concern was raised during the last Finance Commission when it considered the 2011 Census instead of the 1971 Census for population weightage of states which, in turn, was the basis of financial devolution. Consulted on this issue, we had proposed the inclusion of demographic performance among the parameters to be considered, beyond mere population size, as a way out. Of the 27.5% weightage, population would have accounted for 15% and demographic performance for 12.5%, reducing the explicit disadvantage of the southern states vis-à-vis the northern states. The continuing concern over better-performing South Indian states getting overlooked is now getting echoed in political representation, with fears of a lowering of significance in political power.

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