GS Paper-1, Demography [Current National issues and topics of social relevance] for opsc OAS Exam.

Current National issues and topics of social relevance

This part is intended to test the candidate’s awareness of current national issues and topics of social relevance in present-day India such as;

1. Demography & Human Resource Development

2. Behavioural & Social issues and Social Welfare problems :

Child labor, gender inequality, adult literacy, rehabilitation of the handicapped and other deprived segments of society, drug abuse, public health, education, and unemployment.

Sample Lecture from the Author himself.

DEMOGRAPHY

Past Years’ Questions From This Topic.

Explain Epidemiology. [10 marks, 2019]
Write an essay on the impact of demographic change on the population. [10 marks, 2019]
Explain Demographic transition.[5 marks,2018]
Discuss quantitative methods in demography. [ 5 marks,2018]
How can development be sustainable? Discuss three important duties of the citizens of India for protecting nature.[ 10 marks, 2017]
Explain Paleodemography.[5 marks,2016]
Write a note on Epidemiology.[5 marks,2016]
Explain about dynamical systems of the population.[5 marks,2016]
Explain Demographic shifts. Examine the impact of these shifts on Human Resource management.[10 marks, 2016]
What do you mean by Demographic Dividend? Is India prepared to reap this potential dividend in the coming years?[ 15 marks,2015]

What is Demography?

Demography is the statistical study of human populations. Demography examines the size, structure, and movements of populations over space and time. It uses methods from history, economics, anthropology, sociology, and other fields. Demography is useful for governments and private businesses as a means of analyzing and predicting social, cultural, and economic trends related to the population.

Demographic Dividend

According to United Nation Population Fund [UNFPA]( formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities), demographic dividend means,"the economic growth potential that can result from shifts in a population’s age structure, mainly when the share of the working-age population (15 to 64) is larger than the non-working-age share of the population (14 and younger, and 65 and older)"
In other words, it is “a boost in economic productivity that occurs when there are growing numbers of people in the workforce relative to the number of dependents”
India has one of the youngest populations in an aging world. The median age in India is just 28, compared to 37 in China and the US, 45 in western Europe, and 49 in japan.
The window of demographic dividend opportunity in India is available for five decades from 2005-06 to 2055-56, longer than any other country in the world.
This demographic dividend window is available at different times in different states because of the differential behavior of the population parameters.

Demographic Dividend In India comes with a challenge.

Asymmetric demography- The growth in the working-age ratio is likely to be concentrated in some of India’s poorest states and the demographic dividend will be fully realized only if India is able to create gainful employment opportunities for this working-age population.
Lack of Skills- Most of the new jobs that will be created in the future will be highly skilled and lack of skill in the Indian workforce is a major challenge. India may not be able to take advantage of the opportunities, due to a low human capital base and lack of skills.
Low human development parameters- India ranks 130 out of 189 countries in UNDP’s Human Development Index, which is alarming. Therefore, health and education parameters need to be improved substantially to make the Indian workforce efficient and skilled.
Informal Economy- Informal nature of the economy in India is another hurdle in reaping the benefits of demographic transition in India.
Jobless Growth- There is mounting concern that future growth could turn out to be jobless due to deindustrialization, deglobalization, the fourth industrial revolution, and technological progress. As per the NSSO Periodic Labour Force Survey,2017-18, India’s labor force participation rate for the age group 15-59 years is around 53%, that is, around half of the working-age population is jobless.

India is on the right side of the demographic transition that provides a golden opportunity for its rapid socio-economic development if policymakers align the developmental policies with this demographic shift.

Measures to be taken to reap this potential dividend in the coming years.

To reap the demographic dividends, proper investment in human capital is needed by focussing on education, skill development, and healthcare facilities.

Building Human Capital- Investing in people through health care, quality education, jobs, and skills helps build human capital, which is key to supporting economic growth, ending extreme poverty, and creating a more inclusive society.
Skill Development- The Government has established the National Skill Development Corporation[NSDC] with the overall target of skilling / upskilling 500 million people in India by 2022.
Education- Enhancing educational levels by properly investing in primary, secondary, and higher education. Also, academic-industrial collaboration is necessary to synchronize modern Industry demands and learning levels in academics. The establishment of the Higher Education Finance Agency[HEFA] is a welcome step in this direction.
Health- Improvement in healthcare infrastructure would ensure a higher number of productive days for the young labor force, thus increasing the productivity of the economy. The success of schemes like Ayushman Bharat and the National Health Protection Scheme[NHPS] is necessary. Also nutrition level in women and children needs special care with effective implementation of integrated child Development [ICDS] program.
Job Creation- The nation needs to create 10 million jobs per year to absorb the addition of young people into the workforce. Schemes like Start-Up India and Make in India, if implemented properly, would bring the desired result in the near future.
Urbanization- The large young and working population in the years to come will migrate to urban areas within their own and other states, leading to a rapid and large-scale increase in urban population. Schemes like Smart City Mission, and AMRUT need to be effectively and carefully implemented.

India’s National Policy on Family welfare in recent times.

Family welfare and planning has been a key priority area of the Government and it has been vigorously pursued through various initiatives and schemes. The main objective of the National Population by 2045, at a level consistent with the requirements of sustainable economic growth, social development, and environmental protection.

An initiative under the Family welfare and planning program of India

Mission Parivar Vikas- The Government has launched Mission Parivar Vikas to substantially increase the access to contraceptives and family planning services in the high fertility districts of seven high focus states with TFR[Total fertility rate] of 3 and above.
New Contraceptive Choices- The current basket of choice has been expanded to include the new contraceptives i.e Injectable contraceptives, etc.
Enhanced Compensation Schemes for Sterilization- The sterilization compensation scheme has been enhanced in 11 high focus states[ 8 EAG, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana]

8 EAG-In India, the eight socio-economically backward states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh, referred to as the Empowered Action Group (EAG) states, lag behind in the demographic transition and have the highest infant mortality rates in the country.

New Family Planning Media Campaign- A 360-degree media campaign has been launched to generate contraceptive demand.
Initiatives like Health and Wellness centers [HWCs] and Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana[ PMJAY] will promote health and wellness in the country.
National Health policy 2017 addresses the current and emerging challenges necessitated by the changing socio-economic, technological, and epidemiological landscape.
The National Nutrition mission is envisioned to reduce the level of stunting, under-nutrition, anemia, and low birth weight babies.
Focus on Universal Immunization program [UIP] through Mission Indradhanush.

Mission Indradhanush-

To strengthen and re-energize the program and achieve full immunization coverage for all children and pregnant women at a rapid pace, the Government of India launched “Mission Indradhanush” in December 2014.
It aims to immunize all children under the age of 2 years, as well as all pregnant women, against seven vaccine-preventable diseases(like 7 colors of a rainbow/indradhanush). The diseases being targeted are diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis, measles, meningitis, and Hepatitis B.

Focus on primary education which will ultimately lead to Family welfare in the long term.

Demographic Shifts & Impact of these Shifts on human resource management.

Demographic transition is a phenomenon and theory which refers to the historical shift from high birth rates and high infant death rates in societies with minimal technology, education[ especially of women], and economic development to low birth rates and low death rates in societies with advanced technology, education, and economic development, as well as stages between these two scenarios.

First Stage- High birth rates and high infant death rates in societies with minimal technology, education[especially of women], and economic development.
Second Stage- With the advancement of medical technologies death rates fall rapidly but the birth rate remains the same as in the first case.
Third Stage- The birth rate starts to fall as there is improvement in economic and social development. The death rate falls but slowly.
Fourth Stage- With the improvement in economic and social conditions both birth and death rates are low.
Fifth Stage- Countries like Japan and many European nations are experiencing it where birth rates are negative and the death rate is very low. These countries are experiencing the aging of their population and facing labor shortages.

Impact of these Shifts on human resource management.

If the country is experiencing demographic dividend phenomena, it has many advantages like increased labor force, increased fiscal space, increase in women workforce, increasing saving rate, etc.
It will ultimately lead to better economic growth and the formation of a knowledge economy. E.g India
If the country is in the fourth or fifth stage of demographic transition then it experiences the aging of its population. They will face labor shortages and in the future tax, receipts will reduce drastically which will decrease their fiscal space. So, countries like Japan and many European countries are allowing laborers from other countries to work in their country.

How can development be sustainable? Discuss three important duties of the citizens of India for protecting nature.[ 10 marks, 2017]

Answer

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs is known as sustainable development. There is a need to make development sustainable because there is overexploitation of natural resources, scarcity of resources, and climate change impacting in every possible way.
Making development sustainable through environmental sustainability, social sustainability, and economic sustainability.
Environment Sustainability- It prevents nature from being used as an inexhaustible source of resources and ensures its protection and rational use. Aspects such as environmental conservation, investment in renewable energy, saving water, supporting sustainable mobility, and innovation in sustainable construction and architecture, contribute to achieving environmental sustainability on several fronts.
Social Sustainability- It can foster gender equality, development of people, communities, and cultures to help to achieve a reasonable and fairly distributed quality of life, health care, and education across the globe.
Economic Sustainability- Focuses on equal economic growth that generates wealth for all, without harming the environment. Eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions. Bridging the income inequality.

Three important duties of citizens of India for protecting nature.

Citizens should use natural resources carefully and should not waste it unnecessarily.
It is a fundamental duty[enshrined in Article 51A] - to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures.
Citizens should raise awareness about protecting the nature of our country through various means-mass, social media, campaigns, and rallies.

Paleodemography

Paleodemography is the study of human demography in antiquity and prehistory.
More specifically, paleodemography looks at the changes in the pre-modern population in order to determine something about the influences on the lifespan and health of earlier peoples.
Reconstruction of ancient population sizes and dynamics are based on bio-archaeology, ancient DNA as well as an inference from modern population genetics.
Its chief claim to legitimacy is that it provides demographic information of the many human populations in the past that left no written records.
Because of persistent methodological problems, paleodemographic analysis has achieved only limited credibility among mainstream demographers.
It is fair to say that past paleo demographic analyses were often too crude to be believable, it is also true that recent methodological advances have moved paleodemography to a firmer scientific footing.

Epidemiology

Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns, and determinants of health and disease conditions in defined populations.
It is a cornerstone of public health and shapes policy decisions and evidence-based practice by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive healthcare. Epidemiologists help with study design, collection, and statistical analysis of data, amend interpretation, and dissemination of results (including peer review and occasional systematic review). Epidemiology has helped develop methodology used in clinical research, public health studies, and, to a lesser extent, basic research in the biological sciences.
Major areas of epidemiological study include disease causation, transmission, outbreak investigation, disease surveillance, environmental epidemiology, forensic epidemiology, occupational epidemiology, screening, biomonitoring, and comparisons of treatment effects such as in clinical trials. Epidemiologists rely on other scientific disciplines like biology to better understand disease processes, statistics to make efficient use of the data and draw appropriate conclusions, social sciences to better understand proximate and distal causes, and engineering for exposure assessment.
The world is going through an Epidemiological transition i.e earlier most of the mortality was due to infectious diseases/communicable diseases but now most of the mortality is due to lifestyle diseases/non-communicable diseases like Diabetes, Cancer, obesity-related mortality, etc.

Dynamic System Of Population

Population dynamics is the branch of life sciences that studies the size and age composition of populations as dynamical systems, and the biological and environmental processes driving them[ such as birth and death rate, and by immigration and emigration]. Example scenarios are aging populations, population growth, or population decline.
The first principle of population dynamics is widely regarded as the exponential law of Malthus, as modeled by the Malthusian growth model.
The population is affected by the below factors

Birth rate
Mortality rate
Population growth rate
Migration

Quantitative Methods in Demography.

Demography as a discipline relies on a core methodological component that addresses problems related to

Measuring and estimating population rates
Developing models to expand our analytical thinking
Formalizing theories
Linking individual-level processes with macro-demographic trends
Producing forecasts that combine all the available information.

The use of demographic methods is constantly changing, as new problems and priorities arise. Some examples of the work that demographers have developed include approaches to understand the determinants of population growth to evaluate the consequences of changing age structure; to produce estimates of mortality and fertility rates using indirect techniques; to assess the impact of heterogeneity across individuals in population health and mortality; to produce population projections.
Basic measures and models used in demographic research.