Archive · 26 Jul 2025
Sanjeev Sanyal Warns India on Aging Before Its Ready
India's population is changing, and it's not as young as people think.
Sanjeev Sanyal, an advisor, says India needs to pay attention to this.
The number of babies being born is going down, which means the country will have fewer young people to support the older ones in the future.
He explains that India's ideal birth rate is a bit higher than what's happening now.
If the birth rate stays too low, there won't be enough people to do things like pay taxes and maintain infrastructure.
He believes the focus should be on how to use the people India has effectively.
Sanjeev Sanyal warns India faces demographic challenges, not celebration.
India's fertility rate is below replacement levels.
Sanyal suggests India's sustainable fertility rate is around 2.3-2.4.
He is concerned about rapid aging due to low birth rates.
Sanyal emphasizes the need to utilize and deploy people effectively.
- Who
- Sanjeev Sanyal, Member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council.
- What
- Sanjeev Sanyal discusses India's demographic transition and the risks associated with declining fertility rates.
- When
- The discussion took place recently on The Neon Show podcast.
- Where
- The discussion focused on India.
- Why
- To raise awareness about India's aging population and the potential economic consequences.
Optimistic View
Concerned View
Population Size vs. Quality of Life
Optimistic View
Some argue fewer people mean better quality of life.
Concerned View
Sanyal states that India's quality of life is better with 1.4 billion people compared to at Independence.
- Speaker
- Sanjeev Sanyal
- Role
- Member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council
- Issue
- Declining Fertility Rates
- India's TFR
- 1.9
- Sustainable TFR
- 2.3-2.4 (Sanyal's estimate)
- Focus
- Effective Utilization of People