india

Updated: Sep 02, 2019 03:42 IST

Former union minister and Congress leader Jitin Prasada on Sunday said the unabated growth of India’s population was concerning and asked the Centre to bring in a law to check the rising population in the country.

“There should be a nationwide discussion on population control. A law should be made in this regard. If the country has to move forward, the population needs to be checked,” Prasada told news agency ANI in an interview.

Prasada’s comments come on the back of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech, in which had underlined the need to tackle the challenge of population explosion in the country and cautioned that if left unaddressed, it could pose problems for future generations.

“There is one issue I want to highlight today — population explosion. This can create many new crises for us, for our future generation...,” he said.

The Prime Minister had also said those who have adopted measures to limit the size of their families have served the nation in their own way. With 1.3 billion people, India is the world’s second most populous country. The country’s population has increased from 361 million in 1951 to 1.2 billion in 2011. According to the latest United Nation’s population projection, India is expected to surpass China by 2024 and will have more than 1.6 billion people by 2050. “It is high time to take concrete steps. I urge the government to bring in the required laws to check the rising population,” Prasada said. He also blamed the population growth for slowing down the economy.