Passage 1
India’s population in 2024 is projected at 1.45 billion and this will peak to 1.69 billion in [1] “India’s population is projected to peak in the early 2060s at about 1.7 billion and then decline by 12%, but India will remain the world’s most populous country throughout the century,” the United Nations has said. The World Population Prospects 2024 report, released on July 11, said the world’s population is expected to continue growing over the coming 50-60 years, reaching a peak of around 10.3 billion people in the mid-2080s, up from 8.2 billion in 2024. After peaking, the global population is projected to start declining gradually, falling to 10.2 billion people by the end of the century. India, which surpassed China as the world’s most populous nation last year, will continue to hold that position through 2100.”The population of India, which is expected to remain the world’s largest throughout the century, will likely decline by 12% after reaching its peak in the early 2060s at about 1.7 billion,” the UN report published by the According to the report, India’s population in 2024 is projected at 1.45 billion and this will peak to 1.69 billion in 2054. After this, India’s population is projected to decline to 1.5 billion by the end of the century in 2100, but the country will still remain the most populous nation on Earth. Responding to a question by PTI on population projections for India, Senior Population Affairs Officer, Population Division, said at a press conference that “India is currently the largest country in the world in terms of population, and it is projected to stay so throughout the century. The population is currently estimated at 1.45 billion, and it’s supposed to increase further” to 1.69 billion. “It’s supposed to peak around the 2060s in size and then it starts to slightly decline. So by the end of the century, India is projected to be around 1.5 billion, but still the largest country in the world by a large margin.” The report said that China’s population, currently 1.41 billion in 2024, will fall to 1.21 billion in 2054 and further decline to 633 million by 2100
“It is anticipated that China, the country currently with the world’s second-largest population, will likely experience the largest absolute population loss between 2024 and 2054 (204 million),” followed by Japan (21 million) and Russia (10 million). “Longer-range population projections are more uncertain” for China,” it said.
“However, due to its large size and sustained low level of fertility, China is also likely to record the largest population decline of any country through the end of the century (786 million people). By 2100, China is projected to have lost more than a half of its current population and to have returned to a population size comparable to that recorded in the late 1950s (50% probability).”
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/indias-population-to-
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Passage 2
Uttarakhand and [1] have claimed the top spots among Indian states in NITI Aayog’s SDG India Index for 2023-24, which evaluates sustainable development progress based on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
The index, which assesses achievements across 16 goals on a scale of 1 to 100, awarded [1] and Uttarakhand the highest scores of 79 points each Compared to the 2020-21 scores, Punjab, Manipur, West Bengal, and Assam recorded notable increases, with gains of 8 points each, achieving scores of 76, 72, 70, and 65 points respectively. Targeted intervention by the government has helped India achieve significant improvements across 16 goals set under the SDGs,” NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam said after releasing the report. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), established by the United Nations, form a comprehensive framework aimed at achieving global targets by 2030. This fourth edition of the SDG India Index evaluates state performance using 113 indicators. The report underscores targeted governmental interventions as pivotal in driving India’s advancements towards meeting these international benchmarks. Key highlights from the SDG report:
-States’ scores range from 57 to 79, and UTs score between 65 and 77, showing improvement from the 2020-21 scores (52 to 75 for States and 62 to 79 for UTs). All States show increased composite scores, with improvements ranging from 1 to 8 points. Assam, Manipur, Punjab, West Bengal, and Jammu and Kashmir lead in score improvements, each achieving an increase of 8 points since 2020-21. The number of States/UTs achieving Front Runner status has increased to 32, up from 22 in 2020-21. Ten new entrants include Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, and others. States/UTs like Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu are among those newly classified as Front Runners. Significant strides have been made in Goals 1 (No Poverty), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and 13 (Climate Action), placing them in the ‘Front Runner’ category with scores ranging from 65 to 99. Goal 13 (Climate Action) showed notable improvement, with its score increasing from 54 to 67, while Goal 1 (No Poverty) rose significantly from 60 to 72. Key progress areas since 2018 include Goals 1, 3 (Good Health and Well-being), 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), and 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). Government initiatives focused on food and nutrition security, health, education, electrification, housing, sanitation, and clean energy have been pivotal in driving these improvements.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/business/economy/kerala-
