The projection by the UN Population Division is that India will have a population of close to 1.7 billion before it starts declining. This overwhelming size has overshadowed the debate on other aspects like age structure, quality of the population, and its contribution to economic growth. Now we have a report where the total fertility rate (TFR) for India is projected to go down to 1.29. This estimate is based on a complex demographic modelling, done for 204 countries as part of the global burden of disease study. Though this is an estimate within a range of 0.97 to 1.61, given the scientific rigour in their methodology, it opens up interesting pointers to the direction of India’s population dynamics.

The total fertility rate used for projecting the population by the government’s technical group (1.94 for the period 2021-2025 and declining to only 1.73 during 2031-2035) and that used by the UN are higher than those thrown up by the study. The latter is even higher than what one would estimate using NFHS 5 data. All these imply that our population may stabilise below the 1.7 billion mark much before 2065.

Source – https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/indias

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Passage 2

The U.S., Canada and the U.N. have condemned the air attack on Israel, with President Joe Biden reaffirming America’s “ironclad commitment” to the Jewish nation and vowing to convene a meeting of the G-7 leaders on April 14 to develop a coordinated response to the brazen assault.

The Israeli military said on Sunday that 99% of more than 300 drones and missiles were intercepted by Israel and its allies.

The nation had vowed to retaliate for a strike on its consulate on 1 April which killed seven IRGC officers, including a top commander. It accused Israel of carrying out that attack, but Israel neither confirmed nor denied it.

Source- https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/iran-israel-tensions-us-un-condemn-irans-retaliatory-attack-on-israel-president-biden-to-c

15th APR 2024

First Name

Passage 1

1. . India's population growth has been a major focus, with projections of reaching 1.7 billion by which year and falling thereafter?

A. 2055

B. 2060

C. 2065

D. 2070

2. Which of this is incorrect about Demography?

A. A demographic shift refers to a change in the composition of a population over time.

B. This change can occur due to various factors such as changes in birth and death rates, migration patterns, and changes in social and economic conditions.

C. A demographic dividend is a phenomenon that occurs when a country's population structure shifts from having a high proportion of dependents (children and elderly) to having a higher proportion of working-age adults.

D. None

3. . India is regarded as a country with “Demographic Dividend”. This is due to

A. Its high population in the age group below 15 years

B. Its high population in the age group of 15-64 year

C. Its high population in the age group above 65 years

D. Its high total population

4. While initially, the decline in TFR leads to a fall in the dependency ratio and a larger working-age population, it eventually results in a larger share of elderly dependents. This places a strain on resources for healthcare and social welfare, similar to the situations observed in ___ and European countries.

A. Japan and China

B. China and USA

C. Japan and Korea

D. USA and UK

5. The decline in fertility rates is not uniform across all states in India. Some states, may take longer to achieve replacement level fertility. These states are?

A. Particularly Larger ones like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand.

B. Particularly Smaller ones like Goa, Sikkim and Majorly North-east.

C. Both a and b

D. Particularly Medium ones like Odisha, Haryana and Punjab.

Passage 2

6. The nation which attacked Israel with more than 300 drones and missile is?

A. Yemen

B. Syria

C. Iran

D. Iraq

7. The drones intercepted by Israel's ____, as a drone attack was launched against Israel by sending thousands of drones into its airspace.

A. Missile Cellar

B. Ironclad Dome

C. Missile Interceptor

D. Iron Dome

8. This conflict, which began with an Israeli airstrike on consulate of this nation in which city, killing several members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has now erupted into open aggression?

A. Damascus

B. Tehran

C. Baghdad

D. Jerusalem

9. Q9. Which country apart from Palestine (Hamas) and the current nation attacking is involved in border issues with Israel, via Hezbullah?

A. Syria

B. Jordan

C. Lebanon

D. Egypt

10. Which of this is not a member of G7?

A. Italy

B. Spain