New Delhi, July 10: The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said India's population growth rate is declining. UNFPA representative Francois M Farah told a seminar "Population Growth and Quality of Life" here yesterday that India's population growth was lessening as "those coming into existence are fewer".
"You need a fertility rate slightly above two to replace existing population," Farah said, adding that fertility rate in Kerala had fallen to 1.8 per cent. Farah said quarter of India's population lay in the age group 10-19, adding, "This group was going to determine the quality of life in terms of numbers."
Emphasising the need to safeguard adolescents from the dangers of HIV/Aids, Farah said they needed to get correct information and knowledge. Quoting NACO estimates, Farah said India has "40 lakh HIV carriers, which was the second highest in the world after South Africa."
"Though the good news in India's case is that in terms of percentages of total population it is less than one per cent" Farah added. Bureau Report