Rakesh Ahuja @DwnlodingMyMind · Jun 1

Replying to @IndianTechGuide
I am not aware of the source, but this aligns with other data from, for example, the National Family Health Surveys, which have documented a steady decline in India’s Total Fertility Rate (#TFR) over the past decade. I believe that the most immediate factor responsible for the declining TFR has been the #Contraception provided by (my coinage)
#Aspirational_Consumption: the Desire for the Good Life. In the Age of Information, every household, regardless of class or region, is now aware of the goods and services available to make life more comfortable. Faced by the dilemma of having to match the family’s economic resources with its aspirations, the choice is clear: 2-wheeler, yes; A/C, yes; kid, no.
The change in social norms catalysed by galloping urbanisation, whether it be slums or high-rises, is seeping into the rural hinterland. For example, the age-old Indian equation, ‘more children equal more security,’ is fading in the South (Tamil Nadu, Kerala) and the more advanced northern states.
PM Rao’s and FM Manmohan Singh’s 1991 Economic Reforms provided the best contraception for Family Planning in India. Far, far more effective than the Indian Government's 1967 family planning slogan, "Hum do, Hamare Do" (We two, Our Two).
(Incidentally, the #HindutvaCaste lobby is calling for birthing more Hindu kids because Indian TFR below the 2.1 replacement level will make the country’s approximately 1 billion Hindus more “vulnerable” to the "faster growth" of 240 million Muslims!) Go figure.