Critically examine whether growing population is the cause of poverty OR poverty is the main cause of population increase in India. (UPSC 2015)

Population and poverty in India are linked in a two-way cycle, not a one-way cause. A growing population can deepen scarcity of land, jobs, housing and public services, but poverty also drives high fertility through low education, poor health, weak social security and limited access to family planning.

• Population as a cause of poverty: rapid growth dilutes savings, fragments landholdings, raises dependency burden and keeps many workers in low-paid informal jobs.
• Poverty as a cause of population growth: in poorer families, children are seen as labour and old-age support; child marriage, infant mortality and weak reproductive choice raise fertility.
• Evidence: India’s TFR has fallen to 2.0 and multidimensional poverty to 11.28%, showing that falling poverty and better development reduce fertility together.

Thus, poverty is the deeper cause in many regions, while population pressure worsens deprivation. The real solution lies in female education, health, nutrition, jobs and rights-based family planning, not coercive population control.