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Daily Mains Question - GS 1 - 15th July 2025

  • Writer: TPP
    TPP
  • Jul 15
  • 4 min read
Daily Mains Question - GS 1 - 15th July 2025

Welcome to your daily Mains Model Answer — designed to deepen your understanding of the complex interplay between gender dynamics and demographic trends in India, a critical issue under GS Paper 1 in the Social Issues section. Today’s answer explores how socio-economic, cultural, and structural gender gaps are shaping reproductive choices and significantly contributing to the country’s declining fertility rate.


This topic intersects crucial themes such as gender equality, population studies, health and education disparities, and social norms. It also aligns with India’s broader development agenda focused on empowering women, ensuring reproductive rights, and achieving sustainable demographic transitions.


By analysing recent data from sources like the Global Gender Gap Report 2025, NFHS-5, and UNFPA surveys, this model answer highlights the multifaceted factors behind fertility decline — from economic insecurities and patriarchal structures to healthcare access and policy challenges. Aspirants will gain insights into the socio-cultural underpinnings and structural barriers affecting reproductive freedom, enabling them to craft balanced, evidence-based answers in the UPSC Mains examination.

 

Click Here to read the Monthly Current Affairs Pointers (CAP).

 

QUESTION

Discuss how gender disparities in Indian society influence reproductive choices and contribute to the country’s declining fertility rate.

Answer: The Global Gender Gap Report, building on foundational initiatives like the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, 1984) and the 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women, continues to underscore the importance of gender equality globally. Reinforced as Sustainable Development Goal 5 under the United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development (2015), gender parity remains crucial for social progress. India’s score in the 2025 Global Gender Gap Report stands at 64.1%, among the lowest in South Asia, though health and survival parameters show some improvement. These gender gaps—economic, political, educational, and health-related—deeply influence reproductive choices, thereby affecting India’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR), which has recently fallen below the replacement level of 2.1 to 2.0, as per the UNFPA State of World Population Report 2025 and NFHS-5 (2019-21).

 

1. Socio-economic Factors Influencing Fertility Decline

  • India’s TFR decline is intricately linked to socio-economic realities such as rising female education, increased workforce participation, urbanisation, and economic insecurity.

  • Financial constraints are a major barrier—38% of young Indians cite economic limitations as a key reason for having fewer children. Additionally, 21% point to unemployment and job insecurity, while 22% highlight housing challenges like high rents and limited space.

  • Urban fertility rate (1.6) is significantly lower than rural areas (2.2), reflecting economic disparities and lifestyle changes.

  • Healthcare access is critical: 14% of Indians face barriers to fertility and pregnancy-related medical services; 15% cite chronic illness or poor health as reasons to limit childbirth.

2. Cultural and Social Norms

  • Fertility choices are heavily mediated by cultural expectations, patriarchal family structures, caste and religion.

  • Social pressures, such as son preference, skew reproductive decisions, with women often lacking autonomy.

  • Regional disparities exist: States like Bihar (2.98), Uttar Pradesh (2.35), Jharkhand (2.26), Meghalaya (2.91), and Manipur (2.17) still have TFR above replacement level, while southern and western states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Gujarat report rates between 1.6 and 1.9.

  • Gendered kinship norms devalue women’s status, as highlighted in sociological works by Leela Dube and Prem Chowdhry, shaping reproductive expectations and limiting women’s agency.

3. Structural Gender Gaps and Their Impact

  • Gender inequality in the workplace penalises motherhood: family-friendly policies, including maternity leave, often come with a reputational cost, pushing women into lower-paid, part-time jobs, thereby creating an economic disincentive to have children.

  • The Time Use Survey (2024) reveals stark gender disparities in unpaid domestic labor: women devote 140 minutes daily to caregiving, almost double that of men (74 minutes). This disproportionate burden discourages childbearing.

  • Legal and policy frameworks reflect changing demographics: Andhra Pradesh repealed its two-child policy for local elections in 2024 after TFR dropped to 1.47 (urban) and 1.78 (rural), acknowledging the need for supportive rather than coercive reproductive policies.

4. Broader Context and Reproductive Freedom

  • Fertility decisions are not purely individual but socially constructed outcomes influenced by economic, cultural, and political variables.

  • The UNFPA-YouGov survey across 14 countries, including India, shows 20% of respondents feel unable to have their desired number of children; concerns about climate change, pandemics, and war further impact fertility preferences.

  • Parenthood aspirations are evolving for both genders, demanding state intervention to create enabling conditions—affordable healthcare, childcare facilities, flexible work arrangements, and recognition of unpaid care work.

  • Addressing fertility decline thus requires dismantling structural gender gaps and patriarchal norms that restrict reproductive freedom.

 

India’s declining fertility rate is a complex phenomenon shaped by interlinked socio-economic, cultural, and structural gender inequalities. The drop below replacement fertility is not simply a demographic milestone but a reflection of broader challenges—economic insecurity, persistent gendered domestic roles, limited reproductive autonomy, and social norms reinforcing son preference. Policies aimed at supporting parenthood must transcend gender stereotypes, ensure economic and social security, and promote equitable caregiving responsibilities. Only then can reproductive choices become truly free, empowering individuals and fostering sustainable demographic transitions.


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