Q."Rapid population growth is one of the major causes of poverty in India." Explain.

A fast-growing population increases the number of dependants and job-seekers faster than the economy can create income and jobs, which keeps per-capita income and living standards low. …

Population growth is considered a major cause of poverty in India for several linked reasons:

• Dilution of per-capita income: even if national income grows, a fast-growing population means the same income is divided among more people, keeping the average (per-capita) income low.
• Pressure on land and resources: with a fixed or slowly growing amount of cultivable land, a growing rural population leads to smaller landholdings per family, reducing farm income per household.
• Pressure on employment: the labour force grows faster than the number of new jobs the economy can create, contributing to open and disguised unemployment.
• Strain on public services: education, health, and housing infrastructure struggle to keep pace with a rapidly growing population, especially among poorer households who depend most on public provision.
• Higher dependency ratio: a young, fast-growing population increases the number of dependants each working member must support, reducing the household's ability to save or invest in better income opportunities. …

Students sometimes state population growth as a cause without explaining the actual economic mechanism (dilution of per-capita income, dependency ratio) — a full-mark answer must …