I think that the real problem is not the population growth rate, rather it is the management of the ratio of GDP to Population ( Per capita GDP = GDP/Population) which is one of the important determinants of the standard of living. Population growth is declining rapidly in India, and in almost all countries across the world. Every country strives to give it's people a rising standard of living, ensuring at the same time that no one is left below the subsistence level or hungry (India ranks near the bottom in the Hunger Index - behind all its neighbours). If the "average standard of living" goes up but the very poor remain very poor, it is not a sustainable or an acceptable outcome. Goal#1 out of 17 SDGs is for the world to wipe out abject poverty (UN / World Bank defines it as an income of 1.9 International Dollar per day) - most likely India will achieve this goal before the target date of 2030.
Population and GDP growth both need to be looked at together over the recent past for India and China which have similar size of populations.
India's per capita GDP = 2.3K USD p.a. (nominal) or 9.0K USD p.a. (PPP)
China's per capita GDP = 8.3 K USD p.a. (nominal) or 16.1K USD p.a. (PPP)
India's population growth rate is approaching the replacement level, so it will soon not be the most important problem to fix!
India's current TFR (Total Fertility Rate) is < 2.3
Replacement level TFR is ~ 2.1 (TFR below 2.1 means population will decline; Lancet is about to publish a report which shows India's population will decline to 1.09 Billion at the end of the century)
GOI's Budget 2019 report extract: https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/economicsurvey/doc/vol1chapter/echap07_vol1.pdf
TFR in 13 States has already dipped below the replacement level of 2.1!
Notice that many Muslim population dominated States have a low TFR (Kerala & erstwhile J&K) - this is because they are having a better per capita income or the number of those living in abject poverty is lower than many other Hindu dominated States (e.g. UP and Bihar which have lowest per capita income and highest TFR)! TFR has more to do with well-being than caste or religion. (State wise per capita income: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1027998/india-per-capita-income-by-state/)
Could it be that China being a Dictatorship need not worry about it's population growth (denominator) because it is confident of growing the GDP (numerator)? India being a Democracy (a functional anarchy) cannot expect to grow GDP like China, therefore, it must treat the population growth as the more important factor (denominator) to manage?
The above argument can be easily resolved. India is indeed growing it's GDP, though not as rapidly as China. It has lifted hundreds of millions in the new millennium above the poverty line - and that has resulted in TFR to drop. This massive reduction of people living in abject poverty was done through direct benefits and entitlements to the poor, besides achieving GDP growth at the second highest rate, after China. These measures included - MNREGA, FOOD SECURITY ACT, RIGHT TO EDUCATION during UPA and SBM during NDA.
There is ample evidence, across all countries of the world, the TFR drops when people are lifted above the subsistence level.
The phenomenon of TFR reduction due to poverty reduction is best explained by Dr. Hans Rosling ..watch his video and few stunning graphs..
There is a direct correlation between poverty reduction and population growth reduction. Rather than focusing or directing resources on "family planning - family size reduction", which was the thrust of Indian Government few decades ago, it should instead focus on targeted measures, including Direct Benefits Transfer, to the poorest segment of the population. The idea of Universal Basic Income (UBI) could easily be modified and more targeted delivery of benefits can happen with today's digital infrastructure - what Modi calls the JAM (Jandhan Account, Aadhaar and Mobile) enablement.
If you wish to dig deeper:
POLITICS and POLICIES arising out of misconception or intentional exploitation of religious differences
If you don't have the picture of the phenomenon of TFR linkage to poverty in your head, you will come up with the wrong prescription for India's priorities. You will give precedence to "population explosion" instead of targeting poverty alleviation. This is exactly what the PM prescribed in his last independence day address (15-Aug-19). This bogey has a sex appeal in India, which PM has milked in the past elections.
Modi's infamous speech, "Ham panch hamare pachees" resonates till today with many Hindus who neither understand TFR nor the fact that Muslims constitute disproportionately larger share of the abjectly poor population.
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