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Critical Topics and Their Significance for the UPSC CSE Examination on May 19, 2025

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Why is there variation in fertility rates?

For Preliminary Examination: Total Fertility Rate (TFR) , Crude Birth Rate (CBR)

For Mains Examination: GS III - Science and Technology

Context:

The Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report of 2021, released by the Office of the Registrar General of India recently, showed that India has maintained its Total Fertility Rate (TFR) at 2.0 — the same as reported in 2020. While the national average for TFR has remained the same, there is a wide regional variation in TFR data for States and Union Territories (UTs) reported independently.

Read about:

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) at 2.0

Sex Ratio at Birth

General Fertility Rate

Key takeaways:

• The Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report for 2021, published by the Office of the Registrar General of India, indicates that India's Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has remained stable at 2.0, consistent with the figure reported in 2020.
• Although the national TFR has not changed, there are significant regional disparities in fertility rates across various States and Union Territories. Bihar recorded the highest TFR at 3.0, whereas West Bengal and Delhi reported the lowest at 1.4.
• Over the ten-year span from 2009-11 to 2019-21, TFR has shown a steady decline both at the national and state levels, though the pace of decline has varied.
• The SRS calculates TFR as the average number of children a woman is expected to bear during her reproductive years, defined as between ages 15 and 49. This metric is derived using age-specific fertility rates, which estimate the fertility of women within specific age groups.
• The SRS survey, which is India’s largest demographic survey, collects annual data on fertility and mortality indicators. The 2021 edition covered 8,842 sample units across all States and UTs, representing a population sample of around 84 lakh individuals.
• In addition to TFR, the report includes other fertility-related metrics such as the Crude Birth Rate (CBR), Sex Ratio at Birth, General Fertility Rate, Age-Specific Fertility Rate, and the Gross Reproduction Rate.
• The CBR measures the number of live births per 1,000 people, while the