Astha -- meaning "faith" -- was born at Safdarjang Hospital in New Delhi early Thursday, and as she took her first breath, India's population officially hit 1 billion. India is the most populous nation on Earth after China, which saw its billionth citizen in 1980 and now has 1.27 billion people despite tough birth-control laws. The milestone is a sober one for the subcontinent, dredging up memories of forced sterilization and other draconian birth-control measures that were attempted to keep the population at a manageable level. It only figures to get worse, population experts say, and at its current growth rate, India's population can expect to catch and pass China by 2045.
One Billion Served
Astha -- meaning "faith" -- was born at Safdarjang Hospital in New Delhi early Thursday, and as she took her first breath, India's population officially hit 1 billion. India is the most populous nation on Earth after China, which saw its billionth citizen in 1980 and now has 1.27 billion people despite tough birth-control laws. The milestone is a sober one for the subcontinent, dredging up memories of forced sterilization and other draconian birth-control measures that were attempted to keep the population at a manageable level. It only figures to get worse, population experts say, and at its current growth rate, India's population can expect to catch and pass China by 2045.
