India’s fertility rate, that is, the number of babies carried by a woman in her lifetime, currently stands at 2.01 children per woman. This is behind the ideal, globally agreed-upon replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman.
The Demographic Crises
This according to some is a sign of an impending demographic crisis in the country. However, in east Asian countries like China, South Korea and Japan, thsi crisis is already upon the nation-state and its people. South Korea has a harrowingly low rate of 0.78.
Japan has a rate of 1.26; meanwhile, the second-most populous country, China, has a rate of 1.18 children per woman.
Pointing at this very demographic crises, Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu underscored his stance on the need for a ‘traditional outlook’ for life in the 21st century.
Representational Image | AFP
In his latest most on the matter, Vembu invoked the tale of these countries, and said, “Japan reached its peak technological prowess around 1990. “Japan as the number 1 economy, Japan overtaking the US” were all serious topics then.”
Japanese economy crashed following the bursting of a real-estate bubble in the country.
Vembu pinned the crisis on demographic crises and said, “What happened? Serious demographic decline. Today, China is already the technology leader in many fields and is well on its way to technology leadership in many other fields.”
Work-Life Balance
The Zoho founder further added, “China also faces a demographic bust at least as bad as Japan. Chinese elite know about this, but demographics is a byproduct of so many choices made in the past, in an attempt at rapid catch up – massive urbanization, extreme lack of work-life balance, long commutes, loss of traditional culture, loss of religious faith, the rise of nuclear family – so demographic decline, once it sets in motion, is hard to reverse. I don’t know any country that has reversed it.”
Embrace Traditional Culture
Furthermore, Vembu, laying emphasis on the need to revert or retain traditional aspects of life, said, “This is another reason I prefer a rural life and I actively embrace our traditional culture. I want to pursue economic development that is pro-babies. In the long term, nothing else really matters!”
