Is India's burgeoning population a drain on its economy?

The majority feels that India's growing population is a liability. The country is expected to have a surplus workforce of 4.7 crore people by 2020. For the government, the challenge will be to ensure that its workforce has the required skills to make it employable.

This will necessarily entail an overhaul of the country's education system. An ageing population in the developed economies could make India the world's human resource pool. The growing affl uent middle class, meanwhile, has ensured a consumption boom in the country, which is driving its rapid economic growth.