With lower fertility rate, will south India lose out to north in finance?

As leaders of south Indian states raise concerns over the terms of reference for the 15th Finance Commission alleging that they would be at a disadvantage, south Indian states have reduced their fertility rates below replacement level, while the rate for states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh remains above the level, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of government data.

The replacement rate of fertility is 2.1, the level at which a population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next.

In 2016, Tamil Nadu’s total fertility rate (TFR)–the number of children a woman will have in a lifetime–was the lowest among India’s large states at 1.6, and other south Indian states–Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (1.7), Kerala and Karnataka (1.8)–also have rates below the replacement level of fertility, according to the latest Sample Registration System data, under Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The national average TFR was 2.3.