UGC-NET (NTA) POPULATION STUDIES, JANUARY-2025

The Crude Death Rate (CDR) is calculated as:
While it gives a general picture of mortality, it is not a good indicator for comparing mortality between populations because it is affected by the age structure. Populations with a larger elderly population will naturally have a higher CDR, even if healthcare is good and life expectancy is high. Thus, age structure distorts comparisons across countries or regions with different population compositions.

The Whipple's Index is a statistical method used to detect age heaping, specifically preference for ages ending in '0' or '5'. It helps evaluate the accuracy of reported ages in census or survey data.
It is calculated by comparing the observed frequency of ages ending in 0 or 5 to the expected frequency if ages were uniformly distributed.

The inter-censal net migration (residual) is estimated as the base-period population times the difference between the area's proportional growth and the national proportional growth over the interval:
i.e., base population × (area growth rate - overall growth rate). This matches option 3.

According to Census of India 2011, the Rural to Rural stream of migration had the highest volume among all migration streams. This pattern reflects India's large rural population and the tendency for most migrants-especially women-to move due to marriage, which typically occurs within rural areas. About 54% of all internal migrants in 2011 belonged to this stream.

According to Thomas Robert Malthus, in his Essay on the Principle of Population (1798), population growth is checked by two types of checks:
• Positive checks, which increase mortality (e.g., famine, disease, war, vice, misery).
• Preventive checks, which reduce fertility (e.g., moral restraint, delayed marriage, celibacy). Among the given options, "moral restraint" is not a positive check; it is a preventive check.

The relationship among Total Fertility Rate (TFR), Gross Reproduction Rate (GRR), and Net Reproduction Rate (NRR) is based on how they account for sex ratio and mortality:
• TFR = total number of children born per woman.
• GRR = total number of daughters a woman would have (ignoring mortality).
• NRR = total number of daughters who survive to reproductive age (accounts for mortality).
Thus, because mortality reduces the effective number of daughters, TFR > GRR > NRR.

The Human Development Index (HDI) is published annually by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its Human Development Report. The HDI combines indicators of:
• Health (life expectancy at birth),
• Education (mean and expected years of schooling), and
• Standard of living (Gross National Income per capita).

The concept of Social Capital-which refers to the value of social networks, trust, and norms that enable collective action-was popularized by Robert Putnam. His work "Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community" (2000) highlighted the decline in civic engagement and its social consequences.

As per the Census of India 2011, the highest child sex ratio (0-6 years) was recorded in Arunachal Pradesh, with 972 females per 1000 males. This indicates a relatively balanced gender ratio compared to other Indian states, where skewed ratios have been a concern.