Mr Pradip Burman Shares His View On Overpopulation

1. Mr Pradip Burman Shares His View On Overpopulation The birth rate is at an all-time higher in India as compared to the death rate. India is in the second position globally for the highest population and is said to step up to the first position by 2025. Also, its landmass is much smaller to accommodate a higher population. Such issues have been noticed by social leaders like Mr Pradip Burman and are making valuable efforts to eradicate overpopulation. Mr Pradip Burman, chairman of Dabur, Nepal and a board member of Aviva Life Insurance, is a philanthropist, sworn environmentalist and a crusader of sustainability. He has been the director of his ancestral FMCG company Dabur India. He has also founded Ayurvet, a company manufacturing herbal products for animals. According to Mr Pradip Burman, overpopulation has led to the two biggest sustainability challenges, i.e. climate change and air pollution. Due to air pollution, our children are suffering. They have asthma, lung ailments and other respiratory problems from a young age. Pollution is also the leading cause of climate change. It is happening through overpopulation because the greater the population, the higher the emission of gases. Mr Pradip Burmanfurther says,” Overpopulation is the most significant challenge faced by many countries today. As the global population grows towards 10 billion, consumption of water, food and energy is increasing, which results in the depletion of non-renewable resources. But these challenges can be overcome through solutions like recycling and 100% consumption of renewable energy. We have to recycle everything and consume resources that will come from renewable energy. If we can execute these two things, I think the problem will be solved”. Being around philanthropists and environmentalists all his life, Mr Pradip Burman is determined towards protecting the environment and is currently working for various social causes. One of them is population stabilization through Project Aakar. Project Aakar is an initiative that focuses on curbing overpopulation in India. Setting up the project in 2 districts in Uttar Pradesh, namely Barabanki and Bahraich, they educate the people in rural areas on the importance of family planning, reproduction, and the usage of contraceptives. The reason behind starting this initiative in these regions is due to its high fertility rate. They are also creating awareness among newly married and young unmarried people. There are primary health centres where they make contraceptives and distribute them to young couples. Their short film, namely ‘Dampatti No 1’, depicts the importance of family planning and has won an award for the best film towards family planning. Project Akar is an initiative through the Mobius Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Mr Pradip Burman that works towards environmental protection. The organization aims to protect the ecosystem by educating people about the importance of sustainable development that can also help eradicate overpopulation. They organize

2. awareness programs that help to curb overpopulation, pollution and traditional practices that harm the environment. Besides Project Aakar, they have also initiated two more projects, i.e. World Environmental School (WESc) and Gyan Anant Vidyalaya (GAV). These are educational institutes that help people educate about the importance of a sustainable environment and the harmful consequences of resource extinction in the future. In today’s world, we can’t deny the significance of sustainable development. Adhering to the goals of stabilizing overpopulation is the need of the hour, and we as a country should come forward together to accomplish this mission.