updated manifesto

["Dr. Sanjeev Sabhlok" <sanjeev@sabhlokcity.com>]

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Please help make the Manifesto better, or accept it, and propagate it!
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Version 2000.1 is now up at

http://www.indiapolicy.org/

Changes from the earlier version can be located by going to:

http://www.indiapolicy.org/old-ver.htm

Major addition (apart from minor language smoothing):

4.  Population:   The only known relationship between population and
economic growth is that fertility  declines as a nation gets richer. High
fertility is a symptom of poverty, not its cause.  Population size, by
itself, has no known effect on the growth of the economy. On the other
hand, population can be converted into a major economic resource. In
addition, higher levels of education and lower infant mortality lead to
population declines and will be strongly promoted.  

While the public and private efforts to increase the supply of
contraceptives will  be boosted, and education of the people on the
availability and use of contraception will  be promoted, people will be
allowed to make their own choices on the number of children  they want. No
targets will be set either for fertility or for population size, since
population  will automatically decline, very rapidly, as other policies
come into effect.
 
For those not convinced, please read:

POPULATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH:THE TRUE RELATIONSHIP by me at 

http://www.indiapolicy.org/debate/notes.html

Thus, we differ (and I presume I speak for many of us) on two major issues
from Palkhivala's "vision" article:
a) on education
b) on the role of family plg.

Also, the manifesto is explicit on various aspects of system-reform needed.
No beating about the bush here.








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