Demographic dividend in India

This paper examines the impact of declining dependency ratio on India's economic development, both theoretically and empirically. The channels through which this occurs is through the effect on savings, investment, female labor force participation and knowledge spillovers. India faces a fairly long period of this demography opportunity from mid 1970 to 2035. The paper gives an overview of what has been achieved so far and gives policy options of how to take advantage of this phase of demographic transition to the fullest possible extent. Results show that India has made some progress but careful planning is needed to utilize this dividend to the fullest.