9 min readNew DelhiAug 30, 2026 09:02 PM IST
By 2039, every Indian state will reportedly fall below the replacement fertility rate, as per Data for India stats (Ai generated image)For decades, India’s population story was largely about rapid growth and the need to bring down birth rates. Now, another demographic shift is taking shape: families are getting smaller, parenthood is being delayed, and fertility rates are falling across much of the country.
The trend came into focus after Zerodha co-founder Nithin Kamath shared a post pointing to projections that every Indian state could fall below the replacement fertility rate by 2039, with Bihar expected to be the last to reach that level. He also highlighted the association between fertility, income, and education, and asked whether India could grow old before it grows rich. Kamath’s predictions were based on a report by Data For India.