What should be Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of a population in order to reach at the replacement level of fertility ?

The correct answer is C) 2.1. Replacement level fertility is the TFR at which each generation exactly replaces itself, so the population stabilises in the long run without migration. It is about 2.1 children per woman, slightly above 2 because some children die before reaching reproductive age and a few more boys than girls are born, around 105 males per 100 females.

• A) 1.0 is well below replacement. A TFR of 1.0 would shrink the population over successive generations.
• B) 1.6 is also below replacement. It signals a population that is already declining in the long run.
• D) 2.3 is above replacement, so the population would keep growing even after fertility settles.

The concept sits in the demographic transition and the population stabilisation debate, which is central to the Population and Development topics in GS-1 and to Mains questions on the demographic dividend. Note that the fact has moved since the exam: NFHS-5 (2019-21) puts India's national TFR at about 2.0, which means India has reached replacement level nationally, though states differ widely.

Trap: aspirants often pick 2.0 or 2.3 by intuition. The accepted benchmark for replacement is 2.1.