India is regarded as a country with “Demographic Dividend”. This is due to

Answer: (b) Its high population in the age group of 15–64 years

The 15–64 working-age group is about two-thirds of India’s population. More earners per dependant = the dividend.

The idea

A demographic dividend is the chance of faster economic growth when working-age people form a large share of the population. Fewer dependants per potential worker can leave more income for saving and investment. The benefit requires education, health and jobs; age structure alone does not create it.

Birth rates fall → Smaller cohorts of children enter the population → Working-age share rises for a time → Dependency burden can fall → Skills and jobs make workers productive → Higher earnings and savings can support growth

Why the others are wrong

(a) Under-15s are dependants; a large share of them RAISES the dependency ratio.

(c) Over-65s are old-age dependants (Japan, Europe).

(d) Total size doesn’t matter — the AGE STRUCTURE does.

The trap

(d) feels natural for India. A huge population made up of children or old people gives no dividend at all.

Elimination technique

A dividend needs potential earners rather than a larger dependent population. That rules out the child and elderly options; total population alone says nothing about the worker-to-dependant balance.

Also know

The dependency ratio commonly compares people aged 0–14 and 65+ with those aged 15–64. These are statistical age groups, not a claim that every adult works or every older person is dependent. Later, the same large working-age cohort grows old, raising old-age dependency.