Is the Narendra Modi government mooting to introduce a law to control India's population growth? As per the buzz on social media and sections of mainstream media, that seems to be the case.

In his Independence Day address, this is what the Prime Minister said: "Population explosion in India will create various problems for the coming generations. Those who follow the policy of small family also contribute to the development of the nation, it is also a form of patriotism".

Barring Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and others, population growth is below replacement levels in the rest of the country. "If ever a policy is in place to control population growth, it should focus only on these States," says a thinker.

One-child norm would be bad. "Mao Zedong’s one-child policy in the 1960s has caused today’s “greying” of China and has cut short its demographic dividend as happened in Japan as well where the population is already declining," says Minhza Merchant.