New Delhi, Sept. 4 -- The fertility rate (TFR) in rural India has dropped to the critical level of 2.1 children per woman for the first time - the demographic threshold at which births just balance deaths to maintain stable population levels - according to new government data released on Wednesday, which also showed that the overall TFR in the country is now, for the first time, slipped below 2 to 1.9. The 2023 Sample Registration System report on Wednesday also showed that the country's death continue to be above levels seen right before the pandemic. The TFR dip marks a milestone where a decades-long fertility decline has now brought rural India in line with global demographic trends. If TFR holds at this value -- known as replacement level -- rural populations will eventually stabilise rather than grow. P11...