Factors Affecting High Birth Rate in India

The question asks to identify the socio-economic factors contributing to India's high birth rate. Let's analyze the given factors:

Explanation of Factors

• (i) Large scale poverty: Poverty often correlates with lower levels of education and access to family planning. In some contexts, children are viewed as economic assets or support for old age, encouraging larger family sizes.
• (ii) High mortality rate of children of poor parents: When infant and child mortality rates are high, families tend to have more children to ensure that at least a few survive to adulthood. This is a significant factor driving higher birth rates in less developed or poorer populations.
• (iii) Prevalence of under-age marriage: Early marriage, particularly for women, extends their reproductive years. Starting childbearing at a younger age allows for potentially more births over a lifetime.
• (iv) Adverse sex-ratio: An adverse sex ratio (typically fewer females than males) is a demographic outcome often linked to social factors like son preference, but it doesn't directly cause a higher *number* of births in the same way as poverty, high mortality, or early marriage do. While related to population dynamics, it's not a primary socio-economic driver of *high birth rates* itself.

Conclusion on Factors

Based on the analysis, factors (i), (ii), and (iii) are direct socio-economic contributors to a high birth rate in India. Factor (iv) is a related demographic issue but not a primary cause of high fertility rates.

Therefore, the combination that accurately reflects the socio-economic factors responsible for a high birth rate is (i), (ii), and (iii).