Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has said that every Indian citizen should consider having three children in their family, saying that population growth can serve as both an asset and a burden, but a stable birth rate will help keep the population in control while maintaining an acceptable level.

"Our country's population policy recommends 2.1 children, on average. But when one has children, then they don't have 0.1 children. In maths, 2.1 is 2, but with the birth of children after 2, it is 3, which is why 2.1 means 3. Every citizen should see that there should be three children in his/her family," Bhagwat said on Thursday during the centenary celebrations of RSS in New Delhi.

The RSS chief's comments come amid the government's preparation for the 2027 census, which will give updated demographic data across the country since 2011, including the birth rate. However, a recent United Nations Report on the state of the world's population has warned that India's birth rate has declined to 1.9, less than the aim of maintaining 2.1.