Young mother Manu Bala cradles her newborn baby in a run-down public hospital in India, where she has just helped make her country the most populous in the world.

Tears of joy and relief streamed down Bala's cheeks as her unnamed baby girl, one of more than 67,000 babies born across India on Monday, rested on her chest.

On that day, the United Nations announced that India, which already has one-sixth of the world's population, will overtake China this week with the largest population.

"I am very happy because my baby was born on the day India overtook China. It is a special feeling to become a mother on this day," the 22-year-old told AFP from her hospital bed.

"I want my child to study hard and fulfill her dreams. I want to give her a good life," she added.

Glad to be a father, Rohit, Bala's husband, has begun planning for the coming weeks: The family will organize a baptismal party 11 days after the birth, with a Hindu priest attending, who will help them, through astrology, find a name for the baby girl.

At the General Hospital in Dehra, a Himalayan city in northern India, Rohit and his mother waited anxiously for Bala to give birth outside the crowded maternity ward.

After a difficult labor, Bala gave birth to her first child, surrounded by a number of nurses who greeted the newborn with applause.
Bala's pale face looks relieved as she holds her baby girl to her breast. With what was left of her energy, the new mother thanked the doctor and nurses.

Rohit is relieved that the birth took place without complications.

But this official is worried about the future that awaits his daughter. "There are a lot of problems that we have to face because of the increase in the population," the 30-year-old told AFP.

"We had to wait in lines for a long time to be able to see a doctor. India faces huge challenges in providing electricity, food and housing for its growing population," he said.

Kasir of Indian cities suffer from a shortage of water supplies, air and water pollution, and overcrowding in slums.

Every year millions of young people enter the labor market and struggle to find opportunities in an economy that does not have the capacity to provide jobs for all of them.

"There is a lot of unemployment in the country. It will be more difficult to find a job. I think one child is enough now," Rohit concluded.