New Delhi : Growing population across the world is becoming the biggest hurdle in the way of sustainable development, and leaders and social activists will have to join hands to create awareness in this connection, Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Wednesday.

Addressing MPs and leaders from the social sector at a conference organised here by the Indian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development, Naqvi said the increasing population has been causing several other problems related to development, employment and health.

Naqvi appealed to the MPs and other leaders present at the conference to come together and create awareness on a large scale to tackle the menace of population.

He said India has all the potential to become a hub for medical tourism. “The Narendra Modi government has taken several measures to improve the healthcare sector in the country including allocating several thousand crore rupees for the sector in the Budget.”

MPs and other leaders belonging to the social sector from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cameroon, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Malaysia, Nepal, Tajikistan, Japan, UAE, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Jordan are participating in the two-day conference which started on Wednesday.

—IANS