Chennai, July 23 - Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Thursday said India is sitting on a 'population growth volcano' and that the worrying aspect is 'nobody is talking about family planning and birth control'.

Launching Tamil Nadu government's Kalaignar Insurance Scheme for Life Saving Treatment, a health insurance scheme for the poor here, he said: 'India is sitting on a volcano of growing population. Nobody is talking about family planning and birth control.'

He said the country's population is growing at a geometrical rate and India houses 17 percent of the world's population on a total landscape of 2 percent.

'The two percent landscape is shrinking fast owing to construction activity.'

According to him, the country has to look at ways to stabilise population growth.

'While the southern states have done better in family planning, the northern, western, eastern and central parts of India have to rise to the occasion,' Azad said.

Speaking on the occasion Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K.