India Saturday recorded a population of over 1.274 billion and it is growing at 1.6 percent a year, said local newspaper Indian Express online.

This growth could make the country the most populous in the world by 2050 if the current growth rate is kept.

The World Population Day Saturday saw the number of Indians hitting 127,42,39,769, and is 17.25 percent of the global population, the report quoted Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh or National Population Stabilization Fund (NPSF), an autonomous body under the Union Health Ministry, as saying.

India's population was growing at a faster rate than China, and India will have 1.63 billion people by 2050, which will surpass China, said the report.

Indian Health Minister J. P. Nadda said Saturday that non- government organizations and other social groups should assist government to achieve population stabilization goals.