India Government policies to check population in India
Women are the major targets of
family planning programmes in India
India was the first country to launch a national programme in 1951,
emphasizing family planning to the extent necessary for reducing birth
rates but it did not show any change due to decline in death rates
simultaneously. Women were the major targets of family planning
programmes.
Survey says that 67 per cent female against 3 per cent male accepted
the most widely used method of family planning i.e. sterilization.
The First Five Year Plan called for an explicit population policy and
considered family planning as a step towards improvement in health of
mothers and children.
Government's policy since 1938
| 1938 |
Sub Committee on population was
set up by the National Planning Committe appointed by the Interim
Government. |
| 1940 |
The National Planning Committee,
in its resolution said, inter alia, that in the interest of social
economy, family happiness and national planning, family planning and
a limitation of children are essential and the State should adopt a
policy to encourage these. |
| 1966 |
A separate Department of Family
Planning was carved out in the Ministry of Health in order to
strengthen the population control programme. |
| 1977 |
A modified National Population
Policy was announced which viewed the policy "as an integral
part of education, health, maternal and child health etc. and
stressed the voluntary nature of the family planning programme". |
| 1983 |
The Government announced a
National Health Policy which adopted the recommendations of the
Working Group on Population Policy as the long term demographic goal
of the country. |
| 1986 |
The 1986 version of India's
Population Policy views family planning in a broader perspective of
child survival, women's status and employment, literacy and
antipoverty efforts. |
| 1991 |
The Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare decided to impart a "new dynamism' to the programme by
devising innovative strategies. This led to the development of an
Action Plan for revamping family welfare programmes in india. |
| 1993 |
The Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare appointed an expert Group under the Chairmanship of Dr. M.S.
Swaminathan to draw up a Draft Population Policy for consideration
by Parliament. |