P R A K A S H K U M A R

NATIONAL POPULATION POLICY

WHAT IS POPULATION POLICY?

Measures formulated by a range of social institutions including Government

which may influence the size, distribution or composition of human

population (Driver,1972).

A deliberate effort by a national government to influence the demographic

variables like fertility, mortality and migration (Organski & Organski,1961)

A set of Coordinated laws aimed at reaching some demographic goal

(Biurgeois-Pichat,1974)

WHY THERE IS A NEED FOR POPULATION POLICY IN INDIA?

NEED FOR POPULATION POLICY IN INDIA

On 11th May, 2000, India had 1 billion (100 crores) people, i.e., 16 percent

of the world’s population on 2.4 percent of the globe’s land area.

If current trends continue, India may overtake China by 2045, to become

the most populous country in the world.

Global population : ↑ 3 folds during this century (from 2 to 6 billion)

Population of India : ↑ nearly 5 times (from 238 million to 1 billion), during

the same period.

Stabilizing population is an essential requirement for promoting sustainable

development with more equitable distribution .

TABLE: GROWTH OF POPULATION OF INDIA

FIGURE: GROWTH OF POPULATION OF INDIA

% Growth/10 years, India: Censes-2001

-5.00

0.00

5.00

10.00

15.00

20.00

25.00

30.00

1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001

C E N S U S Y E A R S

% G

row

th/1

0 y

rs

CAUSES OF HIGH POPULATION GROWTH

A large size of population in the reproductive age group (estimated contribution 58 percent).

Higher fertility due to unmet needs of contraception (estimated contribution 20 percent).

High desire for fertility due to high infant mortality rate (estimated contribution 20 percent) .

Approximately 50 percent of the girls marry below the age of 18 years, resulting in a typical reproductive pattern of “too early, too frequent, too many.”

Preference for male child.

More children are preferred by poor parents as more workforce.

DEMOGRAPHIC ACHIEVEMENTS OF INDIA BEFORE NPP-2000

Reduced Crude Birth Rate from 40.8 (1951) to 26.4 (1998,SRS);

Halved the Infant Mortality Rate from 146 per 1000 live births (1951) to 72 per 1000 live births (1998, SRS);

Quadrupled the Couple Protection Rate from 10.4 percent (1971) to 44 percent (1999);

Reduced Crude Death Rate from 25 (1951) to 9.0 (1998, SRS);

Added 25 years to life-expectancy from 37 years to 62 years;

Achieved nearly universal awareness of the need for and methods of family planning, and ;

Reduced Total Fertility Rate from 6.0 (1951) to 3.3 (1997, SRS)

OBSERVATIONS ON THE NATIONAL POPULATION POLICY OF

INDIA- 2000

3 Objectives

4 New Structures

12 Strategic Themes

14 National Socio-demographic Goals (2010)

16 Promotional and Motivational Measures

150 Interventions

OBJECTIVES OF THE NATIONAL POPULATION POLICY-2000

IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE :

to address the unmet needs for contraception,

health care infrastructure and health personnel and

to provide integrated service delivery for basic reproductive and child health care.

MEDIUM TERM OBJECTIVE:

to bring the TFR to replacement level by 2010 through vigorous implementation of inter-sectoral operational strategies.

LONG TERM OBJECTIVE:

achieve a stable population by 2045 at a level consistent with requirement of sustainable economic growth, social development and environmental protection.

NEW STRUCTURES

The NPP-2000, is to be largely managed at the Panchayat and Nagar Palika levels,

in coordination with concerned State/ UTs.

For comprehensive and multi-sectoral coordination of planning and implementation

between health and family welfare on the one hand, along with schemes from

various other departments (like education, nutrition, and women and child

development,etc) the following structure has been proposed:

1. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON POPULATION;

2. STATE/ UT COMMISSIONS ON POPULATION;

3. COORDINATION CELL IN THE PLANNING COMMISSION;

4. TECHNOLOGY MISSION IN THE DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY WELFARE

NATIONAL SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC GOALS FOR 2010

1. Address the unmet needs for basic RCH services, supplies and infrastructure.

2. Make school education up to age 14 years free and compulsory, and reduce

drop outs rate from primary and secondary school levels to below 20 percent

for both boys and girls.

3. Reduce IMR to 30/1000 live births

4. Reduce maternal mortality ratio (MMR) to less than 100 per 1000 live births

5. Achieve universal immunization of children against all Vaccine Preventable

Disease (VPD).

6. Promote delayed marriage for girls, at age not less than 18,and preferable

after 20 years.

7. Achieve 80% institutional delivery and 100% by trained personnels

8. Achieve universal access to information/ counseling services for fertility

regulation and contraceptive with wide basket of choices

9. Achieve 100% registration of births, deaths, marriage, and pregnancy.

10. Containment of AIDS, and greater integration between the management of

AIDS and STD.

11. Prevention and control of communicable diseases.

12. Integration of Indian system of medicine in provision of RCH services, and in

reaching out to households.

13. Promote small family norm to achieve replacement level of Total Fertility

Rate 2.1.

14. Bring about convergence in implementation of related social sector

programmes so that family welfare become people centered programme.

MAJOR STRATEGIC THEMES FOR THE NPP-2000

In order to achieve the above goals Population Commission has identified 12 strategic themes. These are given below:

1.Decentralized planning and programme implementation

2. Availability of services delivery at village levels

3. Empowering women for improved health and nutrition

4. Child survival and child health

5. Meeting the unmet needs for Family Welfare Services

6. Diverse health care providers

7. Collaboration with the commitments from private agencies and NGOs

8. Greater emphasis for underserved population group

• Urban Slums

• Tribal communities, Hill Area populations and displaced and migrant

populations

• Adolescents

• Increased participation of men in planned parenthood

9. Involvement of Indian system of medicine in delivery of RCH services

10. Contraceptive technology and research in RCH

11. Providing health care and support for the older population

12. Information, Education and Communication .

PROMOTIONAL AND MOTIVATIONAL MEASURES

FOR ADOPTION OF THE SMALL FAMILY NORM:

Panchayats and Zila Parishads will be rewarded and honoured for exemplary

performance in universalising small family norm, achieving reduction in IM & BR.

Balilka Samridhi Yojana (Department of Women and Child Development)

provide cash incentive of Rs.500 at the birth of the girl child of BR1 or 2.

Maternity Benefit Scheme (Department of Rural Development) provide cash

incentive of Rs. 500 to mothers who have their first child after 19 years of age, for

BR 1 and 2 child only.

A Family Welfare linked Health Insurance plan – Rs. 5000 (for hospitalisation).

Couples below the poverty line will be rewarded for their active involvement in

Family Planning activities.

A personal accident insurance cover – sterilized spouse.

Creches and child care centers were opened in rural and urban slums.

A wider and affordable choice of contraceptives- at diverse delivery point

• Strengthen the facilities of safe abortion.

• Products and services – affordable through innovative social marketing schemes.

• Soft loans to local entrepreneurship & encouraged to run ambulance services.

• Ensures mobility of the ANMs.

• Increased vocational training schemes for girls, leading to self-employment

will be encouraged.

• Strict enforcement of the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1976.

• Strict enforcement of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Act, 1994.

• Reward for BPL couples for:

For marriage after the legal age of marriage

Register the marriage

First child after the mother reaches the age of 21

Accept the small family norm

Adopt a terminal method after the birth of 2nd child.

LEGISLATION:

The 42nd Constitutional amendment: Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seats are

frozen on the basis of 1971 census were valid up to 2001 that is further extended

till 2026.

79th Amendment Bill of 1992 disqualify a person for being a member of either

house of legislature of a state, if he/she has more than 2 children.

PUBLIC SUPPORT: Strong support of political, community, business,

professional, religious leaders, media, film stars, sports personalities, and opinion

makers has been sought for small family norms.

FUNDING: National Population Policy expressed that the programme, projects and

schemes promised on the goals and objectives of the policy 2000 will be adequately

funded.

OPERATIONAL STRATEGIES

Village self help groups to organize and provide basic services for RCH care ,

combined with the on going ICDS scheme.

Implement at village levels, a one-stop integrated and coordinated service delivery

package for basic health care, family planning and MCH care.

Where ever these village self help groups have not developed, community

midwives, practitioners of ISM, retired school teachers may be organized to perform

similar functions.

At village level, the Anganwadi centre may become the pivot of basic health care

activities, contraceptive counseling and supply, nutrition education and

supplementation and pre school activities.

Establishment of a maternity hut in every village with equipments, supplies and

medicines for safe delivery.

Trained birth attendants and traditional dais should be made familiar with

emergency and referral procedures.

Provide wider basket of choices in contraception through innovative social

marketing schemes to reach household levels.

Improve district, sub-district and panchayat level health management.

Strengthen Community Health Centres (CHC) and Primary Health Centres to

provide comprehensive essential and emergency obstetric and neo-natal care.

Strengthening skills of health personnels through various training activities.

Focus attention on men to promote the small family norm.

Sensitize train and equip rural and urban health centres and hospitals towards

providing geriatric health care

Ensure 100 percent routine immunisation for all vaccine preventable diseases, in particular tetanus and measles.

Provide appropriate training and orientation in respect of the RCH programme for the institutionally qualified ISMH medical practitioners (already educated in midwifery, obstetrics and gynaecology over 5-1/2 years).

Emphasis on ‘marketing the population stabilization programme’ at the ‘state level’ through contracted ‘professional services’ for ‘information, education & communication’ or IEC activities.

CONCLUSION

In the new millenium, nations are judged by the well-being of their peoples; by levels of health, nutrition and education; by the civil and political liberties enjoyed by their citizens; by the protection guaranteed to children and by provisions made for the vulnerable and the disadvantaged.

The vast numbers of the people of India can be its greatest asset if they are provided with the means to lead healthy and economically productive lives.

Population stabilisation is a multisectoral endeavour requiring constant and effective dialogue among a diversity of stakeholders, and coordination at all levels of the government and society.

Spread of literacy and education, increasing availability of affordable reproductive and child health services, convergence of service delivery at village levels, participation of women in the paid work force, together with a steady, equitable improvement in family incomes, will facilitate early achievement of the socio-demographic goals.

Success will be achieved if the Action Plan contained in the NPP 2000 is pursued as a national movement.

THANK YOU