One of the major issues confronting India is its rapid population growth. Based on estimation of the most recent United Nations data, India's current population is 1.4 billion (1,403,237,339) as of March 29, 2022. Between now and 2050, India's population will grow by 273 million people. India is expected to remain the world's most populous country until the end of the century. The frightening rate of population growth has aggravated the problems of poverty, unemployment, and inequalities. Because of rising demand, India's resources are rapidly depleting. In view of the above the Government has formulated many policies on population including Family Welfare Department and National Population Policy, 2000. This article will explain to you about the Population Policies of India which will be helpful in preparing Geography for the UPSC Civil service exam.

What are Population Policies?

• Population policies are being developed to address unmet needs in relation to population.
• It includes contraception, health care infrastructure, and health personnel, as well as providing integrated service delivery for basic reproductive and child health care.
• The primary goal is to achieve a stable population that meets the requirements of long-term economic growth, social development, and environmental protection.
• The Government of India has developed several policies for population control in various Five-Year Plans.

Population Policies of India

Pre-Independence Period

• The British did not consider population growth to be a problem prior to independence.
• They had a neutral attitude toward birth control because they didn't want to interfere with Indian values, beliefs, customs, or traditions.
• As a result, this period is known as the Period of Indifference.
• The Indian intelligentsia, on the other hand, was aware of the problem of population growth and advocated for birth control.
• P.K. Wattal was the first to advocate for birth control in India, publishing a book on the subject in 1916.
• He was followed by R.D. Karve, Rabindranath Tagore, P.N. Sapru, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the Bhore Committee, among others.
• Gandhiji supported birth control as well, but emphasised natural methods such as self-control, abstinence, and a safe period over artificial methods.
• "During the last period of British colonialism, the intelligentsia prepared background thoughts related to birth control," wrote Prof. Gunnar Myrdal.
• After independence, logical and systematic birth control policies were implemented.

The Period of Neutrality, 1947-51

• Following independence and before the start of the planning era, there was a period of neutrality.
• The Indian government was preoccupied with post-independence issues such as post-partition rehabilitation, state reorganisation, and Pakistan's invasion of Kashmir.
• Jawaharlal Nehru, on the other hand, emphasised the need for a family planning programme in India at one of the Planning Commission meetings in 1949.
• So there were no policies on population stabilisation.

Population Policies Under Five Year Plans

• First Five Year Plan: In 1952, India became the first country in the world to implement a population control programme. It emphasised the use of natural family planning devices.
• Second Five-Year Plan: Work was done in the areas of education and research, with a focus on the clinical approach.
• Third Five Year Plan: The sterilisation technique for both men and women was adopted under the Third Five-Year Plan in 1965.
• The copper- T technique was also used. The Family Planning Department was established as a separate entity.
• Fourth Five-Year Plan: All forms of birth control were encouraged (both traditional and modern).
• Fifth Five Year Plan: The National Population Policy was announced on April 16, 1976, as part of the fifth five-year plan.
• The Sharda Act of 1929 set a minimum age for marriage, which was raised under this policy.
• It raised the minimum age for boys to 21 years old and for girls to 14 years old.
• On the basis of the 1971 census, the number of MPs and MLAs was fixed until 2001.
• Forced sterilisation was permitted under this plan, but it was later abolished.
• The name of the Family Planning Department was changed to Family Welfare Department by the Janata Party government in 1977.
• Sixth to Eighth Five Year Plan: Efforts were made to control population in the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Plans by determining long-term demographic goals.
• Ninth Five-Year Plan: In 1993, the government established an expert group to formulate national population policy under the chairmanship of M.S. Swaminathan.
• Despite the fact that this group drafted a new population policy in 1994, it was reviewed by the Family Welfare Department in 1999 and passed by Parliament in 2000.
• In February 2000, the central government released the "new national population policy."

National Population Policy, 2000

• On May 11, 2000, India's population surpassed 100 crore, and it was predicted that if current population growth trends continued, India will overtake China as the world's most populous country by 2045.
• During the twentieth century, India's population increased nearly fivefold, from 23 million to 100 million, while the world's population increased nearly threefold, from 200 million to 600 million.
• With a current annual population increase of 1.55 crore, it appears that maintaining a balance to conserve the country's resource endowment and environment will be difficult.
• Population stabilisation is critical for promoting sustainable development with more equitable distribution.
• The National Population Policy, which was announced on February 15, 2000, provided a policy framework for advancing goals and priorities to various strategies in order to meet India's reproductive and child health needs and achieve TFR by 2010.
• The policy's main goal was to address a variety of issues related to maternal health, child survival, and contraception, as well as to make reproductive health care more accessible and affordable to everyone.

Objectives

• Temporary objective: The provision of birth control devices was included as a temporary goal. It also included the development of a health-protection framework and the recruitment of health-care workers.
• Mid-term objective: By 2010, the total fertility rate (TFR) had to be reduced to 2.1, which was the replacement level.
• Long-term objective: The goal is to achieve population stabilisation by 2045.
• The population must be stabilised at a level that is harmonious in terms of economic, social, and environmental development and protection.

Targets

• By 2045, achieve a population growth rate of 0 percent.
• Lower the infant mortality rate to less than 30 per 1,000 live births.
• Lower the maternal mortality rate to less than 100 per 1,000 live births.
• By 2010, the birth rate should be reduced to 21 per 1000.
• By 2010, reduce the total fertility rate (TFR) to 2.1.

National Socio-Demographic Goals for 2010

• To achieve these goals and objectives. National socio-demographic goals have been established, with a deadline of 2010 in each case.

Goals

• Make education free and compulsory until the age of 14, and reduce primary and secondary school dropout rates for both boys and girls to below 20%.
• Address unmet reproductive and child health services, supplies, and infrastructure needs.
• Ensure that all children are immunised against all vaccine-preventable diseases.
• Encourage girls to marry later in life, preferably after they reach the age of 20.
• Control and prevent communicable diseases.
• Achieve universal access to fertility regulation and contraception information, counselling, and services with a diverse range of options.
• Achieve an institutional delivery rate of 80% and a trained person delivery rate of 100%.
• Achieve a 100% registration rate for births, marriages, and pregnancies.
• Incorporate Indian Systems of Medicine (ISM) into the delivery of reproductive and child health services, as well as household outreach.
• Prevent the spread of Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) by promoting greater collaboration between the National AIDS Control Organization and the management of Reproductive Tract Infections (RTI) and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI).
• Ensure that related social sector programmes are implemented in a coordinated manner so that family welfare becomes a people-centred initiative.
• Promote the small family norm vigorously in order to achieve TFR replacement levels.

Way Forward

Adopting a Women-Centred Approach

• Population stabilisation entails gender parity as well as controlling population growth.
• To maintain social cohesion, a balanced sex ratio is required.
• As a result, the government must take a women-centred approach, encouraging later marriages and births, making contraception accessible to women, and encouraging women to work.

Making the Switch to Modern Contraceptives

• Action is urgently needed to prevent unwanted pregnancies, particularly in northern states.
• The over-reliance on traditional contraception methods must be quickly replaced with safe and convenient alternatives.
• India can learn from its neighbours in this regard.
• Injectable contraceptives were first introduced in Indonesia and Bangladesh in the late 1980s.
• One jab, when done correctly, provides three months of pregnancy protection.
• Workers from Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) can be extremely helpful in this regard.

Emulating the Success of Southern States

• The fact that fertility reduction was successful in five southern states defies conventional wisdom that literacy, education, and development are required for population stabilisation.
• The simple explanation is that fertility decline occurred because southern governments actively encouraged families to have only two children, followed by sterilisation.
• To achieve this goal, nearly the entire state apparatus was mobilised. This is an approach that the northern states must take.
• Male vasectomy, which is far safer than female sterilisation, is also promoted by national and state policies.

Conclusion

The difference in population stabilisation between the southern and northern states is becoming disproportionately skewed. In such a scenario, demographics will overtake economic growth and demolish the gains made by a young population. As a result, long-term policy necessitates a stable population in order to meet the demands of sustainable economic growth, social development, and environmental protection.