National Population Policy of India - Features, Periods and Programmes
A popular population Policy of India aims at minimizing the birth rate and eventually stabilizing the growth rate of the population. In a country like India, where several people are illiterate, fatalities, tradition obsessed, and do not believe in family planning, only the Government's efforts can help in minimizing the birth rate and stabilizing the population growth.
A high growth rate is one of the major causes of India. India accounts for more than 17% of the total world population with limited to 2.4% of the World surface area. With the process of development since 1951, the death rate in India was decreasing whereas the birth rate was increasing rapidly.
The fearful growth rate of the population has created the issues of poverty, unemployment, and inequality. There has been a serious offense in social sectors like primary education, basic health, and social security. Indian scarce resources were consuming at a faster rate due to the rising demand. There has been environmental deterioration.
Considering these issues, the first National Population Policy In India was announced in 1976 to mount an immediate assault on population growth.
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What Are The Salient Features of India’s National Population Policy 1976?
The Salient of India’s National Population Policy 1976 are:
To raise the age for girls' marriage in India to 18 years and to 21 years for boys.
To adopt adequate measures to enhance the level of female education in all the states.
To intensify the monetary incentives for the person undergoing sterilization as per the total number of children in the family.
Additional incentives were given to the government employees for sterilization, having up to two children.
More focus on research.
Adequate use of motivational media, specifically in rural areas for increasing the acceptance of family planning.
To involve all the ministry/departments of government in the family planning program.
To have an appropriate place for population education in the total system of education policy.
The aim of India’s National Population Policy 1976 as per Indira Gandhi was not just to curb population growth but to have a happier and healthy life.
In the Post Emergency Period, A New National Population Policy Was Announced in 1977 By The Janata Government.
The salient features of National Population Policy 1977 are:
Renaming the family planning program into a family welfare program.
Making sterilization voluntary.
Monetary incentives are offered to those who go in for sterilization and tubectomy.
Fixing the girls marriage at 18 years of age and boys marriage at 21 years of age. This rule was enforced by the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act.
In an effort to control birth population policies among employees, corporate tax was to be exempted in private companies.
When Did The National Population Policy Come Into Effect in India?
The Indian National Population Policy came into effect in 2000. The National Population Policy 2000 announced the government commitment towards voluntary and informed alternatives and consent of Indian citizens while making use of reproductive health care services, and continuation of the target free approach in managing family planning services. The National Population Policy 2000 issued a scheme for strengthening goals and prioritizing strategies during the next decade to meet the reproductive and child health care needs of the people of India and to attain the net replacement level (TFR) by 2010.
What Are The Three Main Objectives of National Population Policy 2000?
The immediate objective of National Population Policy 2000 is to direct the partial needs for contraception, healthcare infrastructure, health personnel, and to provide the unified service delivery for basic reproductive and child health care.
The medium objective of NPP 2000 is to bring the total fertility rate to replacement level by 2010 through effective implementation of inter-sectoral operational activities.
The enduring objective of National Population Policy 2000 is to attain a stabilized population by 2045 at a level consistent with requirements of sustainable economic development, social development, and environmental protection.
Population Control Programmes In India
Following are population control program in India was initiated by the government to control the population:
Mission Parivar Vikas: The Government initiated the Mission Parivar Vikas for a considerable increase in access to contraceptives and family planning services in 146 high fertility districts with a TFR of 3 and above in 7 high focus states. These districts are from the state of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Assam, and themselves constitute 44% of the total country population.
New Contraceptives Alternatives: New contraceptives like Injectable contraceptives and Centrochroman have been added to existing baskets of alternatives.
ASHAs introduced the scheme for Home delivery of contraceptives.
Scheme for ASHAS to assure spacing in birth was introduced.
Improved Demand Generation activities through a 360-degree media campaign were initiated.
Assuring top-class care in family planning service by establishing Quality Assurance Committee in all states and districts.
Redesign Contraceptive Packaging: The packaging for OCPs, ECPs, has now been improved and redesigned in order to increase the demand for these communities.
Clinical Outreach Team Scheme: The scheme clinical outreach team was initiated in 146 Mission Parivar Vikas districts to provide family planning service through mobile teams from accredited organizations in far-flung, undeserved, and geographically district areas.
A new method of IUCD insertion immediately after delivery that is postpartum IUCD was initiated.
The National Family Planning Identification Scheme was introduced. It is the scheme under which clients are protected in the death incident, complications, and failure following sterilization.
Ashas introduced the scheme for the provision of Pregnancy Testing Kits in their drug kits to use in communities.
A dedicated software namely Family Planning Logistic Management and Information System (FP-LMIS) was initiated to assure smooth forecasting, procurement, and distribution of family planning commodities across all levels of health facilities.
FAQs on National Population Policy of India
1. Define Population growth.
Population growth is defined as the change in the number of people living in a particular area between two specific points of time. Population growth is always expressed in percentages.
2. What are the objectives of population growth?
The main objective of population growth is to attain a stable population at a level compatible with the requirement of sustainable economic growth, social development, and economic protection.
3. Name a few population policies and programs in India?
Following are the few population policies and programs in India:
National Family Welfare Programme 1951 with an aim to minimize the birth rate to the extent necessary to stabilize a population at a level consistent with the needs of the national economy.
National Population Policy 1976
National Population policy 1977
National Population Policy 2000
Postpartum Programme 1969
National Population Commision 2005
4. What is the target of the National Population Policy?
Following are the targets of the national population policy:
To attain a zero rate of population growth by 2045.
To minimize the infant mortality rate of below 30 thousand per live birth.
To minimize the birth rate to 21 per 1000 by 2010
To minimize the total fertility rate tp 2.1 by 2010.
To minimize the maternal mortality rate of below 100 per 1,00,000 live births.
5. When was the National Population Policy formed?
The national population policy was formed in April 1967. The primary assumption behind this policy was that the high birth rate was an outgrowth of poverty and must be tackled as part of an overall design for a better life.
