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Focus 1987 October - December Vol-1 No-1 |
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Bulletin of Family Planning Foundation, Volume I, No. I, October-December 1987
Managing Population Problem
JRD presents four-point Strategy
o "Increase the age of marriage presented by Mr. J. R. D. Tata in
and enforce the law effectively;
o Expand-female literacy as Kerala
&0
has done it;
o Take advantage of the advent
his key-note address at the seminar
on "Population Management
Search for New Strategy", orga-
nised in New Dehli on August 29
of television, re-orient messages by the Rajaji International Insti-
in tune with the realities of tute of Public Affairs and Adminis-
village life and make sure that tration and the Family Planning
television sets are installed and Foundation.
maintained virtually in every large
Mr. Tata made it clear that he
village;
was fully aware of the many other
o Use the potentially powerful role dimensions of the population' pro-
of monetary incentives and, to blem, but, he added, "I believe
a lesser extent, disincentives as a that a reduction in the birth rate
means of motivating people to is an essential pre-con.dition of our
adopt the small family norm".
achieving the ultimate objective of
This four-point
strategy was hea Ith and welfare for all and'
freeing the country from the crippl-
(Cant. on page 2 Col. 1)
Young mother in villages know
lhat their mothers and grand-
mothers used to produce lots
of children. And lots of them
died. The infant mortality has
come down. It is the result of
efforts made in the last 10
20 years. Today's efforts are
apt to yield results in the coming
years.
Law alone cannot
change the situation
Why so little concem
-J.R.D. TaTa
FPF Study on Age At
Marriage
At any time, over 10 million
girls below the age of 11 are
married in India, This is notwith-
standing the fact that we have a
ten-year-old law which increased
the age of marriage of girls from
15 to 18 years and for boys 18 to
21 years.
A study, sponsoisd by the Family
Planning Foundation this year,
brings into sharp focus the fact
that the old spectacle of girls
(Cant. on page 2 Col. 3)
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Ed~toraai
Twas J. R. D. Tata, the doyen of Indian industry,
who, like Julien Huxley in the United Nations,
sounded the first alarm signal on the population front
in India. His dedication to the cause of family
planning, as a vital investment in human welfare, was
the· principal inspiration behind the formation of the
Family Planning Foundation in 1970.
Over the years, the organisation, under his guida-
nce; has sought to serve the society by focussing on
the many intricate issues that are so highly relevant
to family planning and yet get side-tracked somehow.
The Foundation has supported those who have
come forward sinc8fely with the competenc" 31\\-,
the tenacity to go into these issues, experiment Wii.
new ideas and, wherever possible, develop perti.
nent models in tune with specific situations bu.
elastic enough to be replicable elsewhEre in identic"
conditions.
The Foundation has gathered rich experience
Feelers have been thrown again and again thm ii
should share it with like-minded institutions anc
individuals.
Hence this bulletin.
The Found;:ition will value suggestions that ma~
help make the bulletin better.
Seminar
(Cant. from page 1 Col. 3)
ing pressures of an ever-rising
population".
As the country stood on the
threshold of the 21st century, the
basic issue, Mr. Tata said, was
"whether, as a free and richly en-
dowed people, we achieve bare
survival or the vigorous growth
which alone can assure to our
people the happiness and pros-
perity for which they have yearned
for so long".
The Minister of Health and Family
Welfare, Mr. P. V. Narasimha Rao,
who inaugurated the seminar,
stated that while many states
had shown downward trends in
birth rates, large states like U.P.,
M.P., Rajasthan and Bihar, which
contain 40 per cent of the country's
population, had high birth rates
of 40 per thousand and conse-
quently high population growth
rates. He added significantly that
in the recent past these states,
too, particularly U.P., had started
showing better performance.
Mr. Narasimha Rao made special
mention of the immunisation and
oral rehydration programmes and
expressed the hope that their
effective implementation would
bring down the infant mortality
rate in the country and also reduce
maternal mortality.
Mr. C. Subramaniam presided
over the seminar. While summing
up its deliberations, he under-
scored the point that family welfare
should not remain the exclusive
responsibility of the Health Minis-
try alone. The concern should be
shared by the government as a
whole.
That, however, Mr.
Subramaniam added, was not in
evidence.
Mr. Subramaniam advocated de-
centralised functioning according
to Gandhian philosophy. Planning
and implementation, he said, should
be entrusted to the district level
and primary health centres should
be energised through formation of
local committees with majority of
membership going to women.
It was the first seminar of its
type in the Capital. The participants
included Ministers, parliamentarians
belonging to different parties,
industrialists, demographers, social
scientists, doctors, representatives
of voluntary organisations and emi-
nent persons known .for their
interest in population-related
matters.
Mr. Narasimha Rao assured them
that their deliberations would re-
ceive serious attention from the
Government.
Aptly, the Parliament House
(Cant on page 7 Col. 2)
Marriage Age
(Cant. from page 1 Col. 3)
marrying at a tender age conti·
nues unabated; so does the prac·
tice of child marriagos.
The situation can change only
the study stresses the point if thl
law is backed effectively by ex
pansion of female literacy an<
employment, social reforms anc
modernisation.
The current family welfare stra·
tegy lays heavy emphasis on rais·
"This measure (marriage law)
was indeed adopted in 1978
when the legal age of marriage
was raised from 15 to 18, but,
as we all know, this law has
been, from ihe st,trt, perhaps
the most flouted one in our
country, and a large proportion
of' girls are married well before
the legal age because, while
there is little social pressure
against early marriages, our State
Governments are more sensitive
to possible vote-losing conse-
quences than in enforcing the
law."
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i"g tha age at marriage as one of
the principal means of reducing
birth rate. The study indicates that
female literacy and equal oppor-
tunities for women constitute the
real key to the problem.
Evidence shows that the age at
marriage increases as the literacy
workers in the industrial sector.
The areas chosen for the pro-
jects are Faridabad, which is the
eighth largest industrial town in
the country; Gurgaon in Haryana
and Okhla in Delhi. Nearly 4,000
industrial units employing half a
million workers are lacated at the
Gross Unosr-
Utilisation of Family
vVeJfare Servkes
Dismal picture in UP, MP,
Bihar and Rajasthan
~.Ievel increases. In 1981, in rural three places.
A Family Planning Foundation
India, it was 16.9, 17.6 and 19.2 in
the case of girls who were "literate
but below middle", "middle but
below matric" and "matric but
below graduate". In urban areas,
the situation was almost similar -
17.2, 18.0 and 19.7.
The marriage age in the case of
girls with a degree was above
21 - both in rural and urban
i1reas.
Y Similarly, wherever women are
The projects seek to sensitise
both management and workers in
their mutual interest. These can
lead to similar programmes else-
where in the country.
A number of organisations, in-
cluding those from the govern-
ment and the voluntary sector, are
collaborating in the three pro-
jects.
Workers in the three areas select-
analysis of the government -
sponsored baseline surveys of 21
backward districts in Bihar, U.P.,
Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh
conducted in 1980-82 reveals that
the family welfare services pro-
vided by the nation at immense
cost are grossly under-utilised,
particularly in villages.
Overall utilisation is less than
10 percent of what is supposed to
be available.
engaged in gainful economic acti-
vity or careers, they tend to marry
late. But where agricultural labour
is the only occupation of the
husband and wife, the female
marriage age is much lower
12.3 years in rural areas.
The Foundation study has re-
ed represent a cross-section of the
working class in the country. In
Faridabad, they are engaged mostly
in' large industry. In Okhla, the
bulk of the units are medium.
In Gurgaon, but for Maruti, most
units fall in the catesory of small
industry.
The percentage of currently
married women and women
married during the four years pre-
ceding the surveys, who cared
to get themselves registered with
primary health centres or sub-
centres in villages for ante-natal
Oi post-natal check-up or possible
commended that in the indian
The environment in which medical aid in case of complica-
situation, where marriage IS uni- workers in the three areas live tions, was just about seven in
versa~ and early marriage is has important variations. In Farida- most cases.
common, if any law raising the bad, they live in their own homes;
The analysis unfolds a similar
age at marriage is to yield any
significant results, it must be
accompanied by effective large-
they can be called urban and
approached both at the individual
and family levels. In Gurgaon, they
scenario in relation to immunisa-
tion of children against common
diseases of childhood. In Bihar,
scale processes of socio~economic
development, with high accent on
ducation and jobs for girls.
come mostly cycling from neigh-
bouring villages. Their back-
ground is rural. Themselves moti-
not more than 6.2 per cent of the
children surveyed had received
immunisation against polio.
vated, they can become agents of
There is so much stress on
Day of the Five
Billion
change in their villages. In Okhla,
a large majority of workers live
either in slums or in the resettle-
administering Vitamin. A tablets to
children as a safeguard against eye
diseases. Only 7.4 per cent of the
ment colonies. Their environ- children had received these tablets
Foundation launches Pilot
Projects for Industrial Workers
ment situation is altogether diffe-
rent. The project can help im-
prove it.
in Rajasthan. In Madhya Pradesh,
this percentage was less than one.
While most deliveries took place
July 11 was observed the world
over as the "Day of the Five
Billion". On that day, the Family
Planning Foundation launched
three pilot projects intended to
There are some 25 million
workers in the organised sector
of industry in the country. The
projects in Faridabad, Gurgaon and
Okhla can stimulate similar schemes
in village homes, in less than 5
per cent cases the auxiliary mid-
wife or the lady health visitor of
the nearby primary health centre
or sub-centre cared to visit the
promote family welfare among in other industrial areas.
expectant mother before or after
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delivery. Most births were attend-
ed by relatives and friends.
The availability level of services
tended to diminish everywhere
with increase in distance of a
village from the primary health
centre.
The analysis also reveals a big
gap between awareness and know-
ledge about family planning me-
thods. While the former was
widespread, the latter in certain
cases was as low as 2.6 per cent.
The method commonly known
was sterilisation. There was hardly
any familiarity with spacing me-
thods.
Sources of knowledge in most
cases were not mass media, but
relatives, neighbours and friends.
The survey in Bihar was con-
ducted by the Registrar General of
India in collaboration with the
International Institute of Popula-
tion Sciences (II PS), Bombay;
Population Research Centre, Patna ;
National Institute of Health and
Family Welfare (NIHFW) and the
Directorate of Health Services,
Bihar. In Madhya Pradesh, it was
organised by N.I.H.F.W. in colla-
boration with the State Directorate
of Public Health and Family Wel-
fare. In Rajasthan, it was done by
liPS in collaboration with NIHFW
and the Directorate of Health Ser-
vices of the State Government. In
U.P., the Population Centre
Lucknow, conducted the survey.
All the surveys were sponsored
by the Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare. These were part
of a large scale programme of
organising baseline surveys in the
demographic situation and utilisa-
tion of health services in 67 back-
ward districts in 15 major states
of the country in which area pro-
jects were launched.
Area Projects
The primary aim behind the
area projects is to make health
and family welfare services avail-
able to the people close to their
doors and to improve technical
and management capabilities of
staff on the one hand and monitor-
ing and evaluation of programmes
and activities on the other.
An additional sum of Rs. 275
crores was provided in the budget
of the Ministry for this purpose.
The area projects are currently
under implementation. The results
of the initial investment made in
them are still to be evaluated.
The conditions prevalent in the
area project districts do not nece-
ssarily reflect the situation all over
the country. The fact that these
districts were selected on the basis
of backwardness suggests that
conditions elsewhere may be
better. In certain cases, these can,
however, be worse.
Mr. P. V. Narasimha Rao, Union
Minister for Human Resources,
while addressing the seminar on
Population Management - Search
for New Strategy, organised in
New Delhi on August 29, said that
U.P. and the northern states as a
whole had started showing better
results in relation to family welfare
performance. This should mean
improvement in utilisation of ser-
vices as well.
Development Scenario in
Villages
RAJASTHAN
Female literacy
Access to tap water -
Availability of
electricity
Latrine facility
MADHYA PRADESH
Female literacy
Access to safe
drinking water
Availability of
electricity
Availability of public
latrines
BIHAR
Female literacy
Access to safe
drinking water
Nil
4.8%
12.4%
20%
A vailability of
electricitv
A vailability of public
latrines
UTT AI=? PFUJ.DES./-f
Female literacy
Access to safe
drinking water
Availability of public
latrines
9,$%
0 7%
12%
20%
6%
No need. no advantage
No custom
System not known
Place far away
Staff does not care
Money problem
- If the present growth rate conti-
nues, in 35 years India's popula-
tion will double itself to 1.5
billion.
The birth rate has remained
stagnant between 32 and 33
for nearly a decade, ~otwith-
standing increase in the prac-
tice of family planning.
- Th~ birth rate in UP, MP, Bihar
and Rajasthan is as high as 40.
Nearly 40 per cent of the coun-
try's population lives in these
four states.
The fertility rate in these states
is also high - between 5.0
and 6.0 as against the all-
India level of 4.5.
So is the infant mortality rate,
between 100 and 140 as
ag;inst 95 at the national level.
The death rate in the four states
ranges between 13 and 16, in
contrast to 11.7 in the country
as a whole.
Fertility and mortality levels all
over are much higher in rural
areas than in urban.
As of date, one out of every
seven persons in the world is
an Indian.
Does Strength lie in numbers?
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investigation into the critical factors
Universal literracy ill1
India bV 1995
responsible for high infant morta-
lity amongst the more vuln erable
sections of the society.
The survey covered 800 viilages
Manupur is a small village in the
By 1995, all persons in the 15- in 33 districts in Uttar Pradesh,
Ludhiana district in Punjab. It 35 years age group in India will be Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa
came into inter'national fame in made literate, according to the and Greater Bombay.
the early seventies as an off- Education Secretary to the Govern-
To obtain near representative
shoot of what has come to be ment.
results, various socio-economic
known as the Khanna Study done
Among the rest, those belong- segments of the population were
by Mahmood Mamdani in the ing to the school-going age are chosen carefully. Three hilly and
sixties and published as a book exposed to the formal process of- four plain/rural districts of Uttar
later in 1972 under the title "The education.
p'radesh, five relatively less de-
Myth of Population Control".
The programme of adult literacy veloped and five relatively more
When Mamdani studied, the is to be implemented through the developed rural and tribal districts
village, the family planning pro- use of various inputs of science and of Madhya Pradesh, five districts of
gramme in the country was just technology, specially designed for Karnataka with both rural and
over a decade old. Mamdani's the purpose.
urban characteristics, five tribal
study said that it had tota lIy flopp-
The technology mission for eli- districts of Orissa and ten notified
ed and made the point that mination of illiteracy has been re- slums of Bombay were covered.
"people want larger families be- christened as the National Literacy
Data was collected from about
cause they need them".
Mission.
800 rural and urban units, 2,500
Tefl years thereafter, in 1982,
Over 60 agencies like CSIR grass-root health workers, 1,10,000
Moni Nag and Neeraj Kak visited laboratories, agricultural universi- households and 25,000 mothers
the same village. They found that ties, engineering colleges, mass who have experienced births in the
the picture had altogether changed. media units and language research last two years.
While family planning was de- organisations would help in im-
Five prestigious institutes, namely
bunked earlier in Mamdani's study, plementing the programme.
the Giri Institute of Development
Nag and Kak discovered that 50
The total expenditure on it dur- Studies, UP; the Nationa I Insti-
per cent of Manupur couples in ing 1987-90 would be to the tute of Health and Family Welfare,
the reproductive age group were tune of Rs. 550 crores.
New Delhi; Population Centre,
using some contraceptive method.
Karnataka; Insti+ute of Tribal
This was considerably higher than
Health & Social Sciences, Orissa;
what obtained elsewhere in the
Punjab and the whole of India,
33 per cent and 26 per cent res-
Red pen as literacy
symbol in Ethiopia
and a group acting under the
guidance of Dr. Victor S. D'Souza,
Bombay, were directly involved in
pectively, at that time.
conducting surveys, interviews and
What was it that brought about
Like the Red Triangle in India, data collection.
this significant change in the situa- the Red Pen in many parts of
The International Development
tion in Manupur? While Nag and Ethiopia has been adopted as a Research Centre, Canada, gave
Kak have not pin-pointed the symbol of literacy. If the symbol financial assistanc~ for the prcject.
specific factors respom ible for thE; appears on a sticker on the front
The data analysis is now on.
change, their one conclusion is door of a house, it means that
The survey acqu ires consider-
that three interrelated aspects of the household is free from illiteracy. able significance in the light of
development have played a crucial
the fact that the infant mortality
role in bringing it about.
rate in India is very high - nearly
These are: (1) introduction of
modern agricultural technology;
(2) institutional innovations; (3)
expansion of forma! education,
particu larly among girls.
The moral is obvious.
Causes behind high
infant mortality
Foundation completes survey
The Family Planning Foundation
has just completed a fairly large
100. In the world, as a whole, it
is 84. In the more developed
countries, it is as low as 19. In
neighbouring China and Pakistan,
it is 44 and 124 respectively.
Within the country, there are
wide variations - between rural
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and urban areas and between one
state and another. In the country
as a whole, the infant mortality
rate in urban areas is 65; on the
other hand, in rural areas, it is
114.
Kerala has the lowest infant
mortality rate with 30 per 1,000
live births. This is half of what
India is trying to achieve by the
end of the century. On the other
hand, U.P. has the highest, i.e.
147. Next come MP and Orissa
with 134 and 132 respectively.
The intimacy of relationship bet-
ween infant mortality rate and
birth rate is widely recognised. In
Kerala the birth rate has already
come down to 25.5 per 1,000,
as against the current national
average of 33 and the 2000 AD.
goal of 21. What is more signi-
ficant is that there is not much
variation between urban and rural
areas in the matter of birth rate in
Kerala. While in the former, it is
24.4 per 1,000, in the latter, it is
25.8. On the other hand, the
birth rate in UP and MP is 38.9
and 38.2 with wide variations
between urban and rural areas,
viz. 32.3 and 40.1 in UP and
31.8 and 39.6 in M P.
Reduction in infant morta lity
rates finds a high place in the
national order of priorities. The
Family Planning Foundation's ini-
tiative is apt to contribute to a
clearer understanding of the situa-
tion and the search for its solu-
tions.
Vitamin A reduces
infant mortaHty
Researches conducted in Java
in Indonesia indicate that Vitamin
'A' is not only effective in prevent-
ing blindness in children, but can
also cause a significant decline in
infant mortality. Further, it can
enable children to grow taller,
weigh more and be less suscepti-
ble to anaemia.
Higher incentives
work in Punjab
India is currently passing through
what can be called the baby boom.
The daily count exceeds 60,000
Should incentives be enhanced
to make them attractive enough to
motivate' the people to accept
family planning? While_this debate
has been going on for years in
India, as well as elsewhere,
Punjab has shown that even a
small enhancement works.
Last year, the state government
increased the incentive for vasec-
tomy from Rs. 150 to Rs. 500 for
two months. This had a dramatic
impact. As against the annual
while the per minute count is
around 42. The monthly figure
would come to 18,33,333.
In all 22 million babies are born
every year.
On July 11, when the world
touched the 5-billion mark, India's
population was 781.3 million.
The figure might have been
much more but for the family
welfare programme which claims
to have prevented 76 million births
horn its inception tc March '86.
figure of 10,000 vasectomies, in
those two months alone, over
31,700 vasectomies were perform-
ed.
This year, incentives for HarijE'n
couples with two children were
enhanced by the same amount.
The results was over 15,000 vasec-
tomy operations.
What is equally important is
that the enhancement caused a
significant shift in the tubectomy:
vasectomy ratio.
Baby Dearth in the
West
Some of the Western 'countries
are suffering from a shortage 01
babie,.s. In the U.S.A. fertility rate is
reported to have come down tc
1.8 which is much berow the re-
placement level of 2.1
The West is worried that therE
may be a shift of political, econo'-
"It is an unfortunate, but
perhaps inevitable, fact that in
a country such as ours in which
most of the people are not only
poor but largely uneducated and,
therefore, unaware of economic
realities, monetary or equiva-
lent economic incentives can be
a potent means of motivating
people to do or not to do things
to which they have been accus-
tomed for centuries."
(From JRD's address at the
Population Management Semi-
nar) .
mic, and military power balance as
a result of the changing demo-
graph ic situation.
The fertility level in the Eastern
8loc~ is 2.3. In the developin(;
countries it ranges between 2 anc
4.
While India and many othel
countries are trying to contain
tQeir population, voices are bein(;
raised in the West to give high
incentives to parents for produc-
ing more babies. One of thE
suggestions puts the amount 01
incentive in the U.S.A. at 2,OOC
dollars per child per annum up tc
the age of 16 yea~.
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V'lorst dr,olUght H1
cera ury
india has been hit by the worst
drought of the current century.
Eleven states are reeling under
its severe impact.
Over 110 districts have been
,. affected badly and another 152
partially. Even 'drought proof
districts like North Arcot in Tamil
Nadu have failed to escape.
Scarcity of fodder, grain, vege-
tables, water and essential commo-
dities marks the scene in the
districts in grip. Reports of ten-
sions' conflicts, robbery, arson,
looting and even distress sale of
t girls appear in the national press
almost every day.
What will be the effect of this
near catastrophe on fertility?
A Tree a child in
Turkey
The birth of every child in the
farmers' community in Turkey
leads to the birth of a tree as well.
According to an age-old tradi-
tion, in that country whenever a
child is born in a farmer's family, a
poplar tree is planted. By the time
the child grows into adulthood,
the tree becomes a harvestable
crop. The national advantage is
in'crease in afforestation.
" Abortion .. takes heavy
toll of lives
One out of every four induced
abortions in the world occurs in
India. What is worse is that most
of the abortions in our country
are performed illegally.
According to one estimate, bet-
ween 40 and 60 million women in
the world over undergo induced
abortions every year. Out of these,
33 million are legal. The rest are
illeg~1.
In India, the Shantilal Shail
Committee, whosa recommenda-
tions led to the enactment of the
law called the Medical Termina-
tion of Pregnancy Act in 1971, put
the figure of illegal abortions every
year at 3.9 million.
Since most illegai abortions take
place in clandestine conditions,
their precise number would never
be known. The World Bank had
put this figure a few years ago at
six million. The number may be
ranging between four and six
million,
In contrast, under the MTP Act
1971, only 4.54 million legal in-
duced abortions were performed
between April 1972 and March
1986.
Foundation to have its
own building
Early in 1989, the Family Plann-
ing Foundation will move to its
own building in the institutional
area, next door to the Jawaharlal
Nehru University. The building has
a plinth area of 46,000 sq. ft. It
is likely to be completed by
December 1988.
The foundation stone was laid
by Mr. J. R. D. Tata on December
17, 1986.
(Cont. from page 2 Col. 2)
Annexe was chosen as the venue
of the seminar.
Theme Papers
The Family Planning Foundation
had prepared two theme papers
for it. These were sent to the
participants in advance. One was
on Population and Development
and the other on Management of
Family Welfare Services.
The Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare had prepared a note on
the programme. This, too, was
circulated.
The inaugural session had three
principal speakers
Mr. C.
Subramaniam, Mr. J. R. D. Tata
and Mr P. V, I\\]araslmha Rao
The sessions that followed were
devoted to intensive discussion on
the issues listed in the papers and
those emerging from the main
speeches.
Broad Conclusions:
The seminar came to six broad
conclusions:
1. People, by and large, do not
perceive family planning as
an essentiaI need;
2. the development process,
particularly in relation to
spread of female education,
has not been fast and even
enough to help family wel-
fare;
3. the attitude of medical and
para-medical personnel is
apathetic;
4. the services are inadequate;
5. knowledge and motivation
amongst the people are lack-
ing; and
6. it is necessary to invo,lve
voluntary organisations more.
purposefully in the total eHort.
There was a general co'nsensus
that the country needed a national
policy on family welfare and 'all
development d~partments of the
government and all sectors of the
society must be associated fUlly
with the formulation and imple-
mentation of this policy.
Other pertinent points:
Some of the other pertinent
points made at this seminar were -
a. Introduce higher incentives;
. b. include family planning in
medical education;
.
c. improve the system of collect-
ing statistics;
d. decentralise administration of
family planning services;
e. enforce the marriage law;
f. do not take increase in couple
protection rate as indicative of
any dramatic decline in birth
rate;
g. do not forget the cultural
factors;
h. Bring down infant mortality_
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l anS(1 mant
JRD VOlc1:lS .a,aap Concern
shortcomings as we·1 as from the resources, particularly in those criti.
Eiaborating his fom-poim stra- few suc.cesses It had the Know- cal areas which today lag be-
tegy at the seminar. Mr. Tata said ledge, the skills and the too's to hlild", he concluded
that the population problem was
not an age-old.one, but its sudden-
ness and speed "took the country
overcome the obstacles in the
way.
"We have", he said, "acquired
Narasimha Rao Shares JRD's
Concern
by surprise, including the Centrai invaluable experi'ence 'in planning
Mr. Narasimha Rao in his address
and State Governments which not and administering huge welfare stated that the high birth rata in
only lacked experience to deal with programmes of great complexity U.P., M.P., Bihar and Rajasthan
the grave socio-economic pro- and have made substantial pro- was equally a matter of grave con-
blems it caused, but aggravated gress towards our objectives. 45 cern to his Ministry. He added at
them by giving them such a low million couples in their reproduc- . the same time that these states,
priority as to devote, year after tive age or 35 percent of the total particularly U.P., had started pick-
year, only one per cent of Plan have been effectively protected ing up and expressed the hope that
outlays to dealing with them".
against unwanted births 76. million they would move faster in the
Mr. Tata added: "With well
future.
over a third of our continuously
growing population still below the
poverty line, with our agricultural
resource-base mercilessly eroded
by deforestation, soil erosion and
pollution; with availability of new
land for crops steadily diminishing
and existing land holdings relent-
lessly fragmented, our villages are
no longer havens of peace and
relative prosperity, and the young
increasingly tend to flee from them
in order to migrate to over-crowded
.;ities in search of a better life,
instead of which they find they
h"ve to endure the degradation of
slcJmlife, brittle social relations and
frequent turmoil.
"As a result, more than half of
the people of Bombay, India's
rich .st city, live in disgraceful hut-
ment colonies and some of them
Ii~erally on the city pavements.
The position in Calcutta is no
bbtter except for the fact that the
city has more space in which to
expand. Shortages of drinking
water and power, traffic conges-
tion,'over-crowding in hospitals
and schools are such that the
authorities of our capital cities
feel that they are fighting a losing
battle".
No Cause for Despair
"Would it be unfair to suggest
that it is the Government, as
much as the people of the States
lagging behind in the rate of
literacy amongst their women
who need to be educated and
motivated, and that whatever
be the reasons given, or the
justification claimed for the low
literacy rate, in glaring contrast
with the performance of other
States, they can no longer to
be accepted or tolerated in the
future. "
births are estimated to have been
averted so far and 8 million are
being averted every year."
Stress on Management
"With better management and
support, the organisation built up
over the years of 12,000 primary
health centres and 90,000 sub-
centres manned by over 40,000
doctors, 185,000 multipurpose
health workers and 390,000 village
health guides could dramatically
tr'ansform the grim situation still
facing us.
"What was required was not
merely an increase in the' size of
budgets but an enlightened result-
Another matter of deep concern
to us, Mr. Rao added, "is that a
large majority of the couples
reached by us are older than 30
years of age while the need is to
reach the couples in younger age
group. In fact, it is these couples
who have high. fertility potential
and who should be reached at ,,~
earliest if we are to brin'g about a ~
substantia'l reduction in c' ~ th ,
rate".
. Beyond Family Planning
"It is for this reason", he said,
"that we are now increasin~.
attaching importance to what we
call "beyond family planning ss'
tors" approach, such as, stepping
up female literacy, raising the age
of marriage, improving emplo I.
ment opportunities for women ana
raising their status. It is also for
this reason that we are attachinc:
greater importance to matern':L
health and child survival".
Mr. Rao referred to the poor
quality of health services in the
rural areas and assured the semi-
nar that efforts were afoot to
improve them and also to streng-
then the infrastructure.
Mr. Rao expressed the hope that ",
the deliberations of the s3minar
would be of great use to the
Mr Tata felt that still there was based strategy of a1I0catiolls, care- government in improving the im-
no cause for despair The country fully determined prioritie" and prementation of the familv plann-
had learnt from its failures and sagacious deployment of human ing programme.
Published by the Family Planning Foundation, 198 Golf Links, New Delhi 110003
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