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Focus 1995 October - December English |
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BULLETIN
OF POPULATION
FOUNDATION
OF INDIA
"Democratic Decentralisation and Population' Stabilisation Strategies"
,,T Mr Ramakrishna Hegde Advocates "Trishul" Approach
0 achieve population stabilisation in our problems of population growth, illiteracy and
country, we should use a "Trishul" (trident), unemployment has created a vicious circle where
i.e., a three-pronged method: Firstly, the stabilisation policies have become a casualty", he
cooperation and collaboration. method spreading observed.
awareness through literacy, education and information
According to the veteran politician and
campaign. Secondly, the incentive method such as administrator, despite all talk about involving the
providing full
employment to
•• ~--J.-f~-~~=~=,--:-:-,:-:=-n:vm=n.~~------
people
and
public ins titu-
an adult of one
child family.
.1
TlOII sHIIIIAMAJRISII: OFINDIA
..,-"POPIILATION FOUN
tions, family
welfare progra-
And thirdly, the
mmes
have
disincentive met-
remained largely
hod, barring the
official and have
people having
not had the
more than two
desired impact.
children from
However, it was
holding public
incorrect to say
office
and
that
the
contesting elec-
programmes
tions."
have suffered
This appr-
due to paucity of
oach towards
funds.
population stabi-
Citing the
lisation policy
and programmes
in India was
advocated by
On the dais (right to left): Mr. Ramakrishna Hegde, Dr. Bharat Ram and Dr. K Srinivasan.
At extreme right is the portrait of the late J R 0 Tata, Founder-Chairman of the Population
Foundation of India in whose memory the Foundation has instituted an annual lecture series.
Chinese example,
Mr Hegde said
that China was
"successful" in
Mr. Ramakrishna Hegde, former Deputy Chairman of bringing down the annual population growth rate to
the Planning Commission and Karnataka Chief Minister, less than two per cent because it used the "carrot and
while delivering the first JRD Tata Memorial Lecture stick" policy realising that the problem was far too
on "Democratic Decentralisation and Population serious to be treated casually. He suggested that India
Stabilisation Strategies", organised by the Population should adopt one couple one child norm if it is to
Foundation of India in New Delhi on September 19, achieve total literacy and full employment by the turn
1995.
of the Century.
Mr. Hegde said the magnitude of the problem
Mr Hegde called for establishing a genuine
of population was one of the major irritants against federal structure in the country comparable with
effective empowerment of the people. "The failure of American model. "Such a system is a defence against
the Centre in not according highest priority to the
Conid on page 4
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IN HIS MEMORY
Mr. J.R.D. Tata (1904-1993) was a colossus
among the Indians who enriched the national
life in the 20th Century in many ways. So
multifaceted was he that there is
hardly a field of national endeavour
which did not benefit from his
wisdom and support, both financial
and otherwise.
During his long and chequered
life, Mr Tata had promoted
and fostered several causes in
the service of science and nation.
The number of institutions and
causes he was associated with is
truly legion.
He was the recipient of many
an honour and award in India and
abroad. India conferred upon him
"Bharat Ratna", the highest civilian
award of the nation in 1992. The
same year the United Nations in
recognition of his unique services in the cause of
Population Stabilisation, conferred on him its prestigious
Population award.
In his own words, family planning, or in more
general terms, population regulation, remained Mr
Tata's 'most magnificent obsession' right from 1951.He
was convinced that controlling the population of India
through efficient and voluntary fertility regulation is
essential for modernisation and
development of the country. He
worked ceaselessly towards this end.
He realised the need of the
Government's
effort to be
appropriately supported by non-
governmental action and founded
the Family Planning Foundation in
1970, which was rechristened
Population Foundation of India in
1994. Chairing the Governing Board
meeting of the Foundation on March
30, 1993, Mr Tata had himself
commended the new name to "reflect
our change of stance and renewed
commitment to larger objectives"
necessitated by emergence of vital
concerns having a profound impact
on the population scenario.
In memory of this great son of India, the
Population Foundation of India, in its Silver Jubilee
Year, has instituted the "JRD Tata Memorial Oration
series".
A RIGHT TRIBUTE •• Dr. BHARAT RAM
In his address inviting Shri
Ramakrishna Hegde to
deliver the first JRD Tata
Memorial Lecture, Dr Bharat
Ram, Chairman, Population
Foundation of India, observed :
"Industry and Business and other
voluntary organisations should
work more vigorously and assist
the State effort in controlling
population. Family Planning is
obviously a non-controversial
issue. So, I would suggest that
all the political parties should
incorporate their priority for
family planning in their
manifestos for the forthcoming
general elections, This is
important as no amount of
planning could be fruitful unless
there is consistent effort by all
concerned over a long period of
time to first stabilise and then
bring the population to
manageable levels. This makes
economic sense too.
I would. strongly urge my
brethren in politics, industry,
business and other fields to forget
personal biases at least on the
issue of population control and
work hand-in-hand to enter into
a strong commitment to fight
poverty and backwardness by
ensuring Health and Education
for All - two of the important
factors for family planning ..... I
think, all of us must consider the
problem of family planning as not
only a social problem but an
economic necessity. If only we
can work out a national consensus
on our approach to collectively
deal with this problem, it will be
a right tribute to Shri J R 0 Tata
who had been making all efforts
to create national consensus to
curb population growth."
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JRD Tata Memorial Lecture
Population Stabilisation: Local Bodies and NGOs
Best Instruments to Achieve Objective
EXCERPTS FROM Mr. RAMAKRISHNA HEDGE'S LECTURE
v:; J rom this year, the Population Foundation of India
CQ£: (PFI) has instituted the annual ']RD Tata Memorial
~;ation"
to honour the memory of this great son of India who was
also itsfounder-Chairman and with whom population stabilisation remained
a "magnificent obsession" tilt his last day.
Mr Ramakrishna Hegde, a veteran politician and administrator, was
invited to deliver the first lecture of this series on the theme: "Democratic
Decentralisation and Population Stabilisation Strategies", during which he
paid a glowing tribute to the memory of Bbarat Ratna , Mr. J R D Tata,
who in his opinion, though in a slightly different sense, was "as great as
fauiabarlal Nehru or any other politician whom we respect".
The function held on September 19, 1995 was presided over by Dr.
Bbarat Ram, Chairman of the PFI and was attended by a distinguished
gathering of population, development and environment experts,policy makers
and planners as also representatives of international organisations. The
lecture was followed by a lively question-and-answer session which brought
into sharp focus the various issues requiring urgent action vis-a-vis
population stabilisation.
Here we present some excerpts from Mr Hegde's thought-provoking lecture
which is being published in booklet form for wider dissemination.
Weare at the threshold of
the 21st Century and also
.
at a point when the
population of this country will touch
the figure one billion. At this critical
juncture sustained effort is called
for to motivate the people to achieve
the objective of stabilisation of
population growth. It is my firm
belief that Panchayati Raj institutions
and NGOs are the best instruments
for this purpose. But do we really
have a network of such institutions?
Have we allowed the grassroots
leadership to grow?
Democracy
means
decentralised administration. After
the Independence, we started the
democratic process from the wrong
end. In a true federal system transfer
of power should start from the
bottom. The people at the grassroots
should decide the extent of power
they need for the development of
the community at that level.
Similiarly, at the district level, the
Zilla Parishad should. decide the
extent of power it needs to discharge
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JRD TATA MEMORIAL LECTURE
its responsibilities. Again, at the
State level} all the power needed for
the development of the State should
be retained by the State. The Federal
Government should have the
residuary power surrendered by the
State as it happened in the U.s.A.
and in Australia.
In India it happened the other
way round. The Constitution was
formed in the name of "the people
of India" by those who were the
rulers in the Centre where power
was concentrated. Hence the
phraseology
of democratic
decentralisation.
A New and
radical approach is called for.
Mine Is not a plea fo
decentralisation of power from New
Delhi to the States alone In my
opinion, decentralisation must be
right down to the village level. The
autonomy of local bodies is as
important as the autonomy of the
States. If Federalism is to be genuine,
it must include in its. scheme a fair
and adequate devolution of power
to local bodies as a matter of course.
For it springs from an outlook whose
central principles is - "Let the
people govern".
All the four units of
government, namely, the Federal
Government, the State Governments,
Radical Approach
Federalism is essentially a
political culture, an outlook on
national life. It is not merely a
question of Centre-State relations.
For long, discussion on Federalism
has been reduced to a debate on its
purely constitutional or political or
economic aspects; a matter of
division of powers between the
Centre and the States. This, of
course, is of vital importance; but
the issue is much wider than that.
.... It has always been my deep
conviction that strong States are
imperative for a powerful Centre. I
believe that in the interests of social
justice as well as economic
development of the country,
especially, rural development geared
to the removal of the plight of
poverty in our land, a new and
••I believe in the establishment
of genuine federal structure in
India, comparable with the
American system. Because
Federalism is a defence against
tyranny. It prevents the abuse
of power to a large extent."
the Zilla Parishads and the Panchyats
have their place in the national set-
up. If anyone of them is neglected
or undermined, the entire polity
suffers.
The Union Government
should concern itself with subjects
like defence, external affairs, foreign
trade etc, etc, and the State
Governments and the Zilla Parishads
and Panchayats should have
complete autonomy to run the
framework to be laid down by the
National Development Council
which should also include the
representatives of Panchayati Raj
institutions. I believe in the
establishment of genuine, federal
structure in India, comparable with
the American system. Because
Federalism is a defence against
tyranny. It prevents the abuse of
power to a large extent.
When I see the magnitude of
the problem of population, I feel
highly agitated at the failure of the
Government at the Centre in not
according highest priority to the
problems of population growth,
illiteracy and unemployment which
are actually inter-connected and
form a kind of vicious circle. "Free
and compulsory education for all
children until they complete the age
of 14 years" is a Constitutional
responsibility which was to be
discharged in a period of 10 years
after the Constitution came into
force. It is almost 50 years now and
we have only 30% literates. Many
other Directive Principles casting
obligations on the government have
remained unimplemented. Several
of them have a close bearing on the
stabilisation of population work.
One-Couple - One Child
Despite all talk of the
involvement of people and public
institutions
family welfare
programme has remained largely
official and therefore it did not have
the desired impact. This programme
did not suffer because of paucity of
funds. Since the village level
DEMOCRATIC DECENTRALISATION ...
Contd from page 1
tyranny and prevents the abuse of
power to a large extent", he opined,
Dwelling upon the subject of
decentralisation at length, Mr. Hegde
said programmes concerning the
pe~ple, particularly schemes like
literacy, family welfare and public
hygiene could not be implemented
successfully without the cooperation
and willing participation of the
people concerned, The best way/ to
do this was through grassroots
institutions.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr.
Bharat Ram, Chairman, Population
Foundation of India, said the tempo
of worthwhile programmes should
be increased and greater effort
should be concentrated on the
younger age groups especially in
the four or five states where the
fertility decline has been much
slower than the rest of India, Only
then can the goal of population
stabilisation be achieved, he
emphasized,
Earlier, introducing the guest
speaker, Dr. K. Srinivasan, Executive
Director of the PFI, said that the
process
of
democratic
decentralisation, which had been set
in motion in this country, owed in
no small measure to the unstinting
efforts of Shri Ramakrishna Hegde
who, as such, was the most
competent person today to talk on
the topic of democratic
decentralisation and population
stabilisation programmes,
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institutions were not actively
involved the money spent was
largely a waste. It is not just a
coincidence that the birth rate has
appreciably fallen in States where
there is high literacy rate and active
Panchayat participation. Cent per
cent literacy, full employment, cent
per cent health coverage before the
end of the century should be the
National Policy which can be
achieved if we implement one
couple-one child policy.
Perhaps, we may learn from
China's experience. The Chinese
government until 1979 provided
incentives to produce more children
and the growth rate reached almost
3% annually, but since 1979, the
Chinese Government realising the
danger completely reversed its
population policy and brought down
the annual growth rate to less than
2%. Now China is aiming at zero
per cent growth. This was possible
because China used carrot and stick
policy. Noted economist Amartya
Sen speaking on population policy
recently has observed that
"cooperation can contribute
something that coercion cannot
provide". Of course coercion of
JRD TATA MEMORIAL LECTURE
the Emergency kind is out of
question. But the problem is far too
serious to be casually treated.
HTrishul" : A Three-
pronged Strategy
You may recall that in mid
1950s Pandit Nehru introduced a
new programme called Community
Development Programme which
•• At thrs Critical juncture
sustained effort IS called for
to motivate the people to
achieve the objective of
stabilisation of population
growth It is my firm belief
that
Panchayat.
Raj
institutions and NGOs are
the best Instruments tor trns
purpose ••
within a few years attracted the
attention of many developing
countries. This programme covered
every aspect of the life of the people
in a given area in rural India
including liferacy, public and
personal hygiene, social welfare,
family planning, besides other rural
development schemes. Emphasis
was on social education touching
different aspects of the individual
as an integral part of the community.
All rural programmes were to be
implemented by the Panchayati Raj
institutions
with people's
participation. The message was "we
help you to help yourself". This
brought a new awakening in the
countryside and created a new
awareness even among the illiterate
about their rights, responsibilities
and their welfare.
I strongly recommend that a
new Community Development
Programme should be started in.
India, the soul of which should be
social ed uca tion. To achieve
population stabilisation in our
country we should use a " Trishul"
(trident), i.e., a three-pronged
method : Firstly, the cooperation
and collaboration method spreading
awareness through literacy,
education and information
campaign. Secondly, the incentive
method such as providing full
employment to an adult of one-
child family. And thirdly the
disincentive method, barring the
people having more than" two
children from holding public office
and contesting elections.
PFI THINK-TANK DISCUSSES FUTURE FOCUS OF ITS PROGRAMMES
Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, Chairman
of the Advisory Council of the Population
Foundation of India, presiding over its
meeting held on October 11, 1995,
suggested that PFI redefine its goals
and strategies in clearer terms so that
the focus of its programmes should be
shifted from the traditional family
planning and population control to more
humane and caring approach towards
reproductive health with definite.
emphasis on women and gender equity.
Fully supporting the views of.
quite a few members for giving greater
attention to human resources
development
and
community
involvement,
Dr, Swaminathan
appreciated PFI's proposal to launch
intensive population and development
programmes on a massive scale in two
districts, viz Ghaziabad in U.P. and
Kota in Rajasthan. He, however,
emphasized that to ensure the success
of such ambitious programmes, both
macro and micro level issues should be
handled properly and political
commitment from the top ensured right
from the beginning.
The Chairman considered this
action research project as an important
step in the right direction and felt that
with the cooperation extended by the
government agencies, it should be
possible to influence policies at the
.rnacro level and programme
implementation at the micro level.
Dr. k.. Srinivasan, Executive
Director oJthe PFI, informed the meeting
that a Need Assessment consisting of
representatives
from Industry, .
Government and the Foundation will
visit these two districts to estimate, inter
alia, the total cost required to make
significant dents in the demographic
parameters of these two districts.
.Welcoming the proposal to
convene a National Seminar on
"Populatlon Policies and Programmes
: Current Situation and Future Trends"
in December this year as part of the
Silver Jubilee Celebrations of the PFI,
Dr. Swaminathan expressed the hope
that it will spawn concrete suggestions
for use at policy level and also in the
involvement of Panchayati Raj and
nagarpalika institutions in the population
related issues.
Referring to the draft of a proposal
on health and population prepared by
Dr. Srinivasan for being incorporated in
the election manifestos of various
political parties, the Chairman advised
due care and caution in such a sensitive
matter. The general feeling was that
although the proposal was a step in the
right direction to secure political
commitment, there was need for further
fine-tuning with a view to ensuring its
acceptance by the political parties.
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FOURTH WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN
INDIA MAKES SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION
The United Nations fourth
World Conference on Women
held at Beijing (China) from
September 4 to September IS, 1995,
was perhaps the largest international
meet ever hosted by the U.N., what
with 17,000 participants, who
included 6000 delegates from 189
countries, almost 4000 accredited
non-governmental organisation
representatives and the same
_______________________________
Women's participation in
decision making process and the
critical role of education and health
were some of the other issues
stressed by India which were
mentioned in the documents.
The Beijing Declaration and
the PFA were adopted after 12 days
of difficult negotiations. India, along
with Canada, co-chaired the drafting
committee for the declaration. The
the empowerment its main plank,
India made a successful bid for
inclusion of sustained economic
growth and development as the key
factor.
The 'Global Framework'
section saw intense debate between
the European Union and the Islamic
countries on empowerment, human
rights and implementation strategies
in view of differing priorities,
policies and socio-cultural factors.
THE MOST IMPORTANT GAIN
Perhaps the most important gain from the Beijing Conference
was the acceptance by the World Community that discrimination
against women begins at birth, that it is not enough to plan
to raise the status of women without ensuring that girls are
allowed to be born, and if that happens then they are educated
and raised with a sense of self-worth.
India succeeded in putting together
a balanced draft which was finally
accepted covering empowerment,
human rights and sovereign
responsibilities of the countries.
India also mobilised support
for acceptance of the right to
development as an inalienable right
and to overcome poverty within the
framework of sustained economic
••------------------------------
number of media persons. Over
30,000 NGO participants met in
Huairou, about 50 kIDSfrom Beijing,
a week before the official
Conference.
In perspective, India can look
back with much satisfaction at the
outcome of the Conference. Not
only were the concerns of this
country amply reflected in the
Beijing Declaration and the Platform
for Action (PFA), the Indian
delegation played no small role in
helping to hammer out differences
and prepare the final documents.
Of special significance was
the concerted action of the official
delegation and the various Indian
detailed action plan, or PFA,
involved intense, but happily
successful lobbying by India for
highlighting its anxieties.
India received a thunderous
applause as its representative, Mrs
Sarla Gopalan, Secretary for Women
and Child Development, said that
growth
and
sustainable
development. It was instrumental in
securing a commitment from the
developed countries to provide new
and additional resources.
Violence against women was
acknowledged as one of the main
obstacles to achieving the goal of
equality, development and peace.
NATIONAL POLICY ON WOMEN
Addressing the Beijing Conference, the Union Human Resource
Development Minister, Mr Madhavrao Scindia, announced that
the Indian Government would formulate and operationalise a
National Policy on Women which will guide action at every level
and in every sector.
NGOs.The two documents reflected ---t-h-e---c--o-u--n-t-r-y----h-a-d----n-o---r-e--s-e-r-v--a-t-i-o-n----i-n--
India's priorities and concerns, such .the adoption of the three-page Beijing
as eradication of poverty, sustained Declaration and the 145-page
economic growth, commitment of "Platform for Action". She was, in
the international community, access fact, the first speaker at the
to markets and technology, concluding session to make such an
emphasis on the girl child and the unambiguous announcement.
adverse impact of terrorism on
In the PFA, under the section
women.
"Mission Statement' which made
India strongly projected terrorism
as contributing towards increased
violence against women, which was
included in the PFA.
Development
is about
investing in people to enable
them to build a better future.
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~IDELINES FOR
PROdECT FUNDING BY THE PFI
The Population Foundation of India (PFI), a
non-governmental funding and promoting
organisation, receives many requests for funds
from a variety of organisations for a range of project
ideas. Quite often, the project proposals are either
vague or they do not fall in the priority areas of
activity of the Foundation resulting in unnecessary
and avoidable waste of time and energy. The following
guidelines are intended to assist the organisations
seeking financial and technical support from the PFI
for formulation of their project proposals:
The proposal should conform to one or more
areas of operations of the PFI which are:
1. Integrated Population-Development-Enviornment
linked Policy Research, Programmes/ Action-
Demonstration Projects.
2. Reproductive health aspects of population and
their relationship with fertility regulation and
mortality control.
3. Gender equity and demographic transition.
4. Medical aspect of family planning and bio-medical
and contraceptive technology to a limited extent
before. the stage of human trials.
5. Information, Education and Communication
strategies in population-development-environment
.issues.
6. Management, Marketing and Community
Distribution Techniques and involvement of
Organised Sector on population issues.
7. Special Sector programmes linking family planning
and reproductive health with agriculture, industry,
labour and employment, education, health, social
development and environment.
8. Demographic Surveys/Studies on special topics
of current interest.
9. Conferences/Seminars/Workshops to a limited
extent.
The Foundation accords higher priority to
action-demonstration projects designed for socially
and economically backward target populations in
rural and tribal areas and particularly encourages
projects which involve women as active participants
in the action. Relatively low priority is given for
Conferences /Seminars /Workshops.
The processing of well-designed project
proposals takes three to four months. The client
organisations are expected to submit their project
proposals for the consideration of the Foundation
well in advance, before November of each year for
,
funding to begin from next financial year (April-
March).
Before any project proposal is sent to the
Foundation, the applicants are advised to send at the
first instance a 3 or 4 page preliminary note which
should, inter alia, cover the following points in
connection with the proposed budget:
1. Tittle of the project.
2. Brief history and details of the institution
concerned, its objectives and its activities
particularly during the last 3 or 4 years.
3. Scope and objectives of the project.
4. Outstanding features justifying the need for
financial support.
5. Methodology proposed to be adopted.
6. Location, area and population to be covered
under the proposed project.
7. Total duration, time-schedule for various phases
and the proposed date of commencement.
8. Methods and indicators for monitoring of
evaluation of.the project, and
9. Proposed budget - given under the following
basic items:
A) (a) Salaries (specifying the designation for each
member of the staff, salary structure and total
emoluments; (b) Office equipment including
typewriter, duplicating and calculating machine;
(c) Furniture; (d) Vehicles; and (e) Other non-
consumable items.
B) (a) Books; (b) Printing and Stationery; (c) Travel
and local conveyance charges; (d) Consultancy
charges; (e) Collection of data, cost of field work;
(f) Statistical processing, computer charges; (g)
Postage, telegram and telephone, (h) Contingencies
and unforeseen items of expenditure, (i) Overhead
charges for general services provided including
accommodation, furniture and other facilities
which should not normally exceed 5% of the total
expenditure on the project.
C) Evaluation: 5% of the project cost to be built in
into the budget.
The Foundation generally funds projects from
Rs. 25,000 to Rs 10 Lakhs depending upon the size
of the project.
After considering the above preliminary note,
the Foundation will send further communication or
invite full proposal, as the case may be.
Letters of enquiry may be addressed to the
Executive Director Population Foundation of India,
B-28, Qutub Institutional Area, New Delhi 110016.
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INTEGRATED ACTION PLAN
FOR TWO DISTRICTS MOOTED
Inthe Governing Board meeting
of the Population Foundation
of India (PFI)held on September
20, 1995, under the chairmanship of
Dr. Bharat Ram, the members whole-
heartedly endorsed the suggestion
of the Chairman to undertake family
planning and reproductive health
programmes in an integrated manner
with joint collaboration between the
Foundation,
Industry
and
Government in two districts-
Ghaziabad in U.P. and Kota in
Rajasthan. (These districts were
chosen in view of their high level
of industrialisation and proximity
to Delhi.)
Dr. Bharat Ram said it would
be necessary to make an assessment
of the existing situation vis-a-vis
reproductive health, fertility levels
contraceptive use, infrastructure and
other .facilities available in these
two districts and estimate the future
needs of the population to achieve
rapid reduction in infant and
maternal mortality, increase in··
contraceptive use and reduction in
fertility. With this purpose, a Need
Assessment Mission consisting of
representatives from the Industry,
Government and Foundation could
visit these districts and prepare an
estimate of the total cost required
to make significant dents in the
demographic parameters of these
two districts. Thereafter, they could
discuss how these requirements
could be met in a shared manner
by the three agencies, and if need
be, international organisations could
also be approached for funding this
Integrated Action Plan.
Discussing the proposal, Mr.
B.G. Verghese expressed the view
that such a plan could serve as a
model for strong and integrated
input for health and family planning
on the pattern of the Integrated
Agricultural Development Plans
implemented in selected districts in
late 50s and early 60s while Mr [.C.
Pant, Secretary Department of
Family welfare, indicated that the
Government could provide all help
needed for such an Integrated Action
Plan.
Endorsing the Chairman's
view that time was opportune to
mount large scale action research
projects in Bihar, Governing Board
asked the Executive Director to
initiate action towards organising a
Roundtable on Population Policies
in Bihar under the chairmanship of
its Chief Minister.
While discussing the note
prepared by the Executive Director,
Dr. K. Srinivasan on the Policy
Directions and Strategy of Action
for the next five years (1996-2000),
the Governing Board endorsed the
view of Dr V.A. Pai Panandiker that
population policy objectives should
get higher priority over other items
while not relegating to the
background formulation and
implementation of action-research
projects in selected areas and
methods of monitoring such
programmes.
INTERACTION
WITH
THAI EXPERTS
A team of six Health arid Family Planning
experts from Thailand led by Professor
Charas Suwanwela, President of
Chulalongkom University, visited the
PopulationFoundationof India on October
. 25, 1995. After brief presentations by
expertsfrom Thailandand India, a general
discussion was held on development of
public health and family planning
programmes in both the countries with
special reference to family planning and .
AIDS. This sharing of experiences will
help in fine-tuning of action programmes
in these two important areas of vital
interest to both the countries.
The group photograph taken on this
occassion shows the Thai and Indian
experts with the staff members of the
Population Foundation of India.
Published by the POPULATION FOUNDATION OF INDIA, 6-28, Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi-110016. Tel.: 6867080, 6867081
Designed and Printed by Reproductions India, F-39, East of Kailash, New Delhi-110065. Tel.: 6422289. 6415600.
Editorial Direction & Guidance: Dr. K. Srinivasan
Editorial Consultant: J.L. Saaz
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