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Focus 1990 July - September |
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Family Planning in the Ninetees:
Search for New Approaches
In observance of the World Population Day on July 11, 1990,
the Family Planning Foundation organised a day-long symposium in
New Delhi on the theme: "Family Planning in the Ninetees: Search
for New Approaches."
Eminent demographers. social scientists, planners, professionals
in the medical field, economists, senior government officials, and other
distinguished persons concerned with population and environment prob-
lems participated in the symposium which was inaugurated by Mr. J.R.D.
Tata, Chairman of the Foundation.
It was a land-mark symposium in so far as 'itdid a thorough
'manthan' (churning) of the current Indian population policies and
programmes, and spawned quite a few new ideas and strategies for
the Ninetees to make our Family Planning Programme more in tune
wih the realities of the grave situation facing the country. We present
here a brief report of the deliberations at the symposium.
Welcoming the participants,
the Executive Director of the
Foundation, Mr. Harish Khan-
na, said there was a realisation
( allround that in some respects
~ we had reached a near-static
threshold in our population
planning programme especial-
ly as it pertains to lowering of
birth rate, amt:that keeping in
view the fact that India's po-
pulation continued to grow at
the rate of 2.1 percent per
annum and age-specific ferti-
lity was high, we have to give
urgent consideration to the
next step to achieve the objec-
tives defined in the 'Health
for All' declaration. He ex-
pressed the hope that the deli-
berations of the symposium
would prod uce some policy
leads which might be of inter-
est to planners of the national
f2.mily planning programme
and also help the Foundation
to determine its future prio-
ri ties.
Time is Running Out
In his opening remarks,
Mr. J. R. D. Tata made an im-
passioned appeal to the parti-
cipants to take the population
issue very seriously as he felt
that time was running out and
in some respects the situation
was going from bad to worse.
Recalling his long association
Patrons may please note that from
5th November, 1990, the administra-
tive offices of the F"mily Planning
Foundation wilJ function from B-28,
Institutional Area, near Qutab Hotel,
New Delhi-ll0016.
with the family planning
movement over several de-
cades, Mr. Tata said, in the the
beginning he got the impres-
sion that the political and
intellectual leadership of the
country did not take the popu-
lation problem seriously. But
the alarming developments in
later years had forced every-
body to take note of the grow-
i~ magnitude of the problem.
Referring to the threshold
mentioned earlier by Mr. Ha-
rish Khanna, Mr. Tata said,
"Indeed, weliave reached a
threshold which is quite
threatening now."
Analysing the causes of
India's relative failure in the
field, Mr. Tata observed:
"Sometime, I feel that India is
an un-governable country.
Judging'fr,om the kind of think-
ing on handling population
growth the government has
adopted, it wol1ld seem impos-
sible to succeed. A pertinent
issue relates to choice of strate-
gy. For a vast and complex
country like ours, it .is well
nigh impossible to govern from
the centre. Over-centr,alisation
negates independence of think-
ing and action in the States.
Today one notices some think-
ing which favours extensive
decentralisation. There is some
hope. However, I feel the
change should be brought
urgently."
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Continuing with this note of problems of communication rated its achievements as in-
optimism, NIr. Tata g,ave a call and management. The posi- significant. He said the Indian
for positive action. He said. tion can be rectified only if programme suffers from sel£-
"There is still room for pur- the States are compeUed to deception, ignoring the realities
poseful action to motivate the share part of the funding, in the field. Its failure is
people and to devise methods from their own resources and largely due to flawed percep-
of making the people think making them answerable to tion and unimaginative handl-
about the population problem." the people. This may also ing and at times dishonest dis-
Mr. Tata, however, regretted reduce pressure on target set- tortion of the priorities of deve--
that the gravity of the prob- ting and target achievement lopmental needs of the people
lem was yet to be realised which at present constitute the in India.
properly by important sections only means by which the Cen- Pointing to the dismally low
of our people. Even our leaders tre can exercise control over credibility of the family plan-
who were expected to set ex- the implementation of the pro- ~ing programme particularly
amples were found lacking in gramme and ensure account- m those States which are most
this respect. He had the feel- ability of central funds.
populous as well as socially
ing during his interactions with He also favoured flexibility and economically backward.
various groups that most peo- in the existing rigid pa.ttern Dr. Bose said, in India family".
ple were not serious about it. of staffing and restructuring planning cannot be advocatec.
He said, "Young people who of the Health set-up taking ina routine manner as part of '..
are going to be married and into account the wide varia- a governmental programme.
have children do not bother tions in socia-economic and Dr. Bos,e said that as in most
about this matter. Not even social conditions in diff,erent agricultural sodeties, people in
the Government, administra- States.
India want two sons. We must
tors, poEticians respond to this Responding to the presenta- take note of this demographic
urgent question. I feel sorry tion of Dr. Srikantan, the fun?amentalism existing in
that the youngsters also ignore Deputy Registrar General, IndIa. In such a situation the
reality. They must be made to Mr. K. S. Natarajan, expressed appeal to limit the family at
see that population crisis is the opinion that the greatest two will mean only two sons
real and they must realise that single factor which can bring- which contradicts the highly
if something is not done it is down the fertility rate is im- advertised message that girls
going to affect their children, provement in female literacy. are as good as boys. Accept-
their families, their future."
Mr. Natarajan said on the basis ance of this message calls for
Mr. Tata hoped that the dis- of updated 1981 census data there social and cultural transfor-
tinguished participants would are some 46 districts in the coun- mation which is yet to come.
show the way. as to how to try comprising 18 per cent of our Pointing out some other de-
force this vital issue into sharp population where child mortality fects in the official family
focus and carry concern to the is high, female literacy is low, age planning programme, Dr. Bose
people.
of marriages is early, and fertility said there is an obsession with;'
Flexibility is the Key-word
rates higher. He suggested that technology-whether it is orga.;1•.\\,.
these districts could be chosen as nisation of mass camps, loops, <
Dr. K. S. Srikantan, Direc-
tor, Gokhale Institute of Poli
tics and Economics, Pune, pre-
sented a 'Profile of Current
Birth Rate and Fertility and
Population Projects for the
Next Decade'.
Pointing out the basic weak-
nesses in the family planning
programme in India. Dr. Srikan-
tan said that it still continues
to be a totally centrally funded
programme while the imple-
menta.tion is in charge of the
States. This duality of control
priority areas for concentrating
population control programmes
along with developmental inputs.
Demographic Fundamentalism
Dr. Ashish Bose, President,
Indian Association for the
Study of Population, while
severely criticising some well-
accepted notions and policies,
made useful suggestions in his
presentation "An Overview of
Indian Family Planning Pro-
gramme: Achievements and
Problems".
laparoscopy or the latest craze .-
for sex determination before
birth through amino centesis.
This obsession ignores the
urgent need of providing match-
ing health care.
Dr. Bose was equally critical
of the incentives scheme and
observed that it is manifestly
naive to try to entice people
to adopt family planning by
giving them incentive money.
He said there are problems in
the matter of both delivery of
services and programme
nagement and the latter
had created a lack of commit- Dr Bose was highly critical haps accounts for 60% of
ment. not to speak of serious of the Indian programme and problem.
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"PRETTY, 9-13"
Dr. Bose suggested a con-
structive plan of action to put
the efforts on the right track.
He said the 8th Plan mllst
have a new comprehensive
scheme for girls in the 9-18
age group which according
to him is crucial in detentlin-
ing the fertility behaviour.
He termed the scheme as
"PRETTY, 9-18", which stands
for 'PROGRAMME OF EN-
RICHMENT OF TEN TENDER
YEARS'. He said the scheme
should take care of girls as
they reach the age of puberty
and look after their develop-
ment till the age when they are
ready to enter married life
,Lccordingto prevailing customs
in India, by taking an integrat-
ed view of their nutrition,
schooling, skill-formation, em-
ployment, delayed marriage
From le/t to right; Mr. K. S. Natarajan, Deputy Registrar General, Mr. J. R. D. Tata.
Chairman. Family Planning Foundation and Mr. Harish Khanna, Executive Director
Family Planning Foundation at the symposium on Family Planning in the Nlnetees.
and immediate practice of con-
traception after marriage.
Institute of HeaLth and Family in the organised sector and
Dr. Bose warned that singling Welfare (NIHFW).
agricultural labour unions in
out a factor like female lite- Prof. Talwar mentioned the the unorganised sector.
racy without energisation of various surveys and projects
Mr. Mukhopadhyay sug-
concomitant factors may not carried out in different parts gested that the Family Plan-
yield the desired. results.
of.. the..,.c;o.untry on the role of int' Foundation should draw up a
Responding to Dr. Bose's;··~NiOOs-·,andthe problems faced plan to reach out to these vast
observations Mr. P. K. Uma- by them in the implementation untapped agents of social trans-
shanker, Director, Indian Insti- of the programme.
formation who work close to the
tute of Public Administration
He said the consensus of people and involve them in the
(formerly Special Secretary, recent deliberations in work- work of family planning.
Health and Family Welfare,
GOI) said that demographic
fundamentalism which exists
shops and seminars strongly
support the need to set up a
nodal body exclusively to inter-
Integration of Health and
Family Planning
in India is a reality but it need act with NGOs and promote The next topic, "Major Thrust
- not be a permanent feature and their interests. Such a body Areas for Integrated Health
T can undergo changes when should be outside the Ministry and Family Welfare Policy",
favourable conditions are creat- of Health and Family Welfare was presented by Dr. J. P.
ed for such a change. In this if it has to be free of bureau- Gupta, Director, NIHFW.
context we must still consider cratic complications.
Dr. Gupta began by asserting
female literacy as a key factor. Responding to .the presenta- that contrary ~o oft-repeated
Mr. Umashanker said the tion, the Director, Voluntary declarations, there re.ally was
way out lies in reforming the Health Association of India no integrated health and family
existing model by changing the (VHAI), Mr. Alok Mukho- planning population policy.
shape of the programme and padhyay, gave his own sug- Dr. Gupta suggested that
making it less centralised and more gestions for greater involve- family planning and family
states-oriented.
ment of 20-30 thousand social welfare should be taken out
The third topic taken up by activist groups outside the field of the purview of the Health
the Symposium was 'The Gov- of political parties, who could Ministry. The Health Ministry
ernment/NGO Interface: Pros- effectively take up family should totally devote itself to
peets for the Future'. Back- planning as an important part health care and concentrate on
ground was presented by Prof. of their social work. Also to providing services. He em-
P. P. Talwar of the National be tapped were trade unions phasised that there was no
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alternative to good services. mission.
problems could be taken care
A perceptible improvement in Initiating the discussion. of by a single move. To im-
maternal and child health care Dr. Harcharan Singh wondered prove impact of communi-
will automatically have a bene- why there should be an obses- cations, Mr. Verghese suggested
ficialeffect on fertility be- sion with the word 'new'. He production of audio-visual pro-
haviour. However, as an emer- asked: why search for new grammes locally by creating
gency short-term measure the things when several old things local facilities. Other sugges-
thrust should be on the im- of merit have still not been tions made by him were re-
provement of the quality of given a fair trial? He identi- duction of Parliamentary seats
family planning services and fied some such issues. for States with persistent high
efficient programme manage- Dr. Singh defended target set- birth rates and a scheme of in-
ment.
ting as an index of what the centives to fertile women for
Management Problems
Since several speakers had
put great emphasis on manage-
ment aspects, the Chair invited
Dr. J. K. Satia, of the Indian
Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad to give his views
on this aspect of the pro-
gramme.
Dr. Satia said the factors to
be considered in managing the
programme are fairly clear.
There should be adequate
services and people should be
offered a choice of methods.
The people's needs for health
and family planning care
should be ascertained and
efforts made to bring about
community participation. He
suggested that a single manage-
ment approach may not be
vaHd uniformly throughout'
the country; it should vary
according to the regional situa-
tion. Integration of develop-
mental programmes as envisag-
ed in a total package of deve-
lopment may not be done in a
routine manner as different
geographic areas may be at
different stages of develop-
ment in different sectors.
Integra·tion may be done where
necessary after workinp; out the
priorities. He further suggest-
ed a division of labour between.
the government agencies and
non-government
organisations.
A suitable mechanism has to
he worked out.
Varying Approaches
These presentations were
followed by a discussion mo-
derated by Dr.. Harcharan
Singh, Adviser, Planning Com-
programme intends to perform. spacing.
He said what can be criticised
Dr. Mira Aghi (International
is the present method of set- Development Research Cen-
ting targets and the way they tre) commented that in draw-
are chased. There is no need ing up population programmes,
to totally abandon targets.
we had not taken people's
Participating in the discus- sentiments into consideration.
sion, Dr. Alka Malwada Basu Consequently, programmes had ._
of Institute of Economic failed to create emphatic res-t
Growth, suggested thai family ponse.
planning may be advocated Dr. Banoo Coyaji said the
for women who already have quality of services provided by
the desired number of children. the Health and Family Plan-
For others, emphasis should be ning Departments continue to
on greater health care. She be sub-standard and their im-
further suggested that efforts provement should be a matter ".--..
should be made to reduce de- of high priority.
pendence on hospitals for child Mr. S. P. Godrej suggested
birth. Advice for family plan- tha t as an effective disincen-
ning can be given to a mother "tive persons with more thaI1
in the more intimate home three children should be dis-
atmosphere in the traditional qualified for public jobs.
way.
Dr. Meera Chatterjee wel- Policy Perspectives for the
comed the suggestions on Ninetees
diversification of methods, The summing-up on 'Policy
agencies and approaches as well Perspectives for the Nineties'
as decentralisation of pro- was done by .a..n expert panel
gramme management.
She including Dr. V. A. Pai Panan-
said State-sharing of expendi- dikar, Director, Centre for Po-
ture may lead to greater licy Research, Dr. Banoo Coyaji
political commitment.
and Dr. Shanti Ghosh.
Dr. John Rodhe of UNICEF Dr. Panandikar welcomed
welcomed Dr. Ashish Bose's the government's recentdeci-
proposal of a special plan for sian to decentralise authority
girls in the age group 9 to 18.
Narrating his experience of
working in several countries,
Dr. Rodhe said, Indonesia had
made substantial investment
in promoting education and
they are reaping the benefit
in less than 15 years.
Mr. B. G. Verghese suggested
that girls may be employed in
large numbers in education
and programme planning. He
suggested that a special meet-
ing of the National Develop-
ment Council be convened to
discuss specifically the popu-
lation problem. The meeting
may devote itself in finding
ways of articulating political
will to support family planning
and to develop an effective
design of decentralised func-
and health sectors so that many tioning.
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/1 25 / // /1-;
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,
2000
1975
0~~~~~~·~~/1950
B. Aires Jakana Tehran Shanghai Bomoay Ca!cuna New York Tokyo Sao Paulo Mexico C.
Source: UN Population Oivision
Rapid Urbanisation Hits Children Most
Since 1950, the number of
people living in cities has al-
most tripled and the world's
urban population is expected
to reach 2.234 billion this year.
According to the latest report
on "The State of the Environ-
ment 1990" published jointly
by the United Nations Environ-
ment Programme (UNEP) and
United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF), in the industrialis-
ed world urban population rose
by over 80 per cent from 477
million in 1950 to an estimated
377 million in 1990. In the
developing world, urban popu-
lations much more than quad-
rupled over the saine period,
from 286 million in 1950 to
1,357 million by 1990.
The report said in many de-
veloping countries, slum dwel-
lers and squatters already
make up 50 to 75 per cent of
the urban population. By the
year 2000, more than two bil-
lion people-40 per cent of the
developing world's popula'tion
-will live in cities and towns
in the developing world. This
rapid urbanisation in the deve-
loping countries has exacer-
bated the already dire prob-
lems in urban centres, and has
strained the capadty of most
services. The deteriorating
Governments to provide basic pointed out that many cities
environmental conditions in have begun successful pro-
such urban areas have had grammes aimed at improving
their most profound impact on living conditions and employ-
children, the report noted.
ment opportunities for im-
In many developing cities,
destitute people living in make-
shift shelters or on the streets
poverished urban families and
for the millions of street
children.
can expect to see one in four The report said the rise of
of their children die before the the supercity poses massive
age of five due to malnutrition- '\\ environmental and social prob-
related diseases.
lems for their inhabitants,
The UN report, however, particularly children. By early
next century, 60 per cent of
Cry Baby, Cry
all people 'could be living in
cities.
About 40 per cent of all
young children who die
every year, 45 per cent of
those malnourished, 35 per
cent of those not in schools
and 50 per cent of those
who live in absolute pover-
ty are to be found in just
Many children, who do not
find work, end up on the
streets. Some 100 million child-
ren live on. the streets of the
world's cities to,day. They live
adrift on the margins of adult
society-.<;cavenging, stealing,
and finding transient jobs, sel-
three countries-India, Pa-
kistan and Bangladesh.
Of India's total popu-
lation 42 per cent are child-
ren below 15. Not only in
absolute numbers but in
the percentage of children
who are malnourished or of
low birth weight are higher
in south Asia than in other
regions of the world----in-
eluding sub-Saharan Africa.
ling small items, shining shoes,
guarding a\\1d washing cars.
Gangs and prostitution and
drug trade are inevitable to
many, report said.
For children in many coun-
tries, various combina tions of
economic recession, national
debt, drought, soil degradation
and deforestation have turned
the 1980sinto a decade of grow-
ing malnutrition, the report
added.
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Populationl Environ-
ment Problem Needs
Serious Attention
"The main deterrent to pro-
gress is our unmanageable
numbers, whose basic needs
require enormous resources.
Unfortunately, time has reveal-
ed that we have lacked the
political will to implement our
national family planning pro-
gramme zealously. We have
failed even to bring about the
directly needed sense of proper
awareness."
Mr. S. P. Godrej, a promi-
nent industrialist and member
of the Governing Board of the
Family Planning Foundation
made this observation in a
recent letter addressed to Prof.
Madhu Dandvate, Union Fi-
nance Minister, underlining the
serious neglect of Population/
Environment nexus all these
years.
Drawing the Finance Minis-
ter's attention to the almost
unanimous view of the experts
(expressed by them on World
Population Dayan July 11)
that they had failed in curtail-
ing their population growth,
Mr. Godrej said that though
competent bureaucrats were
expected to implement schemes,
yet it would be a great advant-
age to have ministers who
were committed to the port-
folios they were entrusted
with.
While agreeing to the need
for
rapid
development,
Mr. Godrej stressed, "we cannot
only think of development
without taking care of the
basic necessities like health.
including housing, education ...
striking the proper balance in
a scientific manner is the cru-
cial point."
Making a strong plea for
proper tackling of the funda-
mental population/environment
problem, Mr. Godrej said that
it would be the under-privi-
leged and poorer sections of
society who would suffer most
if due cognizance was not
taken of this serious prohlem.
"Indian "Vomen From
Birth to Twenty"
About 12 million female
children are born every year
in India but 1.5 million do not
live to see their first birthday,
a report on "Indian Women
from Birth to Twenty" says.
Another 850,000 girl children
succumb to premature death
within Iive years of their birth
and only nine million live to
approach their 15th birthday,
the report said.
It says that by the turn of
the century, recently born
females and girls up to 20 years
would have borne the next
generation of girl children.
"By that year, there will be
almost 250 million young girls
between zero and 20 and an
equal number of older women".
the report says.
The report, brought out by
the National Institute of Pub-
lic Cooperation and Child De-
velopment (NIPCCD), was
distributed to the non-Govern-
mental organisations a't a meet-
ing of women voluntary orga-
nisations. which was told that
Government was working on a
long-term strategy to better
the status of the girl child.
Infant Mortality
Highest Among Tribals
Infant mortality in the tribal
districts of Orissa is the highest
in the state, if not in the coun-
try, going by the startling facts
revealed in a study conducted
recently by the West Bengal
based Child in Need Institute
(CIN!).
The CrnI survey conducted
in Ganjam, Phulbani and Kora-
put districts disclosed that
infant mortaHty was as high
as 47 per cent.
Of these, 50.5 pel' cent are
male babies and 42.7 per cent
are female babies in nea-natal
stage itself. The post neo-natal
stage mortality is 53 per cent.
of which 49.5 per cent are male
children and 57.3 per cent are
female children.
The study on health situation
of women and children among
tribals also revealed that a
total of 67.4 per cent male
children were dying of various
reasons while 59.5 per cent
female children were dying at
irtfant stage itself.
Though the study was limi t-
ed to three districts of the state,
it is presumed that the morta-
lity rate is no less in other
tribal districts.
Even among children in the
age group of one to three
years, mortality is 25.3 per
cent and among those between
three to six years, it is 11 per
cent. It is the first child that
succumbs in the latter group,
the study revealed. The rate
was 14 per cent among girls
and 8 per cent among boys.
Pbor nutritional status of the
mothers, excessive work load,
low calorie intake during .preg-
nancy and absence of adequate
care were the chief reasons for
the high mortality rate, the
study indicated.
- Financial Express, Sept. 28, 1990
How Many People can
the World Support"/
"That depends," said· Dr. Carl
Djerassi of Stanford University,
"on what you think about the
quality of life. • If you mean
standing up and having one
meal a day, the number is
enormous. If you're talking
about the way we live now-
which means misery for half
the people of the world, a so-so
life fo,r a few others, and an
attractive life for a few hund-
red million-then I think we've
exceeded the maximum."
-World Development Forum
(Vol. 8 No. 12)
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Under the aegis of UN an
international conference ECO
92 is to be held in Brazil 1992.
As a run up for the same a
series of regional level confer-
ences on environment and de-
velopment are being arranged
all over the world. In India,
one such conference-ECO 92
Public Forum-was held on
September 19, 1990 a't F'ede-
ration House, New Delhi under
the auspices of the Geneva-
based Our Common Future and
the Delhi-based Development
Alterna tives.
Individuals, groups and insti-
tutions from India and neigh-
bouring countries shared their
views in front of a distinguish-
ed panel chaired by Mrs. Gro-
tharlem Brundtland, Chairper-
son of World Commission on
Environment and Develop-
ment.
Representing the Human
Survival Value Project of the
FPF, its Project Coordinator
Mr. Vikram Diesh, presented
the views of the Indian rural
youth on human Health and
Poverty emerging from their
reflections on the theme at a
seminar held at Gandhi Dar-
shan a day prior to the
Conference.
According to their percep-
tion, the key issues to be
addressed are: population COl}-
trol, Iiteracy directed towards
equity based education, affore-
station, updating of skills in
keeping with meaningful eco-
nomic activities, provisioning
of services including health. in
the real sense. This onerous
task could be taken up effec-
tively by youth movements
based on values. vision and
voluntary action creating in
the process a humane society.
Indian Rural Youth leaders representing
Human Survival Value Project of the
F.P.F. with Mr. Warren H. Lindner
(centre) Executive Director, The Centre
"
for our Common Future, Geneva
WORLD POPULATION
DAY WORKSHOP
In pursuance of the UNFP A
declaration to observe 11th
July, 1990 ~s World Population
Day, the Population Education
Resource Centre (PERC) ot
the univeFsity of Kerala, orga-
nised a one-day workshop on
population explosion and its
impact on different spheres of
development. The workshop
was aimed at identifying the
problems created by popu-
lation explosion, finding out
strategies to be adopted to tackle
these problems, documenting
the papers presented in the
workshop and evolving a course
of action for the PERC ensuring
the cooperation of all those
who participated in the work-
shop. Representatives of va-
rious government and univer-
sity departments and voluntary
agencies attended the work-
shop.
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EDITORIAL
It is a dangerous thought on
COMMENTS ON
the eve of World Population
Day that the spectre of over-
POPULATION
population has stopped con-
PROBLEM
cerning us enough. > There is a
developmental dichotomy in
India and while the ones with
a stake in economic progress
have been more responsive to
family planning norms, the
others on the neither side of
progress have deliberately
spurned it. It is, therefore,
a matter of particular worry
when people who belong to
the privileged categories be-
. economic programmes to get
better results. The remarkable
achievement made by Kerala
and Goa where female literacy
played a salutary role and
Tamil Nadu where the poli-
tical leadership gave the pro-
gramme adequate support
should serve as a model.
-Hindustan Times, July 10.1990
have as though they have no
responsibility to contribute to
the nation's progress by reduc-
ing the number of mouths to At least one State has had
be fed.
the foresight to realize that
The pressure the increasing the one-chId norm is the
population has on the scarce answer to the country's popu-
resources is already in evidence lation problem. That distinc-
whether it is the lengthening tion goes to Tamil Nadu which
queue for employment or the has in fact always been in the
congestion in cities and towns. forefront in this respect. Und~r
Yet, the programme which a scheme announced recently,
suffered a major setback, of the State Government has
course, for understandable offered an attractive double
reasons in the post-Emergency incentive to couple in low-
period, has not been getting income groups who go in for
adequate attention mainly be- sterilization immediately after
cause the authorities have been the birth of their first child.
suffering from the once bitten Each such couple will receive
twice-shy syndrome. As a a fixed deposit of Rs. 1,000 in
result, China which started the name of the child,with a
late on curbing its population further sum of Rs. 10,000 pay-
growth has achieved better able when the child completes
resul ts. In fact, at the present 18 years. The only stipulation
rate, India will overtake China for eligibility is that the
in population in less than 40 couple's annual income should
years. The coercive one-family- not exceed Rs. 15,000. The
one-child norm that China im- great merit of the scheme is
plemented may not be possible that it is targeted at those
in India given its democratic sections which for various rea-
moorings but that does not sons including lack of edu-
mean that the programme cation and faith in the tradi-
should be left entirely to the tional view that each addition
discretion of the people as is to the family means an addi-
the case now. While a bal- tion to the family's earning
anced mix of incentives and capacity have eluded the family
disincentives needs to be tried planning drive. Slum-dwellers.
out, family welfare should be who number about 51 million
dovetailed in to the larger socio- according to official figures,
and the landless labourers in
the countryside who number
perhaps more, come within this
category.
Since they account for the
great bulk of births each year,
the Tamil Nadu Government
is offering each family what
may well be an almost irresis-
tible incentive for sterilization.
The money being offered is
vastly more than anything
offered so far, and, besides, by
giving the first payment in the
form of a fixed deposit, the
Government has tried to ensure
that the often simple-minded
and unlettered couples are not
cheated by clever touts. If this
example is emulated elsewhere,
together with stern disincen
tives to the educated employed,
the family planning drive could
at last begin to be a success.
Indeed, the one-child norm
seems unavoidable if the gal-
loping birth rate is to be
controlled.
-The Statesman, June 20. 1990
A birth control vaccine deve-
loped by"the National Institute
of Immunology (NIl) has been
cleared by the Drugs Control-
ler of India for human clinical
trials. These crucial phase II
trials have begun at the All
India Institute of Medical
Sciences (AIlMS) and the Saf-
darjung Hospital at Delhi and
at the Post Graduate Institute
at Chandigarh.
Forty s~xually active women
with proven fertility have vol-
unteered to undergo the trials
Ciccording to Dr. G. P. Talwar,
Director of the National Insti-
tute of Immunology.
Dr. Talwar claimed that a
single dose could give immu-
nity against pregnancy for
about 12 months. If the boos-
ter was not taken at that time,
the women could conceive, and
therefore the method was
reversible.
Published by the Familv Planning Foundation, 198 Golf Links, New Deihl 110003. Tel: 621135, 697583, 619278
PriAted atthe Statesman Press.The Statesman Ltd., Connaught Circus, New Delhi-110001.
Editorial Direction I!t Guidance: Harish Khanna
Editorial Consultant: J. L. Saaz