Should the state stop focusing on population control?
3 years ago

Should the state stop focusing on population control?

The Hindu  

According to the recently released National Family Health Survey -5, India’s Total Fertility Rate, which is the number of children a woman would have in the course of her life, is 2, a decrease from 2.2 in NFHS-4. Poonam Muttreja and S. Irudaya Rajan discuss whether governments should stop focusing on population control, in a conversation moderated by Serena Josephine M. Edited excerpts: India launched its National Programme for Family Planning in 1952. Poonam Muttreja: If there’s anything in the news in the NFHS, it is that it’s taking the wind out of those who are saying India needs coercive population control measures. India needs to move away from not only the coercive measures it has, but shouldn’t even think about population control measures. What is the way ahead in terms of population control, family planning and in men taking greater responsibility in adopting sterilisation?

Family India Fertility Women Family Planning Kerala Population Planning Control Population Control Need Rate Think Tfr Nfhs Population Policy Poonam Muttreja Family Planning Services Population Stabilisation Temporary Methods Population Momentum  family  stop  fertility  focusing  think  population  planning  need  state  control  rate  women  india

History of this topic

From the India Today archives (2021) | India's population policy: Myths and reality
3 weeks, 2 days ago

From the India Today archives (2021) | India's population policy: Myths and reality

India Today  

When Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath chose the occasion of World Population Day on July 11 to announce a new state population policy, there normally should have been no quarrel about it. After all, the state is India’s most populous, harbouring nearly 200 million people or 17 per cent of India’s population. Population Foundation of India’s executive director Poonam …

India’s healthcare workers struggle to promote birth control in rural areas
1 year, 8 months ago

India’s healthcare workers struggle to promote birth control in rural areas

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery Women wait outside the operating …

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | Most populous in world: An asset or a burden for India?
2 years ago

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | Most populous in world: An asset or a burden for India?

Deccan Chronicle  

Come April 14 next year and there will be no dearth of patriotic Indians to applaud the National Democratic Alliance if India’s population touches 1,425,775,850, as the United Nations has predicted. In spite of the fact that the family planning and welfare programmes undertaken by previous governments brought down the fertility rate, India’s population is not expected to stabilise before …

It’s time to discuss depopulation
2 years ago

It’s time to discuss depopulation

The Hindu  

Two weeks ago, when the world population touched 8 billion, several headlines focused on how India was the largest contributor to the last billion and is set to surpass China as the world’s most populous nation by 2023. However, what needs more urgent policy intervention is the fact that parts of India have not only achieved replacement fertility, but have …

RSS chief’s population control call clashes with Centre’s affidavit in Supreme Court
2 years, 2 months ago

RSS chief’s population control call clashes with Centre’s affidavit in Supreme Court

The Hindu  

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat’s call for a “population control policy” on Wednesday may not be on the same page as the government’s affidavit in December 2020 which said it cannot coerce couples into having a “certain number of children” in a bid to curb population explosion. Further, a 2016 Supreme Court judgment authored by Justice Madan B. Lokur …

India should not ignore religion-based population imbalances, says RSS
2 years, 2 months ago

India should not ignore religion-based population imbalances, says RSS

Deccan Chronicle  

NAGPUR: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday said India should have a population policy prepared after comprehensive thought and be applicable to all communities equally. Pointing out at China's one family one child policy, Bhagwat said, "While we are trying to control the population, we should see what happened in China. That country went for the one child …

Family Planning Women’s Responsibility? Female Sterilisation Top Contraceptive Method among Couples, Shows Data
2 years, 3 months ago

Family Planning Women’s Responsibility? Female Sterilisation Top Contraceptive Method among Couples, Shows Data

News 18  

Family planning in India seems to be a woman’s responsibility as female sterilisation remains the most popular contraceptive method among married couples, data analysed by CNN-News18 shows. According to the National Family Health Survey-5, about 67% married couples in India are using at least one contraceptive method – it stands at 69.3% in urban areas while 65.6% for rural areas. …

Men should be equal partners in family planning
2 years, 5 months ago

Men should be equal partners in family planning

Hindustan Times  

In a country like India, where men are hesitant to undergo vasectomies or use condoms, the responsibility of family planning rests solely on the women. National Family Health Survey -5 data shows 37.9% of women use sterilisation or tubal ligations to check unwanted pregnancies, which is way higher that than the safer and non-surgical options like pills, injectables, condoms, IUDs …

India’s Family Planning Mission Puts Burden of Sterilisation on Women at the Cost of Their Health
2 years, 8 months ago

India’s Family Planning Mission Puts Burden of Sterilisation on Women at the Cost of Their Health

News 18  

Back in 1952, India became the first country in the world to have launched a National Programme for Family Planning. Islam does not favour permanent family planning methods for Muslim women compared to Hindu women, who tend to prefer sterilisation over temporary methods. As per National Family Health Survey -5, 37.9 per cent of women use sterilisation to prevent unwanted …

Why India must adopt community driven anti-natalist policies for population management
3 years ago

Why India must adopt community driven anti-natalist policies for population management

Firstpost  

Not only does Uttar Pradesh’s two-child population policy set a dangerous precedent, being harshly regressive and intrusive, it also violates the foundational values of the Constitution The core of a nation is built by the people who inhabit the territories and contribute to its glory. The Chinese tryst with Population Distortion It all started in the 1960s with China’s One …

BJP pushes population control bill
3 years ago

BJP pushes population control bill

The Hindu  

Even as India’s national Total Fertility Rate is falling below the replacement rate, BJP MP in Rajya Sabha Kirori Lal Meena pushed for “Population Control” law on the lines of China’s now discarded one-child policy. Parliament Proceedings | December 3, 2021 However, Mr. Meena said a population control law will help with controlling food inflation and bringing equality for women. …

Dr T.V. Sekher: ‘Socio-economic empowerment is more effective in regulating fertility’
3 years, 4 months ago

Dr T.V. Sekher: ‘Socio-economic empowerment is more effective in regulating fertility’

The Hindu  

Sekher heads the Departmentof Population Policies and Programmes at the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai. We have almost reached replacement level fertility in most parts of India except in a few bigger States like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. However, the total wanted fertility rate in India was 1.8 children per woman in 2015-16. In fact, the Government of India …

No need for a drastic population policy
3 years, 4 months ago

No need for a drastic population policy

The Hindu  

Population policy is suddenly in the news in India with Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled States such as Assam and Uttar Pradesh proposing to bring in or bringing in draft legislation aimed at controlling their populations. If the replacement fertility rate has already been achieved in Assam and will be achieved by 2025 in U.P., what is the need for any drastic …

BJP Should Withdraw Support if Bihar CM Opposes Population Bill: Sanjay Raut
3 years, 5 months ago

BJP Should Withdraw Support if Bihar CM Opposes Population Bill: Sanjay Raut

News 18  

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday welcomed the Uttar Pradesh government’s proposed draft bill on population control and said the BJP should withdraw support of the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar if the JD leader opposes this legislation. According to the draft of the population control bill, people having more than two children in UP will be debarred from …

Population legislation unnecessary in Karnataka, say experts
3 years, 5 months ago

Population legislation unnecessary in Karnataka, say experts

The Hindu  

Voices seeking a stringent population control policy through legislation — on the lines of the proposed laws in Uttar Pradesh and Assam — seem to be growing among other BJP-ruled states, including Karnataka. The Total Fertility Rate — average number of children a woman would have in the course of her life — of Karnataka stands at 1.7 as per …

’Utterly misplaced,’ Shashi Tharoor decries BJP states’ population control bills
3 years, 5 months ago

’Utterly misplaced,’ Shashi Tharoor decries BJP states’ population control bills

Live Mint  

Amid a push for a population control policy by some Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday alleged the BJP's motive of raising the issue is political and aimed at targeting a "particular community". The former Union minister said the population debate is "utterly misplaced" and half a century out-of-date as a large majority of Indian …

An irrational draft population control Bill that must go
3 years, 5 months ago

An irrational draft population control Bill that must go

The Hindu  

Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced draft Uttar Pradesh Population Bill, 2021 that focuses exclusively on making a two-child norm a law, specifying various incentives and penalties for contravention. Signs of stabilisation Consider the rationale below with the facts as they …

Will measure like U.P.'s draft population control Bill work? | In Focus podcast
3 years, 5 months ago

Will measure like U.P.'s draft population control Bill work? | In Focus podcast

The Hindu  

Over the past few weeks, the debate on population control in India has been re-ignited. Uttar Pradesh, the most populous State in India, has introduced a draft bill that says that those with more than two children will be debarred from government- Even while data shows us that India's fertility rate is declining, our population is set to grow, and …

Patralekha Chatterjee | Stabilising population by coercion can never work
3 years, 5 months ago

Patralekha Chatterjee | Stabilising population by coercion can never work

Deccan Chronicle  

We can’t have a sustainable planet without stabilising our population. The proposed law also says that “it shall be the duty of the government to introduce a compulsory subject relating to population control in all secondary schools”. States like Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which have succeeded in sharply reducing their total fertility rate, have done so by focusing on female …

Bihar health minister for mass campaign to control population
3 years, 5 months ago

Bihar health minister for mass campaign to control population

Hindustan Times  

Bihar health minister Mangal Pandey on Wednesday advocated for a mass campaign with public support to control population boom in the state, that had shown a decadal growth rate of 25.1% in the last census. Pandey said it was due to social mobilisation campaign and mass awareness drive that for the first time this year, the state’s decadal population growth …

An unproductive idea: The Hindu Editorial on U.P.’s new population policy
3 years, 5 months ago

An unproductive idea: The Hindu Editorial on U.P.’s new population policy

The Hindu  

Incentives and penalties form an integral component of the measures to control population growth, announced by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday. In a draft Uttar Pradesh Population Bill, 2021, the Government aims to incentivise one-child families and reward those with two children with perks in government schemes, rebates in taxes and loans, and cash awards if family …

Two-child policy: Experiments, legal jurisprudence on population check in India
3 years, 5 months ago

Two-child policy: Experiments, legal jurisprudence on population check in India

Hindustan Times  

A draft bill on population control prepared by the Uttar Pradesh State Law Commission to promote the two-child policy has invoked strong reactions from several quarters. The draft proposal on population control contemplates making people with more than two children ineligible for local body polls along with placing curbs on applying for government jobs. However, there have been petitions in …

Check population growth through girls’ education, says Nitish Kumar
3 years, 5 months ago

Check population growth through girls’ education, says Nitish Kumar

The Hindu  

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asserted on Monday that it was not possible to ensure population control through laws. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while launching the State’s population policy for 2021-2030, had said that “increasing population can be an obstacle to development”. Union Rural Development Minister and senior Bihar BJP leader Giriraj Singh later said there must be …

'Not in favour': Nitish Kumar disapproves of law on population control
3 years, 5 months ago

'Not in favour': Nitish Kumar disapproves of law on population control

India TV News  

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday made his disagreement clear over the laws being considered by a few Bharatiya Janata Party -ruled states to control population. Assam and Uttar Pradesh have proposed draft bill on population control triggering sharp reactions from the Opposition. When asked about his views on the draft bill, Nitish Kumar told reporters in Patna,"It's not …

UP population control bill part of BJP’s ‘election propaganda’ ahead of assembly polls: SP MP
3 years, 5 months ago

UP population control bill part of BJP’s ‘election propaganda’ ahead of assembly polls: SP MP

India TV News  

Terming the Uttar Pradesh population control bill as a part of the BJP's "election propaganda" ahead of assembly polls, local Samajwadi Party MP Shaqfiqur Rahman Barq has hit out at the state government, saying it should ban marriages if it wants to stabilise rising population. The Uttar Pradesh Population Policy 2021-2030 was unveiled on World Population Day on Sunday by …

'Is this India's message': BJP leader targets Aamir Khan over population growth
3 years, 5 months ago

'Is this India's message': BJP leader targets Aamir Khan over population growth

India Today  

Expressing concern over the rising population in the country, BJP MP from Mandsaur Sudhir Gupta blamed “people like Aamir Khan”, the Bollywood actor, for “population imbalance” in India. Lok Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur, Gupta said, “Talking in Indian perspective, it is Aamir Khan, whose first wife Reena with two kids and second wife Kiran Rao with one kid, …

Karnataka needs it too: BJP leader CT Ravi on population control policy
3 years, 5 months ago

Karnataka needs it too: BJP leader CT Ravi on population control policy

India Today  

BJP National General Secretary CT Ravi on Sunday said Karnataka must also bring a policy just like Uttar Pradesh and Assam to control population. Speaking about Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister releasing a new population policy for 2021-2030, CT Ravi said that Karnataka's population has crossed the 7-crore mark, adding that it is necessary to now think about the limited natural …

World Population Day: As UP invites suggestions, a look at India's history of population control
3 years, 5 months ago

World Population Day: As UP invites suggestions, a look at India's history of population control

Firstpost  

These critics argue that rich people have imposed population control on the poor for decades. And, they say, such coercive attempts to control the world’s population often backfired and were sometimes harmful A day before the world observed World Population Day, the Uttar Pradesh government in India released a draft of a proposed population control bill, seeking suggestions from the …

UP To Unveil Policy on Population Control
3 years, 5 months ago

UP To Unveil Policy on Population Control

News 18  

The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh will unveil its new policy on population control for 2021-30 on the occasion of the World Population Day on July 11. “On the other hand, efforts will be made to stabilize population by providing solutions for impotence and infertility, and reducing infant and maternal mortality rate through improved health facilities,” the spokesman said. …

UP law panel examining feasibility of population control legislation
3 years, 5 months ago

UP law panel examining feasibility of population control legislation

India Today  

The Uttar Pradesh Law Commission is examining the feasibility of having a state enactment for population control. Asked if the panel is ascertaining the viability of a population control law in the state, Uttar Pradesh, Law Commission Chairperson Justice Aditya Nath Mittal told PTI, “Yes. Speaking to reporters earlier in Sambhal, Samajwadi Party MLA Iqbal Mehmood said Yogi Adityanath government …

UP Law Commission chairman calls for population control, says 'not against any religion'
3 years, 6 months ago

UP Law Commission chairman calls for population control, says 'not against any religion'

India Today  

Uttar Pradesh Law Commission chairman Aditya Nath Mittal on Sunday said there should be a check on the increasing population as it is creating problems in the state. Mittal said those who are helping and contributing towards population control in the state should continue to get the benefit of government resources and facilities. The Law Commission chairman's statement comes a …

China’s coercive population measures serve as warning for India: Experts
3 years, 6 months ago

China’s coercive population measures serve as warning for India: Experts

The Hindu  

China’s decision to relax its two-child norm and allow couples to have three children must serve as a warning for India that coercive population strategies can be counter-productive, say experts. India, on the other hand, has been toying with the idea of population control measures through a two-child norm, which found a mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day …

Population Control- Any Coercion To Have Specific Number Of Children Is Counter-Productive, Leads To Demographic Distortions: Centre Tells Supreme Court
4 years ago

Population Control- Any Coercion To Have Specific Number Of Children Is Counter-Productive, Leads To Demographic Distortions: Centre Tells Supreme Court

Live Law  

"The family welfare programme in India is voluntary in nature which enables couples to decide the size of their family and of the family planning methods, best suited to them. Filing its response to a petition filed by BJP leader and lawyer, Ashwani Kumar Upadhyay seeking enactment of law to control population and enforce family planning, the MoHFW avers that …

Can’t force couples to have only two children: Centre to Supreme Court
4 years ago

Can’t force couples to have only two children: Centre to Supreme Court

Hindustan Times  

The central government has submitted in the Supreme Court that it is “unequivocally” against forcing people to have only a certain number of children in a bid to control population. “The Family Welfare Programme in India is voluntary in nature, which enables couples to decide the size of their family and adopt the family planning methods, best suited to them, …

Can't Coerce Family Planning, Leads to Demographic Distortions: Centre Tells SC
4 years ago

Can't Coerce Family Planning, Leads to Demographic Distortions: Centre Tells SC

News 18  

The Centre has told the Supreme Court that India is unequivocally against forcing family planning on its people and any coercion to have a certain number of children is counter-productive and leads to demographic distortions. The submission was made in response to a PIL filed by BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay challenging a Delhi High Court order that …

Cannot force couples into family planning: govt. tells Supreme Court
4 years ago

Cannot force couples into family planning: govt. tells Supreme Court

The Hindu  

The Centre told the Supreme Court on Saturday that it was against coercing couples into having a “certain number of children” in a bid to curb population explosion. “The Family Welfare Programme in India is voluntary in nature, which enables couples to decide the size of their family and adopt the family planning methods, best suited to them, according to …

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