National Population Policy of India - It was
long before procuring our Independence even that several discussion
benches saw the onset of population policy. Much before Independence; in
the year 1938 only a Sub Committee on population was set up by the
National Planning Committee appointed by the Interim Government. The
National Planning Committee passed a resolution in 1940 that stated the
need for the state to adopt family planning and welfare policies in
order to bring about a harmonious order of social economy. The
resolution also stressed the need of limitation of children.
April, 1951 recorded further enhancements in this policy formulation as
the First Five Year Plan labeled for an overt population policy and
adjudged family planning as a pragmatic and essential step towards
improvement in health of mothers and children. It was because in the
plan, family planning was treated as a part of the health program and
received a 100% funding from the centre government. And with each
passing year, the amount of these funds has increased. The success of
this family planning agenda was so dear to the heart of the government
that even a separate department coined as Department of Family Planning
was carved out in the Ministry of Health in the year 1966. This was done
with an objective to reinforce the population control program.
This
National Population Policy was further modified and re announced
in 1977. In this new policy, what was reinforced was education and
health. The latter component of the reformulated policy included the
general as well as maternal and child health both. A voluntary family
planning was also introduced here on. This also saw the change of the
phrase from Family Planning to Family Welfare program that is maintained
till date.
