ICYO

YOUTH INFORMATION

                           No: 2007/69

(E-Newsletter from network of youth organizations in India)

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ICYO - Platform of 356 Youth Organizations in India.       

ICYO - India’s largest network of urban and rural youth.

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FAMILY PLANNING MUST FOR INDIA'S GROWTH 

Guwahati, Oct. 24 -- In a world where high growth and competitiveness have become the order of the day, scarcity of resources, made worse by governance problems and rising population have retarded the development process in India.

The vicious circle of poverty, population explosion and environmental degradation has added to the country's woes. If the population remains uncontrolled, it would be disastrous for the country's economy. The growth rate of the economy, which has reached respectable levels in the last two years, may get diluted if the population increase is not stabilized in the coming years.

India has 2.4 per cent of the landmass of the world but it has around 17 per cent of the population and this has been increasing at the rate of 1.9 per cent per annum while that of the world has been moving at 1.4 per cent per annum. It is estimated that there would be 9.2 billion people in the world by the year 2050. According to the UN Commission on Population and Development, India, Pakistan and China along with Indonesia and Nigeria are among five countries that account for almost half the annual growth of 100 million of the world's population.

Among the developing countries, China has launched commendable and drastic family planning programmes over the last decade. It is estimated that its population will increase from the present 1250 million to approximately 1500 million in the year 2025. On the other hand, India's record has been far from satisfactory and present indications reveal that the country's population will cross that of China in the first quarter of this century.

The reasons for India not attaining success in controlling population may be attributed to the following factors: One, backwardness, especially in the NIMARU States like Bihar, where the population growth is very high. Two, inadequate awareness generation and spread of literacy at the grassroot level in some of the remote areas of the country. Three, lack of a common civil code and the Government's reluctance to impose this fearing backlash from the minority community.

Four, high levels of gender inequality and hardly any initiatives to make women conscious of the need for family planning. Five, superstitious beliefs prevalent among the illiterate and the rural poor (abortion and other birth control measures do not have divine sanction). Six, lack of initiative by the panchayats to spread and implement family planning rigorously.

The National Family Planning Health Surveys found that women on an average gave birth to 0.7 more children than they actually wanted because of various factors, including non-availability of contraceptive services. In the high population growth States this gap is much higher.

Additionally, it was found that wherever women were socially disadvantaged because of their sex or lack of education and training or oppression or where the patriarchal system made them economically and socially dependent, population control became difficult and the birth rates were higher. On the other hand, the birth rate decreased if the women were educated and autonomy.

Kerala is a case in point. Boasting of a very high literacy rate there has been a drastic decline in the population growth. Also in most of the north eastern States, where women are professionally engaged the fertility rate is quite low. In fact, contraceptive application and its long-term impact should be aimed at men rather than women.

Clearly, India's growth and economic performance may lose its momentum if family planning is not practiced by a majority of the people. Already our natural resources are getting depleted thanks to a population density of around 320 per sq km (compared to around 135 per sq km of China) and it would be virtually impossible for the country to make its presence felt in the international scene if the population growth cannot be controlled.

Moreover, not only would it be difficult to curb food insecurity but also our socio-economic advancement would be jeopardised if the population growth rate is not brought down to around one or a 1.25 per cent per annum. As it stands, the foodgrains output growth has lost the race against population increase. True, the scarcity of water resources, the per capita availability of land and the depleting fossil fuels is a world wide trend however, populous countries like India would have to be more cautious in the coming years.

It is encouraging to note that the social infrastructure development with emphasis on health and education has already been initiated. There is an urgent need to inculcate family planning education in a massive way, especially in the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Needless to say, education is a powerful weapon to combat increase in fertility rate, poverty and unemployment. The Panchayats need to be involved and well known personalities from all religious communities have to be mobilised to lead this family planning campaign.

(Hindustan Times)

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Youth Information is published by

Indian Committee of Youth Organizations (ICYO)

194-A, Arjun Nagar, Safdarjang Enclave

New Delhi 110029, India

Phone: 91 9811729093  / 91 11 26183978 Fax 91 11 26198423

Email: icyoindia@... / icyo@...

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Indian Committee of Youth Organizations (ICYO) is a registered non-profit, non-governmental network organization, committed in developing areas of mutual cooperation and understanding among different youth voluntary agencies, youth groups, clubs and individuals working in the field of youth welfare in India. 

ICYO functions as an umbrella organization of youth NGOs in India. It's family consists of
over 356 organizations spread in 122 districts of 22 states from different corners of India.

Our goal:
To improve and extend the youth work and services through Youth Organizations;
To enhance and demonstrate youth work in the society;
To promote effective youth programmmes;
To organize network of civil society organizations working towards the development of youth work;
To organize seminars, conferences, workshops, trainings;
To maintain international relation with organizations promoting young people in their programmes and activities

Affiliation: 

Consultative (Roster) Status with ECOSOC, United Nations;
Consultative Status with Commission on Sustainable Development;
Full Member of World Assembly of Youth (WAY); Asian Youth Council (AYC);
Youth for Habitat International Network (YFHIN); CRIN, South Asia Youth
Environment Network (SAYEN), Affiliate group of ECPAT International, Thailand;
ATSECE-DELHI, Indian Partner of AIDS Care Watch Campaign;
Steering Committee member of World Bank's YDP Network;
Working relation with Indian Association of Parliamentarians (IAPPD);
International Medical Parliamentarians Organizations (IMPO);
Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD);
World Youth Foundation, Malaysia