Family Planning under the Emergency: Policy Implications of Incentives and Disincentive

India has been the first among the developing countries to recognise the importance of population control and to launch a nation-wide programme of family planning. The programme has, however, seen many vicissitudes in its long journey since 1952 and by 1975, the nation realised that its achievements in this field had been less than satisfactory.

The Government of India, therefore, launched a new population policy in April 1976 in pursuance whereof a wide variety of incentives and disincentives were offered to the people to encourage them to adopt family planning. These measures no t only failed miserably in attracting the people to family planning but alienated them completely from the programme because of extensive use of coercion in its implementation . The campaign of forcible sterilization, which became a part of these measures was in fact instrumental in bringing about a total collapse of the policy itself.

The present publication is the first major attempt at analysing the policy implication s of the scheme of incentive s and disin centives introduced in 1976. The book brings out in sharp focus the limitations of the scheme as well as its consequences on the morale of the people and the administration. The study also makes some useful suggestions which should help formulate the future population policy of India on a more pragmatic and viable basis. 

Authors

Dr VA Pai Panandiker (Alumni) was educated at the Universities of Poona, Bombay, and Michigan. He worked for several years in the Government of India in the Planning Commission, the Administrative Reforms Commission, and the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. He has also been a Senior Fellow and Member of the Indian Council of Social Science Research and was the Founder President of the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. Besides, he is a member of the Governing Board of several academic institutions and a Director of the State Bank of India. He has written several books and professional articles in public policy areas.

R N Bishnoi (Alumni) was educated at the University of Allahabad. He worked for over thirty years in the Government of India in the office of Economic Adviser to the Government of India, the National Institute of Community Development, the Planning Commission, and the National Commission on Agriculture. He worked as Associate Project Director in the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. He has been associated with a large number of official studies and reports and has also writ ten professional articles on agricultural economics and population policy.

O P Sharma was educated at the Universities of Delhi, .Meerut, and Jawaharlal Nehru. He is currently lecturer in Political Science in Bhagat Singh (Evening) College, University of Delhi. He has been associated with the Centre for Policy Research in some of the studies undertaken by it. He has written several articles in the field of public administration.

Family Planning Under the Emergency