National Human Development Report: 2001 - Indira Gandhi Institute ...

88HEALTH ATTAINMENTS & DEMOGRAPHIC CONCERNSNATIONAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2001welfare programmes in its development strategy, as early as in 1952, India’spopulation has grown nearly three times from about 361 million in 1951 to1027 million in 2001. It has taken the country five decades to have aNational Population Policy and have it adopted by the Parliament to reflecta national consensus. Some States including Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan,Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Orissa and Keralahave also presented or taken steps to formulate their respective populationpolicies. These policy statements affirm the commitment of Governmenttowards voluntary and informed choice and consent of citizens whileextending reproductive health care services. Moreover, there is acontinuation of the target free approach in administering family planningservices. The national policy provides a framework for advancing goals andprioritising strategies during the next decade to meet reproductive and childhealth needs of the population and to achieve replacement levels (TFR) by2010. While it is based on the need to simultaneously address issues of infantmortality and maternal mortality, meeting unmet needs of contraception andincreasing the coverage of reproductive and child health services byGovernment in partnership with industry and voluntary healthorganisations, in the ultimate analysis, the success of the effort rests criticallyon forging an inter-sectoral development strategy that improves theaccessibility of the population to primary and secondary education,extending basic amenities including sanitation, safe drinking water, housingand connectivity and most importantly catalysing empowerment of womenin all walks of their life.