| Address
by Shri K.C. Pant, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission
& Vice Chairman, National Commission on Population on the occasion
of the ‘First Meeting of the National Commission on Population’ at Parliament
Annexe on July 22nd, 2000 |
|
I
welcome you all to the first meeting of the National Commission on
Population. As you may know, India became the first country in the
world to initiate a National Family Planning Programme as far back
as 1952. The programme is Centrally Sponsored and 100% centrally funded.
As was brought out in the presentation - over
the years, there has been a rapid decline in death rate and a slower
decline in birth rate and India's population has grown from 36 crores
in 1951 to 100 crore in May 2000. If the current trend continues the
replacement level of fertility can be achieved only by 2010 and population
will stabilize in late 21st century. This would have serious implications.
We
see the consequences of population growth all around us. India has
only 2.4% of global land but 16% of global population. We have so
far been successful in meeting the food requirements of the growing
population. How will this be affected by a declining land-man ratio
and further fragmentation of land holdings? Urban basic services are
struggling vainly to cope with the rapid pace of urbanization. Per
capita water availability has been declining all over the country,
with some areas facing the spectre of water scarcity. Many other ill-effects
of population growth can be cited. Suffice it to say that population
stabilization is necessary for sustainable development.
It
is a sobering thought that experts do not expect India's population
to stabilize before 2045 at a level of 150 to 160 crores. To reach
that goal, the National Population Policy 2000 seeks
to achieve replacement level of fertility by 2010 with a population
of 111 crores. That this goal is attainable in our democratic polity
while respecting human freedom and dignity is supported by a number
of success stories in different parts of the country.
Kerala
the first State to achieve replacement level of fertility, did so
in spite of relatively low per capita income, perhaps because of high
female literacy and low Infant Mortality Rate. The decline in Tamil
Nadu, in spite of higher IMR and lower female literacy rate than Kerala,
was attributed to political commitment, bureaucratic support and effective
health infrastructure. Andhra Pradesh is likely to achieve replacement
level of fertility in the next two years. The State has shown a steep
decline in fertility in spite of relatively lower age at marriage,
low literacy and poorer outreach of health care infrastructure. The
reason, perhaps, is empowerment of' women and commitment at all levels.
In the North-eastern States of Tripura, Manipur and Mizoram, despite
difficulty in accessing primary health care facilities, it has been
possible to achieve not only low fertility rates but low infant mortality,
suggesting thereby that a literate population with awareness can overcome
substantial difficulties and attain success.
During
the presentation you saw that currently five states viz. Bihar, Uttar
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Orissa, constitute 45% of the
total population of India. The population in these states has poor
access to health services and poor health indices. It is estimated
that unmet needs for contraception are between 25-30% in these states.
It is estimated that these states will contribute 55% of the total
increase in population of the country during the period 1996-2016.
Their performance would, therefore, determine the size of the population
and the year in which the country achieves population stabilisation.
I should point out that even in these States, there are districts
with health indices comparable to the national levels; these experiences
have to be studied and replicated so that there is rapid improvement
.
All
these states have excellent human, mineral and agricultural potential
which have not been fully utilized or realised. For this, they have
to overcome poverty, illiteracy and poor development which co-exist
and reinforce each other. This calls for political commitment, good
governance and planned coordinated efforts from all sectors and all
sections of the population.
In
a vast and diverse country like India, we have to assess area-specific
needs and respond to them. It is important to ensure that all births
and deaths are registered and the data utilized for decentralized
planning and monitoring.
In
all states, a vast health care infrastructure has been created by
Departments of Health and Family Welfare, Municipalities and Zilla
Parishads. However, much of it is functioning sub-optimally; part
of the problem lies in lack of facilities like labour rooms and operation
theatres or lack of drugs and diagnostic facilities. Sufficient resources
have to be provided by each State and the Centre to meet these requirements.
At the same time, the existing infrastructure has to be restructured
so that it functions effectively and provides needed quality services
to the population near the vicinity of their homes. PRIs should be
taking up increasing responsibility for monitoring delivery of primary
health care services. It is of paramount importance that accountability
and governance improve so that the existing infrastructure and resources
are utilised appropriately.
Resources
are important, but it is even more important to use them efficiently.
During the Ninth Plan every effort has been made to provide additional
funds to social sector programmes. The outlay for the Deptt. of Family
Welfare was increased form Rs.6,500 crores in the Eighth Plan to Rs.15,120
crores in the Ninth Plan. In 2000-2001, under the Prime Minister's
Gramodya Yojana, funds have been provided for improving rural
connectivity, health, education and nutrition, all of which have a
direct bearing on population stabilisation. Planning Commission provided
earmarked funds to meet the arrears payable to the States every year.
However the basic problem that leads to the recurrent arrears payable
to the States has to be tackled. The recommendations of the Consultative
Committee on restructuring of the Family Welfare infrastructure and
revision of norms have to be discussed with the states and implemented.
To
achieve the goals set in the Population Policy it is crucial that
there is widest participation of the civil society; NG0s, Voluntary
Organisations, corporate sector and labour. The media will have to
utilise their talent and reach to create awareness of the benefits
of small families, like better health of mothers, and better education
of children. Men will have to assume their rightful role in promoting
planned parenthood.
The
education and empowerment of women is one of the critical factors
that determines and enables them to achieve their reproductive goals.
There is a need to give a special thrust to girls' education. Schemes
for empowerment of women such as DWCRA can play critical
roles both in population stabilization and human development. Programmes
like Balika Samridhi Yojana, and Maternity Benefit
Schemes can enable women to access facilities and services
to promote small healthy families. Synergies between various schemes
aiming at the same target group have to be promoted at the village
level through active involvement of peoples' representatives and the
people themselves.
To
turn the programme for population stabilization into a peoples' movement
calls for partnership between various agencies and groups, like village
level functionaries of various Government Departments, members of
Co-operative Societies, Self Help Groups, Thrift and Credit Societies,
Joint Forest Management Groups, Mahila Swasth Sanghs, NSS Volunteers
and Nehru Yuvak Kendras.
Planners,
programme implementers and the people themselves have to bring about
synergy and accelerated convergence between ongoing demographic, educational,
technological and info-tech transitions. With all these efforts, and
the active co-operation of the distinguished members of the Commission,
I am sure that the country will optimally utilize the demographic
opportunity window during the next two decades to achieve rapid population
stabilisation, sustainable human and social development and improvement
in the quality of life of the people of India.
Thank
you.
|
| Introductory
Remarks by Shri K.C. Pant, Vice-Chairman, National Commission of Population
(NCP) and Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission at Conference of State
Population Commissions/Councils on 25.09.2002 at Hotel Ashok, New Delhi
|
-
The presentation from the NCP you have just seen
might have provided a general idea about the demographic situation
in the country. The National Population Policy 2000, highlights
the urgency of achieving early population stabilisation. It also
underlines the demographic diversity prevailing in different States
and UTs. The National Commission on Population has been encouraging
the States to formulate State-specific policies and to constitute
State Population Commissions to bring about synergy among various
intersectoral programmes involved in implementing the population
stabilisation policy. I understand that about 20 States and UTs
have already set up their Population Commissions and another four
are in the process of doing so. The main purpose of today’s meeting
is to enable sharing of experience and strategies, and discussing
the successful models and various problems relating to population
stabilisation. I hope the presentations by the States and our
deliberations today will contribute to accelerating the realisation
of the goals and objectives outlined in the National Population
Policy.
-
The census 2001 has shown that the population
has increased from 86.6 crores to 102.7 crores during the last
decade. However, the decadal growth rate has declined from 23.86%
during 1981-91 to 21.34% during 1991-2001. The large population
in the reproductive age group and the prevalence of unmet needs
for contraception, high IMR etc. is likely to contribute to growth
of population for many more decades. Hence, acceleration of the
process of fertility reduction in the present context calls for
area specific intervention strategies. The demographic goals outlined
in the National Population Policy 2000 have been incorporated
into the Tenth Plan proposals. Three goals for the Tenth Plan
and NPP 2000 are:reduction in IMR to 45/1000 by 2007 and 30/1000
by 2010, reduction in maternal mortality ratio to 2/1000 live
births by 2007 and 1/1000 live births by 2010, reduction in decadal
growth rate of the population between 2001-2011 to 16.2 and achievement
of replacement level of fertility by 2010. These goals are ambitious
but can be achieved through the coordinated efforts of all concerned
sectors.
-
Several States in India have made enormous progress
in improving the health status of women and children and achieving
rapid decline in fertility and mortality rates. Kerala, the first
State to achieve replacement level of fertility (TFR of 2.1),
did so in spite of relatively low per capita income. Tamil Nadu,
which was the second State to achieve replacement level of fertility,
did so in spite of low income level, higher IMR and lower female
literacy rate. Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram have achieved not only
low fertility rates but low infant mortality, suggesting thereby
that a literate population with awareness can successfully overcome
difficulties in access to and availability of primary health care
infrastructure. Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, the next in line
to achieve replacement level of fertility, have shown a steep
decline in fertility in spite of relatively lower socio-economic
indices and gaps in primary health care infrastructure. It would
therefore appear that in the Indian context reduction in fertility
rates can be achieved even if some of the indicators remain unfavourable
-
However, it is a matter of concern that nearly
half of India’s population live in States/Districts where birth
order of 3 or more form more than 50% of all births. Data from
National Family Health Survey have indicated that there are substantial
unmet needs for contraception in these States. Field visits undertaken
by NCP teams have shown that generally the quality and coverage
of services remain very poor in the rural areas and urban slums.
In view of the importance of achieving early population stabilisation,
the Plan outlay for Family Welfare Programmes have been increased
substantially every year. From Rs.2489/- crores in 1998-99, it
has nearly doubled to Rs.4930/- crores in 2002-03. But it appears
that the increase in allocations has not had the desired impact
on crucial indicators like TFR, IMR and CPR, especially in the
high growth regions of the country. I would like to request the
States concerned to consider and introduce necessary changes in
the strategy, 2 programmes and policies so that people get the
required facilities to plan the size of their families and the
small family norm is actively promoted, at the same time ensuring
that there is no coercion in doing so. For this purpose the States
presently lagging behind can draw upon the experience of more
successful States. Successful models can be adopted if otherwise
suitable. The net addition of about 18 million people to our population
every year is a serious matter affecting our developmental effort.
Apart from the burning issue of generating enough employment for
such a growing population, it comes in the way of providing to
our people basic facilities like food, drinking water, health
care, shelter, education etc. Hence the issue of achieving population
stabilisation at the earliest should be viewed as an essential
prerequisite for reaching the various objectives of national development
rather than as an isolated target in itself.
-
In the next two decades, the size of India’s
population will be determined mainly by adolescents and young
adults, who will be hopefully more literate, aware and able to
make better use of the opportunities that arise. The information
and communication revolution sweeping the country especially through
the electronic media can be harnessed to generate the conviction
among the people at large that keeping the family size small is
in their self interest and the larger interest of the community.
The process of democratic decentralization, which has been set
in motion in recent years, is a very major development with great
potentialities. This opens the scope for involving the peoples’
representatives at the grass-root level in formulating and implementing
development programmes, including spreading the message of the
small family norm. The mobilization and training of Mahila
Shakti and empowerment of women which can result therefrom
can work as a great force in social and economic transformation
in the rural areas and urban slums. I am glad to note that State
Governments are already taking initiatives to make use of these
favourable factors for helping the developmental process, including
achieving early population stabilisation.
-
The framework of the State Population Commissions
can play a major role especially as population stabilisation involves
multi-sectoral concerns. Many of the on-going programmes meant
to solve sectoral problems are also relevant to demographic stabilisation.
However, there is lack of coordination and cooperation among the
functionaries of various social sector programmes, especially
at the grass-root level. Various Ministries and Departments seem
to be using the concept of District or Panchayat Action Plans
to address separate sectoral problems. For example DAPs are there
under RCH, NCP and Externally Aided Projects in the Family Welfare
sector. As the target groups and beneficiaries of such action
plans are often the same, there is a lot of scope for coordinating
and bringing them together. I feel the State Population Commissions
should be able to look into this important aspect. The need for
cooperation among field level functionaries such as the ANMs,
the AWWs etc. has been often emphasized. Efforts to increase the
remuneration of AWWs and universalisation of ICDS are under way.
The State Population Commissions can also promote and help NGOs,
VOs, SHGs and YOs in activities relevant to population stabilisation.
As there is a lot of scope for improving the quality and coverage
of Health, Family Welfare and other services, the scope of voluntary
action to improve the situation is immense. Another area requiring
immediate attention is undertaking training programmes for elected
representatives, NGOs etc. on a large scale. The generation of
public opinion and community support in favour of the small family
is crucial. This requires well planned and sustained IEC programmes.
Along with using audio, video, print and electronic media the
importance of inter-personal communication through meetings, seminars
discussions etc. should be recognized. I am sure the the State
Population Commissions, through suitable initiatives, can greatly
facilitate the building up of a peoples’ movement in support of
achieving early population stabilisation.
-
The National Commission on Population will be
very happy to extend support and cooperation to the State Commissions
in the various areas of action they may like to undertake. After
identifying the high fertility districts, the NCP has provided
Additional Central Assistance to 65 districts during the last
two years for improving the infrastructural facilities. Due to
administrative problems, there has been some delay in these allocations
reaching the target areas. In order to facilitate implementation
of area specific population stabilisation programmes, it has been
suggested to the States that the Family Welfare Society under
the District Magistrate should be made more autonomous and given
flexibility 3 to draw up and implement area-specific programmes.
The creation of a District Population Stabilisation Fund to be
operated by this autonomous society may facilitate mobilization
of funds by these societies. Adequate representation for elected
PRI members, NGOs, SHGs, Youth Organisations etc. Should be given
in these societies. I am happy to say that some States have agreed
in principle to make the necessary administrative changes in this
regard. The NCP is also introducing a scheme for extending grants-in-aid
to the district level autonomous societies, NGOs and other grass-root
level organisations for undertaking programmes relevant to population
stabilisation.
-
I hope this first Conference of State Population
Commissions will pave the way for establishing a consortium of
NCP with the State Population Commissions. Apart from helping
formulation and implementation of programmes for population stabilisation,
this can also facilitate exchange of ideas, information and statistics
concerning various demographic issues on a regular basis between
the States and the Centre.
|
| Speech
by Shri K.C. Pant, Vice-Chairman, National Commission on Population
(NCP) and Deputy Chairman Planning Commission at the Meeting of Union
Ministers, Members of the Planning Commission, Members of the NCP, Secretaries
to the Government of India on 4th October, 2001 at Hotel Kanishka |
|
Dear Colleagues, Members of the Planning Commission, Members of the
NCP, Secretaries to the Govt. of India, Ladies and Gentlemen,
-
I am happy that we have with us today important Union Ministers,
Members of the Planning Commission and Secretaries to the Government
representing different social sectors whose policies and programmes
have been recognized as very important for achieving the goals
of the National Population Policy 2000. As you are aware, the
NPP transcends purely demographic concerns and link them to the
overriding objective of improving the quality of life of the people
of India.
-
As you are all aware, Census 2001 has
shown that the population of India was 102.7 crore in March, 2001.
During the preceding decade, the population of India registered
a growth of 1.9% per annum, compared to 1.4% of the world and
about 1% of China. At the dawn of the 21st
century, India with only 2.4%
of the earth’s surface area is required to support 16.75% of the
world population.
-
Many hold that most of complex social and economic problems like
poverty, unemployment, fragmentation of land holdings, urban overcrowding,
over exploitation of natural resources, environmental degradation
etc. can directly or indirectly be attributed to our burgeoning
population. This also contributes significantly to the prevalence
of high levels of unmet needs in various sectors of development
like health care, family welfare, education, nutrition, water
supply, sanitation, housing etc. which in turn leads to higher
levels of human fertility. Therefore, promoting vigorously the
small family norm should form an integral part of the policies
and programmes of all social sectors because early population
stabilization would be of great help in achieving the targets
and objectives in each sector.
-
While dealing with the demographic problem, we should, however,
remember the substantial progress achieved since independence.
The latest Census has shown that between 1991 & 2001, there
has been a decline in the exponential population growth rate from
2.14% to 1.93%. This significant reduction in growth may be an
indication that the country is entering a phase of rapidly declining
fertility in the process of demographic transition.
-
Unfortunately, the demographic picture is not uniform across
the different regions of the country. Ten States and Union Territories
including Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Punjab reported that they have
already reached the population replacement level of fertility.
These States and UTs account for about 13% of the population of
the country. Another 10 States with about 41% of the country’s
population are likely to achieve the target of TFR 2.1 by 2010.
However, 15 States and UTs which include populous States like
Uttar Pradesh, Rajashtan, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and
Chhattisgarh may not achieve the NPP medium-term goal of reaching
replacement level TFR 2.1 by 2010. These States and Union Territories
account for about 45% of the country’s population. There is no
doubt that the major task of population stabilization in the immediate
future lies in these States.
-
An exercise undertaken by NCP along
with ICMR has shown that there are 133 districts in the country
with TFR greater than 3.5. The 133 districts having 3.5+ TFR,
accounting for about 22% of the country’s population, may not
be able to achieve the goal of reaching TFR 2.1 by 2010. Of these
districts, 51 are in U.P., 21 in Bihar, 9 in Rajasthan and 4 in
Madhya Pradesh. There are 196 districts with TFR ranging from
2.5 to 3.5. Out of the 196 districts, 155 districts having present
TFR levels between 3 and 3.5, may not also achieve population
replacement level TFR by the target year. Thus, it is clear that
248 districts with about 39% of the country’s population may not
reach population replacement
2 level
TFR by 2010. More vigorous implementation of population stabilization
programmes in States like UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan
between now and 2010 is needed to accelerate the process of fertility
reduction in these States.
-
State Governments have a crucial role in improving the social,
economic and demographic indicators especially in the high fertility
districts. The performance of the concerned States would determine
the year and size of the population at which the country achieves
demographic stabilization. I am happy that Uttar Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh and Rajasthan have since formulated their State Population
Policies, and have taken up population stabilization efforts in
right earnest. It is likely that these efforts may lead to positive
results in regard to fertility reduction in these States. Bihar
and Orissa are in the process of finalzing their population policies.
In the case of the newly created States of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh
and Uttranachal, the NCP has a plan to assist them to draw up
their Population Policies which is the first step needed for the
effective implementation of population stabilization programmes.
-
In view of the pivotal role played by District Magistrates, the
Commission convened a meeting of DMs of the 133 identified high
fertility districts. After detailed discussions, the District
Magistrates resolved to bring up population related issues upfront
with a resolve to fully meet the unmet needs for reproductive
and child health services so as to reach the replacement level
of fertility at the earliest. They further decided that District
Action Plans would be prepared with short-term, medium-term and
long-term objectives for improving the social, economic and demographic
indicators in their districts.
-
The Commission selected some social,
economic and demographic indicators such as female literacy, age
of marriage of girls, safe delivery for mothers, child survival,
clean drinking water supply, basic sanitation facility, child
nutrition, immunization and adoption of family planning methods
which directly or indirectly influence human fertility. Based
on data obtained from Census 2001 and other sources, 569 districts
of the country were ranked using 12 indicators and a composite
index with a view to know the comparative position of each district.
This data was published on the occasion of World Population Day
on 11th July,
2001.
-
I feel that for India the task of demographic stabilization is
both a challenge and an opportunity. In the next two decades,
the size of India’s population will be determined mainly by the
actions of adolescents and young adults, who will be hopefully
more literate, aware and able to make better use of the opportunities
that arise. If their felt needs for health and contraceptive care
are fully met, there will be a steeper decline in mortality and
fertility, helping the country to achieve the replacement level
of fertility earlier. This is an opportunity to utilize the abundant
available human resources of the country to accelerate economic
development, take advantage of this period of low dependency ratios
to improve the quality of life and promote savings. The challenge
is to develop synergy between ongoing demographic, educational,
economic and technological transitions so that India can hasten
population stabilization and rapidly achieve sustainable development
– social, economic and human.
-
Some Working Groups and Advisory Groups
were formed by the NCP for detailed examination of various issues.
Most of these Groups, in whose working the Central Ministries/Departments
were actively involved, have already completed their work and
submitted their reports/recommendations. These are being integrated
to the extent possible in the policies and programmes for the
Tenth Five Year Plan. The programme of action emerging out of
these recommendations will also be considered in separate meetings
with the concerned Ministries at the Centre and the States. I
am confident that the presentations on topics like elementary
education, woman and child development, tribal communities, slum
development, drinking water supply and sanitation and Panchayati
Raj Institutions being made today by the Departments will bring
out the inter-sectoral concerns and the demographic linkages of
the programmes of these Departments.
3
-
The presence of important Central Ministers, Members of the Planning
Commission, Members of the NCP and Secretaries to the Government
of India today will help in placing population stabilization issues
in the proper perspective and to ensure necessary coordination
and synergy of the programmes and policies of the different sectors.
With your active support and cooperation. I am confident that
definite progress can be made in reaching the social and demographic
goals outlined in the NPP.
|
| Address by
Shri K.C. Pant, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission & Vice Chairman,
National Commission on Population on the occasion of the ‘First Meeting
of the National Commission on Population’ at Parliament Annexe on July
22nd, 2000 |
I welcome you all to the first meeting of the National Commission
on Population. As you may know, India became the first country in
the world to initiate a National Family Planning Programme as far
back as 1952. The programme is Centrally Sponsored and 100% centrally
funded.
As
was brought out in the presentation - over the years, there has
been a rapid decline in death rate and a slower decline in birth
rate and India's population has grown from 36 crores in 1951 to
100 crore in May 2000. If the current trend continues the replacement
level of fertility can be achieved only by 2010 and population will
stabilize in late 21st century. This would have serious implications.
We
see the consequences of population growth all around us. India has
only 2.4% of global land but 16% of global population. We have so
far been successful in meeting the food requirements of the growing
population. How will this be affected by a declining land-man ratio
and further fragmentation of land holdings? Urban basic services
are struggling vainly to cope with the rapid pace of urbanization.
Per capita water availability has been declining all over the country,
with some areas facing the spectre of water scarcity. Many other
ill-effects of population growth can be cited. Suffice it to say
that population stabilization is necessary for sustainable development.
It
is a sobering thought that experts do not expect India's population
to stabilize before 2045 at a level of 150 to 160 crores. To reach
that goal, the National Population Policy 2000 seeks
to achieve replacement level of fertility by 2010 with a population
of 111 crores. That this goal is attainable in our democratic polity
while respecting human freedom and dignity is supported by a number
of success stories in different parts of the country.
Kerala the first State to achieve replacement level of fertility, did
so in spite of relatively low per capita income, perhaps because
of high female literacy and low Infant Mortality Rate. The decline
in Tamil Nadu, in spite of higher IMR and lower female literacy
rate than Kerala, was attributed to political commitment, bureaucratic
support and effective health infrastructure. Andhra Pradesh is likely
to achieve replacement level of fertility in the next two years.
The State has shown a steep decline in fertility in spite of relatively
lower age at marriage, low literacy and poorer outreach of health
care infrastructure. The reason, perhaps, is empowerment of' women
and commitment at all levels. In the North-eastern States of Tripura,
Manipur and Mizoram, despite difficulty in accessing primary health
care facilities, it has been possible to achieve not only low fertility
rates but low infant mortality, suggesting thereby that a literate
population with awareness can overcome substantial difficulties
and attain success.
During the presentation you saw that currently five states viz. Bihar,
Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Orissa, constitute
45% of the total population of India. The population in these states
has poor access to health services and poor health indices. It is
estimated that unmet needs for contraception are between 25-30%
in these states. It is estimated that these states will contribute
55% of the total increase in population of the country during the
period 1996-2016. Their performance would, therefore, determine
the size of the population and the year in which the country achieves
population stabilisation. I should point out that even in these
States, there are districts with health indices comparable to the
national levels; these experiences have to be studied and replicated
so that there is rapid improvement .
All
these states have excellent human, mineral and agricultural potential
which have not been fully utilized or realised. For this, they have
to overcome poverty, illiteracy and poor development which co-exist
and reinforce each other. This calls for political commitment, good
governance and planned coordinated efforts from all sectors and
all sections of the population.
In
a vast and diverse country like India, we have to assess area-specific
needs and respond to them. It is important to ensure that all births
and deaths are registered and the data utilized for decentralized
planning and monitoring.
In
all states, a vast health care infrastructure has been created by
Departments of Health and Family Welfare, Municipalities and Zilla
Parishads. However, much of it is functioning sub-optimally; part
of the problem lies in lack of facilities like labour rooms and
operation theatres or lack of drugs and diagnostic facilities. Sufficient
resources have to be provided by each State and the Centre to meet
these requirements. At the same time, the existing infrastructure
has to be restructured so that it functions effectively and provides
needed quality services to the population near the vicinity of their
homes. PRIs should be taking up increasing responsibility for monitoring
delivery of primary health care services. It is of paramount importance
that accountability and governance improve so that the existing
infrastructure and resources are utilised appropriately.
Resources are important, but it is even more important to use them efficiently.
During the Ninth Plan every effort has been made to provide additional
funds to social sector programmes. The outlay for the Deptt. of
Family Welfare was increased form Rs.6,500 crores in the Eighth
Plan to Rs.15,120 crores in the Ninth Plan. In 2000-2001, under
the Prime Minister's Gramodya Yojana, funds have been
provided for improving rural connectivity, health, education and
nutrition, all of which have a direct bearing on population stabilisation.
Planning Commission provided earmarked funds to meet the arrears
payable to the States every year. However the basic problem that
leads to the recurrent arrears payable to the States has to be tackled.
The recommendations of the Consultative Committee on restructuring
of the Family Welfare infrastructure and revision of norms have
to be discussed with the states and implemented.
To
achieve the goals set in the Population Policy it is crucial that
there is widest participation of the civil society; NG0s, Voluntary
Organisations, corporate sector and labour. The media will have
to utilise their talent and reach to create awareness of the benefits
of small families, like better health of mothers, and better education
of children. Men will have to assume their rightful role in promoting
planned parenthood.
The
education and empowerment of women is one of the critical factors
that determines and enables them to achieve their reproductive goals.
There is a need to give a special thrust to girls' education. Schemes
for empowerment of women such as DWCRA can play critical
roles both in population stabilization and human development. Programmes
like Balika Samridhi Yojana, and Maternity Benefit
Schemes can enable women to access facilities and services
to promote small healthy families. Synergies between various schemes
aiming at the same target group have to be promoted at the village
level through active involvement of peoples' representatives and
the people themselves.
To
turn the programme for population stabilization into a peoples'
movement calls for partnership between various agencies and groups,
like village level functionaries of various Government Departments,
members of Co-operative Societies, Self Help Groups, Thrift and
Credit Societies, Joint Forest Management Groups, Mahila Swasth
Sanghs, NSS Volunteers and Nehru Yuvak Kendras.
Planners, programme implementers and the people themselves have to bring
about synergy and accelerated convergence between ongoing demographic,
educational, technological and info-tech transitions. With all these
efforts, and the active co-operation of the distinguished members
of the Commission, I am sure that the country will optimally utilize
the demographic opportunity window during the next two decades to
achieve rapid population stabilisation, sustainable human and social
development and improvement in the quality of life of the people
of India.
Thank you.
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| Conference
of State Evaluation Organisations on 28.7.1999 in Yojana Bhawan, New
Delhi Inagural Address by Shri K.C. Pant, Deputy Chairman, Planning
Commission, Chairman, Task Force on Infrastructure and Member, National
Security Council |
As you know, plan schemes are designed and implemented on the basis
of certain assumptions about availability of resources and manpower,
procurement of materials, grassroot level institutions and the behaviour
of the delivery system and target groups. Thus, we can not say ex-ante
if the laudable objectives of plan schemes would actually be achieved.
Quite early in the planning process, our planners realised that
regular monitoring and evaluation is the only way of knowing if
the objectives of plan schemes are being realised.
That is why, as early
as 1952, the Programme Evaluation Organisation was established as
an adjunct to the Planning Commission. Subsequently, state evaluation
organisations were put in place. These organisations were required
to assess the process of implementation and impact of plan schemes.
Such evaluation was meant to help the planners and implementing
agencies to ascertain if their assumptions about parameters of the
schemes were justified, and the efforts were adequate. This feedback
was to enable them to take the necessary corrective steps for improvement
in performance of schemes and for efficient utilisation of public
resources.
However, these expectations
have not been fulfilled. Time and cost overruns of projects are
substantial. It is common knowledge that benefits meant to be delivered
to the people have not fully reached the intended beneficiaries.
Does it mean that evaluation studies have not come up with useful
lessons?
Some evaluation studies,
were reviewed by the Planning Commission on the eve of the Ninth
Plan to see how this feedback from the grass-roots was used for
development planning and administration. It was found that while
the evaluation studies threw up enough lessons, action to put these
lessons in practice was not satisfactory.
What went wrong? The
Ninth Plan document has deliberated on the issue of inadequate use
of results of monitoring and evaluation. The most important reason
for low demand for evaluation studies is the non-adherence to the
"accountability" criteria by planners and administrators. It is
well known that implementing agencies can easily get away with time
and cost overruns or non-fulfilment of targets by attributing these
to factors beyond their control.
It would, however,
not be appropriate to say that this is the only factor responsible
for the inadequate use of the findings of evaluation studies in
planning. There are a number of deficiencies in the evaluation organisations
themselves.
-
It has been
noted that evaluation organisations, in the past, took unusually
long time to complete a study. I am told that some studies
took more than two years to complete. In such cases, the
findings of studies may lose relevance.
-
Evaluation reports
often lack a user friendly orientation. As a result, policy
makers, planners and administrators may not be able to derive
from them, the kind of action points they are looking for.
-
One way of sensitising
the planners and implementing agencies to the utility of
the findings and suggestions of evaluation studies in actual
decision making, is to involve them in the design and implementation
of such studies, I do not know whether this is being done
by the PEO and SEOs.
We must also examine
whether the evaluation organisations are currently endowed with
the necessary inputs and official support to discharge their responsibilities
satisfactorily. Reforms are needed in certain areas to equip them
adequately for this purpose. The following weaknesses need immediate
attention:
-
Lack of staff
with adequate technical competence.
-
Lack of training
facilities for the staff.
-
Ineffective, and sometimes, non-functional
evaluation committees/ boards.
I am sure, the deliberations
of this conference will help to further identify specific areas
calling for reform. However, it is ultimately up to the evaluation
organisations themselves to enhance their capability and effectiveness
so as to promote demand for evaluation studies.
Even through thousands
of evaluation studies have been conducted at present, there is no
data bank on evaluation which can be accessed by planners and policy
makers and even by the evaluators for their literature survey. Lessons
from evaluation studies conducted by Central and State evaluation
organisations must be systematised and put in a data bank for easy
access. I have asked PEO to put their reports on the INTERNET. They
should now make arrangements to put other evaluation studies in
the website. We propose to put this on the Planning Commission’s
website. I would ask PEO to initiate this and work out the operational
details in consultation with the State Governments. The Planning
Commission will bear the entire expenses including those borne by
State Governments on this activity. This data bank, apart from being
useful for design and implementation of new schemes, can be used
as an input to the Annual Plan discussions with Ministries and States.
I understand, no regular
training courses are being organised for the staff of PEO and State
organisations. This is essential to keep pace with the latest development
and to bring in efficiency in the organisations. I would ask PEO
to make arrangements with reputed training organisations for conducting
regular training programmes for the staff of PEO and SEOs. The Planning
Commission will bear the expenses for such training programmes.
It may not be possible
to add to the strength of the field staff of PEO and SEOs in the
near future. However, the deficiency, if any, can be made good if
well-organised and systematic use is made of the services of university
students and research organisations for field surveys and analysis.
Appropriate mechanisms should be evolved to give these organisations
the necessary funds, guidance and flexibility to do so.
I understand, the
PEO has only a small office at Guwahati for the entire North-Eastern
Region. It should be enabled to effectively cover the whole Region.
I suggest that Secretary, Planning Commission should look into this
aspect.
I feel, coordination
among evaluation organisations can help avoid duplication of work
and inappropriate use of resources. It would be useful, in my opinion,
if the broad areas of evaluation work for every year are identified
in a meeting of the evaluation organisations before the commencement
of every Annual Plan. Perhaps, this meeting under the Chairmanship
of Secretary, Planning Commission can decide on:
one or two programmes
for joint evaluation each year with a larger sample from each State.
This would help identify State-specific features in the implementation
and impact of programmes and hence, give more insight into the working.
Identify the broad
areas for evaluation work for each year. The individual State may
decide on specific programmes to be evaluated within these broad
areas.
I also suggest that
Secretary (PC) should look into the infrastructure needs of evaluation
organisations, particularly their software needs.
I hope the deliberation
of this conference will bring the Centre and State evaluation organisations
closer to each other and ensure harmonious and effective working.
This will certainly enhance their contribution to the planning process.
We have recently had
a meeting with some Non-Government organisations which are also
carrying out evaluation studies and impact assessments. There should
be better coordination between these and government agencies.
I wish the Conference
all success. The success stories should also be evaluated in an
objective way. This would not only encourage the agencies involved
in development and welfare, but would also provide an opportunity
to neighbouring districts learn from these successes.
Thank you,
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| Seminar on
"Population Dynamics at the wake of the next Millennium – Choices and
Challenges" Organised by FICCI-UNFPA on July 12th, 1999 at Federation
House, Delhi Inaugural Address of Shri K.C. Pant, Deputy Chairman, Planning
Commission, Chairman, Task Force on Infrastructure and Member, National
Security Council |
|
I am very happy be with you at this seminar on "Population Dynamics
in the Next Millennium – Choices and Challenges" jointly organised
by FICCI & UNFPA. As we approach the next millennium, we should
review the progress achieved in our efforts during the last five decades
to decelerate the rate of growth of our population and attain the
replacement level of fertility. You will find an objective analysis
of the experiences of this period useful while deliberating on the
policies, strategies and goals to be achieved in the new millennium.
Demographic transition
from a scenario of high mortality and high fertility to one of low
mortality and low fertility is a universal phenomenon. While population
stabilisation occurs on completion of the transition, there is rapid
population growth during an earlier phase of transition. There are
substantial differences between countries or States in the rate of
demographic transition and the ultimate size of the population when
population stabilisation is finally achieved. Let us first review
India’s status in this transition.
India is the second
most populous country of the world on its way to overtake the first,
China. With no more than 2.5% of global land, India is the home of
one-sixth of the world’s population. Given this high population density,
our leaders recognised the need to forestall the adverse impact of
rapid population growth on development activities, availability of
food, environmental deterioration and, indeed, on the quality of life.
In 1952, India became the first country in the world to adopt a National
Family Planning programme with the objective of "reducing the birth
rate to the extent necessary for stabilisation of the population at
a level consistent with the requirements of the national economy".
Improvement in the quality
and coverage of health care services has led to a steep fall in the
Crude Death Rate from 25.1 in 1951 to 9.8 in 1991; the reduction in
the Crude Birth Rate has been less steep from 40.8 in 1951 to 29.5
in 1991. As a result, the Annual Exponential Population Growth Rate
has been over 2% in the 60s, 70s and 80s. During the 90s, the decline
in crude birth rate is steeper than the decline in crude death rate
and, therefore, annual population growth rate has fallen below 2%;
the decline in population growth is likely to be further accelerated
during the Ninth Plan.
There are substantial
differences between States in demographic transition. At one end of
spectrum is Kerala with health and fertility indices comparable to
developed countries. At the other end are the States like UP, MP,
Bihar with high fetility and mortality. However, even in these States,
many districts have birth and infant mortality rates well below the
National levels. For instance infant mortality rate in Almora and
birth rate in Kanpur urban district are lower than the national levels.
It is imperative that the factors responsible for these successes
are identified and replicated in the other districts of the State.
The Technical Group
on Population Projections has made population projections for the
period 1996–2016. The population of India was 846 million in 1991
and is expected grow to 1263 million by 2016. If the current trend
of population growth continues India is expected to achieve replacement
level of fertility only by 2026. Reduction in the population growth
rate has been recognised as one of the priority objectives during
the Ninth Plan period. The Planning Commission has provided Rs. 4700
crore under the Special Action Plan for implementing Reproductive
and Child Health Services. With effective implementation of this programme
and meeting all the felt the felt needs for Reproductive and Child
Health, it is expected that the Total Fertility Rate, can be brought
to 2.6 by 2002 and replacement level of fertility can be achieved
by 2011.
There are substantial
differences between States and size of population, population growth
rates and contribution to the country’s population during the next
two decades. Five States ¾ Bihar, UP, MP, Rajasthan and Orissa ¾ constituted
44% of the total population of India in 1996. These States are expected
to contribute 55% to the total increase of population of the country
during the next two decades. By 2020 every alternate Indian will be
residing in these 5 States.
Urgent effective steps
to assess and fully meet the unmet needs for maternal and child health
care and contraception through improvement in availability and access
to family welfare services are needed in the States of UP, MP, Rajasthan
and Bihar in order to achieve a faster decline in their mortality
and fertility rates. The performance of these States would determine
the year and size of the population when the country achieves population
stabilisation.
Steps are being taken
to improve the infrastructure and manpower in these States through
additional central assistance. The debate whether incentives and disincentives
at individual or community level would accelerate the progress toward
rapid population stabilisation continues.
In order to give a new
thrust and dynamism to the Family Welfare programme, the National
Development Council set up a Sub-committee on Population to recommend
policies and strategies to improve performance. In 1993 the NDC endorsed
the recommendations of the Committee which emphasised decentralised,
area-specific need assessment, and improvement in quality and coverage
of reproductive and child health services. The International Conference
on Population and Development in Cairo also advocated a similar approach.
The concordance between the National and International efforts have
improved funding and has accelerated the pace of implementation of
the Family Welfare Programme. The Department of Family Welfare has
drawn up a Population Policy to provide a reliable and relevant policy
framework for improving family welfare services and measuring their
impact in the new millennium. The policy is being considered by a
Group of Ministers constituted by the Cabinet.
Effective implementation
involves a great deal of inter-sectoral coordination. Empowering women
through education of girl child, skill development and employment
as well as raising the age at marriage would enable women to plan
their families. There is a need for ownership of this programme by
all the organisations to enhance the status of women, particularly
women’s literacy and raising their age at marriage. The Balika Samriddhi
Yojana has been recently modified to provide certain incentives to
meet this objective. There should be a convergence in the activities
of all concerned departments engaged in the general development and
welfare, especially among village-level functionaries to achieve optimal
utilisation of available services.
Population growth and
its relation to economic growth have long been debated. The East Asian
countries like Malaysia have achieved rapid demographic and socio
economic transition inspite of growing population. India will be going
through a phase of demographic transition with low dependency ratio
and high working age population during the next two decades. The challenge
is to ensure appropriate skill development and employment of the workforce
with adequate emoluments; this will promote savings and investment
which in-turn will stimulate economic growth.
There are also marked
differences between states in socio-economic development. Increasing
investments and rapid economic development are likely to occur in
the States where literacy rates are high, there is ready availability
of skilled work force and adequate infrastructure. In these States,
population growth rates are low. If equitable distribution of the
income and benefits generated by development is ensured, substantial
increase in per capita income and improvement in quality of life could
occur in these States in a relatively short time.
In the majority of States
with high population growth rates, the performance in the social and
economic sector has been poor. The poor performance could be the outcome
of a variety of factors including paucity of natural, financial or
human resources. Poverty, illiteracy and poor development co-exist
and reinforce each other. Some States have received substantial investment
to improve health infrastructure but both utilisation of funds and
improvement in services have been suboptimal.
Given the combination
of high population growth, low literacy and lack of employment opportunities
in the poorly performing States, there may be increasing rural to
urban migration as well as interstate migration, especially of unskilled
workers. Such migration may in the short run assist the migrants in
overcoming economic problems associated with unemployment. However,
the migrant workers and their families may face problems in securing
shelter, education and health care. It is essential to put in place
mechanism for monitoring these changes, and initiate appropriate interventions
to provide for the minimum essential needs of the vulnerable migrant
population.
The ongoing demographic
transition poses challenges and provides opportunities for improving
the health indices of the population. There will be a reduction in
the under-10-year child population from 243 million in 1996 to 219
million in 2006. The health care providers should take full advantage
of the respite from ever-increasing numbers, to improve the quality
and coverage of immunisation, & health and nutrition services.
Special attention should also be paid to improving access to education
and skill development.
The next decade will
witness a massive increase in the number of adolescents in the 10-19
age group from 200 million to 239 million. This age group has in the
past received very little attention. There is an urgent need to improve
the access of this vulnerable age group to a wide range of services
e.g. in the field of social development, counselling and health care.
The population in the
15-59 age group will increase from 519 million in 1996 to 800 million
in 2016. This age group has the least morbidity and mortality rates.
Appropriate inputs into health care would therefore result in substantial
improvement in the health indices of the population in the next two
decades. If all the needs for contraception are met it will be possible
to achieve rapid population stabilisation.
Striving towards population
stabilisation is not the sole responsibility of any one agency. Panchayati
Raj Institutions, Nagar Palikas, NGOs and the private sector will
have to play a pivotal role in decentralised planning, monitoring
of the programmes and improving people's participation in these efforts.
The Ninth Plan recognises that the private sector, which accounts
for more than three quarters of all health care expenditure in India,
represents an untapped potential for increasing the coverage and improving
the quality of reproductive and child health services in the country.
The challenge is to find ways and means to optimally utilise their
potential.
The NDC Committee on
Population had recommended harnessing of the managerial capability
of the corporate sector for improving the social marketing of contraceptives,
streamlining of health services and improving material and manpower
management. During the Ninth Plan, the participation of the organised
and unorganised sectors of industry, trade/labour unions in family
welfare programme will be further strengthened.
The industry can and
should play a major role in hastening our progress towards population
stabilisation. In addition to providing Family Welfare services to
their employees, they should reach out to the needy in the locality.
Health and demographic indices of the population in Jamshedpur in
an example of what can be achieved by such an approach. A beginning
in this direction at National level has been made through the Tripartite
meetings on Family Welfare. But these meetings take place only once
a year and after nearly two decades, the Family Welfare Programme
is currently getting visible support from opinion leaders and the
society. Certain states have already enacted legislation that only
those with small families can contest in elections to panchayats and
local bodies. All these favourable factors should be optimally utilised
to hasten the pace of demographic transition.
It is obvious that the
current phase of demographic transition is both a challenge and an
opportunity. The opportunity is that the country has the right combination
of factors, which it properly utilised will enable us to vault to
a higher socio-economic status in the next two decades. The challenge
is to ensure that optimum use is made of the human resources to hasten
completion of the demographic transition and achieve rapid improvement
in the quality of life. I am sure that you will be discussing all
these issues in detail. I wish the Seminar all success, and look forward
to receiving its recommendation.
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