NEW DELHI: Days after PM Narendra Modi expressed concern about the explosive growth in population, highly placed sources told TNIE a national policy on family planning will soon be unveiled.
“The issue of population control was the highlight of this year’s I-Day speech and major policy intervention on this is definitely in the pipeline,” a top source in the Niti Aayog said.
“First meetings between officials of the Prime Minister’s Office and Aayog are being planned to discuss how to take the matter forward,” he added.
The PM had in his speech said, “There is one issue I want to highlight today: population explosion. We have to think, can we do justice to the aspirations of our children? There is a need to have greater discussion and awareness...”
Officials with Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare hinted at ways to encourage family planning through both incentives or disincentives.
An old-timer in the ministry pointed out how Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 2000 had rejected proposals by a Commission headed by former CJI M N Venkatachaliah on the formulation of Population Control Law.
“This government, however, is looking at a radical decision to ensure that population explosion stops for good,” said the official.
India is slated to be the most populous nation by the turn of the next decade with the population swelling to 1,452 million in 2025.
It is currently in the third stage of demographic transition where birth rates are falling but the population continues to grow as 51% is in the reproductive age group.