• India
  • Jul 15

Short Takes / Two-child policy

Private member’s Bill for two-child policy

Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha has introduced a private member’s Bill in the Rajya Sabha, seeking to implement a two-child norm by giving encouragement for those adopting the small family practice and penalties for those contravening it.

Many PILs and private member’s Bills were moved earlier regarding measures for population control in India.

The Population Regulation Bill, 2019, proposes that people with more than two living children should be “disqualified” from being chosen as an MP, MLA or a member of any body of the local self-government after the Bill becomes law. It suggests that government employees should give an undertaking that he/she will not procreate more than two children.

The Bill also pitches for several benefits for central and public sector enterprise employees who adopt the two-child norm “by undergoing sterilisation operation himself or of the spouse”.

Some penalties are also suggested for those who don’t adhere to the rule. They are…

* Reduction in subsidies on loans and interest rates on savings instruments.

* Reduction in benefits under the public distribution system.

* Higher than normal interest rates for availing loans from banks and financial institutions.

India to overtake China

India is expected to show the highest population increase between now and 2050 and add nearly 273 million people, overtaking China as the world’s most populous country by around 2027, says a UN report. India, along with eight other countries, will make up over half of the estimated population growth between now and 2050, the report said.

China, with 1.43 billion people in 2019, and India, with 1.37 billion, have long been the two most populous countries, comprising 19 and 18 per cent, respectively, of the global total in 2019.

In China, the population is projected to decrease by 31.4 million, or around 2.2 per cent, between 2019 and 2050.

China’s one-child policy

China imposed a one-child policy in the late 1970s. The rationale for was to reduce the growth rate of China’s population. However, China scrapped its one-child policy with a two-child one in 2016. The country is now looking at the prospect of a steep population decline. China’s population is expected to start declining after 2029. Now, the country is discussing about complete withdrawal of its family planning policy to allow citizens to have as many children they want.

National Programme for Family Planning

India was the first country in the world to launch a National Programme for Family Planning in 1952. Over the decades, the programme has undergone a transformation in terms of policy and actual programme implementation and currently being repositioned to not only achieve population stabilisation goals but also promote reproductive health and reduce maternal, infant mortality and morbidity. Under the programme, the public health sector provides various family planning services at various levels of health system.

Mission Pariwar Vikas

For improved access to contraceptives and family planning services in high-fertility districts spread over seven high focus states, the health and family welfare ministry launched Mission Pariwar Vikas in 2016. Special focus has been given to 146 high-fertility districts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand, with an aim to ensure availability of contraceptive methods.

Its goal is to reduce India’s overall fertility rate to 2.1 by 2025

Hum Do

The National Family Planning Programme, through Hum Do, aims to provide eligible couples with information and guidance on family planning methods and services available, to ensure individuals and couples lead a healthy, happy and prosperous life.

RMNCH+A

In 2012, the London Summit on Family Planning was held against this backdrop to bring back the focus on family planning globally. It further paved the way for increased investment in expanding access to family planning services and knowledge mechanisms to an additional 120 million women and girls in the world’s poorest countries by 2020.

As a subsequent action, India adopted a new approach, which places a well-defined focus to the family planning efforts under a larger and more comprehensive umbrella of RMNCH+A (Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and Adolescents) programme.

Since 2013, the country has accelerated its interventions to focus on the rollout of new contraceptives, institutionalisation of fixed day services with aggressive focus on quality in family planning, revitalising postpartum and post abortion family planning services, enhanced focus on male participation, and community based schemes through ASHAs, streamlining and strengthening commodity security, etc.

LaQshya to improve care in labour rooms

The government has identified 2,427 public health facilities across the country for the implementation of LaQshya programme, Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare) Ashwini Kumar Choubey said in the Lok Sabha.

The Centre had launched LaQshya (Labour room Quality improvement initiative) in 2017 to improve the quality of care in labour rooms and maternity operation theatres in public health facilities. It is a multipronged approach focused at intrapartum and immediate postpartum period.

The aim of the scheme is to reduce preventable maternal and newborn mortality, morbidity and stillbirths associated with the care around delivery in labour rooms and maternity operation theatres.

Background

Institutional births in India have doubled from 38.7 per cent to 78.9 per cent between 2012-13 and 2015-16, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4).

However, there is no decline in maternal and newborn mortality and stillbirths.

One of the major factors is inadequacies in the quality of care provided in health facilities.

It is estimated that approximately 46 per cent maternal deaths, over 40 per cent stillbirths and 40 per cent newborn deaths take place on the day of the delivery.

The current figures of maternal mortality ratio of 130 and neonatal mortality rate of 24 suggests there is a long way to go to achieve better results.

Half of the maternal deaths each year can be prevented with quality health care.

Objectives of LaQshya

* To reduce maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity due to haemorrhage, retained placenta, preterm, preeclampsia and eclampsia, obstructed labour, puerperal sepsis, newborn asphyxia, and newborn sepsis, etc.

* To improve quality of care during the delivery and immediate postpartum care, stabilisation of complications and ensure timely referrals, and enable an effective two-way follow-up system.

* To enhance satisfaction of beneficiaries visiting the health facilities and provide respectful maternity care to all pregnant women admitted in public health facilities.

The way forward

* New innovations for escalating quality of health care services for mothers and newborn.

* Increased demand of services from beneficiaries of public health facilities.

* LaQshya certification of all health facilities.

* Sustained efforts to achieve SDG targets and goals related to maternal newborn health.

* Maintain and accelerate unprecedented progress - end all preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths.

Notes
private member’s Bill The process of law making begins with the introduction of a Bill in either House of Parliament. A Bill can be introduced either by a minister or a member of the House. In the former case, it is called a government Bill and in the latter case, it is known as a private member’s Bill.