National Commission on Population had its first meeting conducted in the city of New Delhi, on the 22nd of July, during the year 2000. The planning for a National Commission on Population, India started pre-independence, with the setting up of the National Planning Committee. In the year 1938, an interim government appointed a National Planning Committee, in India. One of the major objectives of the National Commission on Population is to work on the policy of family planning and the limitations on child birth. This objective in turn is expected to lead to family happiness, national welfare and development of the social economy.
The National Planning Committee has already planned a health program and provided hundred percent centrally sponsored programs to the citizens. The year of 1977 witnessed the official announcement of the National Planning Committee and also the change in the name of the program into 'Family Welfare'. The population growth rate of 1.2 % every year has been considered as the threshold point for the stabilization of the population.
In the year 1983, the government of India made an announcement regarding the National Health Policy, which was meant to look after the demographic goal in the land. The year 1986 further saw an entirely new version of the Population Policy of India that was oriented on the status of women in India, employment, child survival, increase of the age for marriage, increase of the birth intervals and postponing first child's birth. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in the year 1991, moved on to finalize a new Action Plan, which would put emphasis on the issues related to:
- Priority filling up of the vacant positions
- Micro-level planning
- Improvised management training sessions
- Construction of ICDS centers and sub-centers
- Active involvement of the district administration
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare elected a group of members with Dr. M.S. Swaminathan as the chairman, in order to create a Draft Population Policy, which was to be presented in the Parliament. The group was established in 1993 and it presented the report in 1994, which was chiefly concerned with the democratic decentralization, basic needs, ecosystem and the gender issues.
The chief objectives of the National Commission on Population in India include the following points:
- To meet the health-care necessities of the children and the women in the new century
- Follow the National Population Policy 2000
- Take care of the NDC Sub Committee on Population
- Taking care of the demographic transition as well as the population growth
- Following the state specific schemes for meeting all the unfulfilled demands related to the health-care of the children and the women
- Taking notice of the inter-state and the intra-state differences in issued related to mortality and fertility
- To take action on the reports given by the NDC Committee on Population
- Deciding upon the action points for meeting the health care needs of children and women via inter-sectoral coordination
- Achieve rapid population stabilization through the Ninth Plan Policy
- Project the population and its implications to the FW program
- Setting up of a National Commission on Population
- Working according to the National Population Policy 2000
The address of the Commission is:
National Commission on Population
Government of India
204, Yojana Bhavan,
Sansad Marg
New Delhi - 110001
Ph.: +91-11-230-96579
Fax: +91-11-233-13789
Last Updated on 28 September 2012
