Changing Family Planning Scenario in India: A Trend Analysis of Major States

Saurav Dey, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

Over the decades, there has been a substantial increase in contraceptive use in India. The direction, emphasis and strategies of the Family Welfare Programme have changed over time. However, meeting the contraceptive needs of considerable proportions of women and men and improving the quality of family planning services continue to be a challenge. The 1990s witnessed a growing recognition of this, and several innovative policy and programme initiatives have been launched to address these issues. This paper reviews and synthesises evidence from surveys and service statistics of the 1990s and thereafter on contraceptive use dynamics and tries to quantify the trends in accepting contraceptive method mix over the last decade. From the policy perspective viewpoint, this paper makes suggestions for areas that need further programme and research attention.