Question

What are the significant features of the National Population Policy 2000?

Answer 1

Hint:Its main objectives are related to reproductive health and other aspects related to it.
A similar program was also launched in 1952 for family planning.

Complete answer:
The National Population Policy (NPP) was launched by the Indian Government in 2000. According to the policy its main objective is to address the need for contraception, health personnel, infrastructure and provide integrated services for basic reproductive health and child healthcare. The second objective of the policy was to bring the Fertility Rate to replacement levels by 2010. The long term aim of the National Population Policy is to achieve and maintain a stable population by the year 2045. The National Population Policy 2000 had the following objectives to be achieved till the year 2010:-
1. Meeting the basic reproductive health and child health services, supplies and infrastructure.
2.Making school education mandatory and free for children under 14 years of age. Reducing the number of students dropping out from school to less than 20%.
3. Reducing the infant mortality rate to as low as 30 deaths per 1000 live births.
4. Reducing the maternal mortality rate to as low as 100 deaths per 1 Lakh live births.
5. Achieving universal immunization of all children against all diseases that can be prevented by vaccines.
6. Delaying the marriage of young girls to at least 18 years and of boys to 21 years, hence preventing child marriage.
7. Achieving 100% of all deliveries by trained person and achieving at least 80% of the deliveries in institutions.
8. Achieving registration of all births, death, marriages and pregnancies without exception.
9. Providing universal access to information or counselling for fertility regulation and contraception with a wide range of options.
10. Containing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS, RTIs, etc.

Note:It is pretty clearly visible that the National Population Policies over the years have failed and has not been able to control the population of the country.
India still remains the second highly populated country in the world.
India’s population in 1950 was 35 crores and today it is 135 crores, which means that since the first family planning program was launched in 1952, all such policies to-date have been unsuccessful.