New Delhi: While India has a long way to go in arresting population growth, 11 states (including Maharashtra) and three Union territories have shown the way ahead by matching the ideal of two children per couple. The government had set the goal of reducing the total fertility rate (TFR) to two by 2010 in the national population policy framed in 2000. It is still one year to the deadline, but this objective has already been achieved by Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, and Andaman & Nicobar islands, Chandigarh and Puducherry. (TFR refers to the number of children a woman produces in her childbearing years.)
"Spacing between children, age of marriage, behavioural changes, education, better health care and socio-economic conditions are some of the factors behind this progress," said Amarjeet Sinha, joint secretary in the health ministry. Other officials said there seemed to have been wide acceptance of family planning measures like vasectomy and tubectomy. Of the remaining states, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh would need 15 to 20 years to reach the TFR goal, according to National Commission on Population estimates.
By 2030, India is expected to overtake China as the most populous country, and it is estimated that by 2026, 22% of the population will be contributed by UP alone, while Bihar, MP and Rajasthan, together, will account for another 22%. The four southern states -- Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu -- will account for only 13%.
The National Family Health Survey-3 showed that 70% of women were married by the age of 18 in Bihar, Jharkhand and Rajasthan. In comparison, less than 20% of women in Himachal Pradesh and Kerala had early marriages.
Among the districts, the incidence of early marriage of women was 83% and 73%, respectively, in Sharaswati, UP, and Jamui, Bihar. In comparison, Chamoli, Uttrakhand, and Alapuzzza and Pathanamihitta, Kerala, had 0% underage marriages. Districts in Bihar also top in teenage motherhood: Sapaul, Katihar and Darbhanga have 98% teenage mothers. Kamrup, Assam, follows with 56% and Hingoli, Maharashtra, 35%.
In comparison, Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, and Hamirpur and Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, have only 1% teenage mothers. Nationally, the survey showed: 51% of the population is in the reproductive age group, which means 18.8 crore couples require contraceptive coverage (but only 53% are practising birth control); 42% of population increase is contributed by births beyond two children per couple; though fertility in the 15-19 age group is declining, yet about 35 lakh teenagers bear children each year.
