UP’s new population policy
- On World Population Day (11th July), Uttar Pradesh government announced a new population policy for 2021-2030.
- A draft of the Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilisation, and Welfare) Bill, 2021, published and inviting public feedback, makes clear its preference for punishment as a means of “population control”.
- These steps are aimed at reducing U.P.’s total fertility rate (TFR), recorded as 2.7 by the National Family Health Survey-4 in 2016
Draft bill on population control:
Focus areas:
- population control
- ending curable maternal mortality and illnesses
- ending curable infant mortality and
- ensuring betterment in their nutrition status
- betterment of sexual and reproductive health-related information and facilities among the youth
- care of elders.
Targets:
- set to bring the birth rate to 2.1 per thousand population by 2026 and to 1.9 by 2030.
- Decreasing the total fertility rate from 2.7 to 2.1 by 2026 and 1.7 by 2030.
- Increase modern contraceptive prevalence rate from 31.7% to 45% by 2026 and 52% by 2030.
- Increase male methods of contraception use from 10.8% to 15.1% by 2026 and 16.4% by 2030.
- Decrease maternal mortality rate from 197 to 150 to 98, and infant mortality rate from 43 to 32 to 22, and under 5 infant mortality rate from 47 to 35 to 25.
- increasing the life expectancy from 64.3 to 69 by 2030 and child sex ratio (0-6 years) from 899 to 919 by 2030.
Incentives:
- Upon voluntary sterilisation of self or spouse after the second child, a government servant can receive two additional increments during the period of service, subsidy on property purchase from government bodies, housing loans at softer terms, rebates on utility charges, maternity/paternity leave of 12 months, 3% additional contribution from government (as employer) to NPS.
- For sterilisation post one-child, there is free healthcare and insurance for the child, free education up to graduation, scholarship if the child is a girl, etc.
- For those who are not government employees and still contribute towards keeping the population in check, benefits like rebates in taxes on water, housing, home loans etc. will be provided
- BPL couples adopting the one-child policy will get lumpsum money from the government.
- It proposes that any citizen who “violates” a two-child policy will be be barred from contesting local bodies polls.
Concerns:
- it is likely that female sterilisation will increase further.
- It puts women’s health and well-being at risk.
- It can potentially lead to an increase in these practices and unsafe abortions given the strong son-preference in India,
- It arms governments with more powers over citizens.