Family Planning in India: A Study of Law and Policy

Usha Tandon, University of Delhi

India has a long history of addressing population related issues, especially issues related to family planning, through policy and programmatic interventions. There has also been some attempt (scattered and remote) to address population issues through legal framework. However, there is no specific legal regime in India which directly facilitates the universal adoption of ‘small family norm’. No statutory duty, is cast on the State to ensure the availability of safe, family planning methods. This paper, discusses at some length, the legal recourse for family planning and reproductive health to attaining sustainable population in India. It proposes the need of a comprehensive social welfare legislation which should not only encourage, facilitate and constrain the people to adopt small family norm, but should also put an obligation on the State to provide a comprehensive, effective and easily accessible family planning infrastructure to assist people to adopt family planning methods of their choice.