Former Prime Minister of India - Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Prime Minister's appeal on World Population Day

~People are a nation’s most prized resource and the main pillar of its progress and strength. The Government is committed to ensuring a better quality of life for all citizens. However, uncontrolled growth of population has become a hurdle in the path of India’s efforts to achieve speedy and sustainable socio-economic growth and environmental protection. India has 17% of the world’s population on a landmass that is only 2.4% of the world’s area. Every sixth human being is an Indian. Nearly 1.5 crore children are born each year and it is our moral duty to ensure that all of them have access to health and education facilities, and are able to grow up in a fair, just and equitable system. For this it is necessary to achieve population stabilization, as envisioned in the holistic National Population Policy adopted in 2000. Growth of population beyond sustainable levels is in nobody’s interest.

I appeal to people belonging to all communities, and especially in States that are lagging behind in this regard, to make the task of population stabilization a mass movement by taking the following pledge on World Population Day:

       ~Beti ho ya Beta

Rakhen parivar ko chhota~