Today, India's population has crossed the one billion mark. This is a serious matter that is both cause for concern and introspection -- concern over the impact that a runaway population growth is bound to have on the nation's economic, natural and other resources; introspection over where we went wrong and how we can stabilise our population.

In the century gone by, India’s population has grown from 24 crores to 100 crores, registering a more than four-fold increase. This is more than the three-fold increase in the world’s population during the same period. With 2.4 per cent of the world’s landmass, Indians now constitute 16 per cent of the world’s population. Every year, 15.5 million children are born in India, making it virtually impossible for Government and society to ensure that they are not deprived of nutrition, healthcare and education, the fundamental requirements of any human being.

If the present growth rate of our population remains unchecked, India will become the world's most populous country by the middle of this century, with people clamouring for a share of shrinking natural resources. Essential requirements like drinking water, shelter and health will be difficult to meet. Moreover, there is no way that generation of employment opportunities, creation of physical infrastructure and maintenance of public services can keep pace with a runaway population growth.

India is among those countries that were the first to officially adopt population control policies. Yet, while others have succeeded in stabilising their population, our experience, barring in some States, has been far from satisfactory. Obviously, there were flaws in the policies that we have pursued over the last four decades as well as in their implementation.

Government realises that population stabilisation cannot be achieved without all-round socio-economic development, and definitely not through coercion. Family welfare by itself is not enough; along with it, Government needs to, and shall, ensure economic and social welfare. For, lower population growth has a direct correlation with increased access to primary health care facilities and a wide variety of contraceptives, education (especially for the girl child), social empowerment and freedom of choice for women. This is the experience of States that have been able to check their population growth.

Bearing this in mind, and realising the urgency of the need to stabilise our population, Government has adopted a National Population Policy and set up a broad-based Population Commission to monitor the implementation of this policy. Population stabilisation and family welfare should form the cornerstone of a new national mission that aims at providing a better quality of life for all citizens of this country. For this mission to succeed, Government seeks the active participation of voluntary associations and community-based organisations. Indeed, every Indian should come forward and join this national effort so that we can turn the trend in the next decade and move towards sustainable development through population stabilisation.

To realise our common dream of a prosperous India, Government, with the help of voluntary associations and community-based organisations, will seek to inspire and encourage every Indian to strive for a sustainable and balanced family that does not strain the resources of the individual, society or nation. With the people's participation, Government is confident that the national task of population stabilisation will be fulfilled.