District Level Approach to Family Welfare Program in India : A Proposal for Effective Action

Abstract

The Indian family welfare program is a centrally sponsored scheme, implemented by the State governments within the framework of elaborate guidelines and norms developed by the Central Government. Although each State is encouraged to introduce innovative approaches within these policy parameters, in practice, the family welfare program in the country has been macro in approach, sectoral in coverage, and highly centered. It has, therefore, failed to achieve the desired results. The strategy adopted so far has created a wide gap between the provider and the client, and the lack of involvement of people has led to the failure of the program. Thus, there is a growing concern among policy makers and implementors that the centralized standardized nature of the scheme gives local program managers insufficient flexibility to meet varying local needs.