“Women hold up half the sky”, the Chinese saying goes. But we need to recognize that it is not an equal world for women, globally and in India.

The health care scenario for women, especially apropos reproductive health, is highly exploitative, with extensive human rights violations. Women are treated as expendable entities.

A growing recognition that population dynamics, quality of life and women's status are closely inter related argues strongly for a fresh look at India's population program.

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.