Literature is replete with images of the reproductive profligacy of the poor in India. In much popular nderstanding, this is frequently adduced as the cause of the poverty of the poor and indeed of the country.

INDIA IS A VAST country with a population of more than 844 million. The tribal populations of India constitute a significant proportion of India's total population. There are more than 400 tribal population groups constituting

From time to time, Indian demographers have advocated that the age at marriage of girls be raised so as to reduce the reproductive span of women, and thereby, bring down the birth rate.

It has been observed that in the 1960s, the Ig (index of marital fertility) in Sri Lanka for the first time, fell at least ten per cent below the plateau level of the pre-1960 decades [1].

The success of a good planning strategy for the overall development of any society (population) depends upon two main factors.

It has been observed that in the 1960s, the Ig (index of marital fertility) in Sri Lanka for the first time, fell at least ten per cent below the plateau level of the pre-1960 decades [1].

The success of a good planning strategy for the overall development of any society (population) depends upon two main factors.

It is now common practice to infer the social status of women from their demographic characteristics. Yet it is not so easy to read through demographic progress, in terms of declines in mortality and fertility, to make unambiguous judgments about trends in women's social standing.

During the last two decades, a large number of studies have been published on slums. The studies have usually been conducted by various agencies as a part of successive population censuses, or as a part of general physical and socioeconomic surveys.

Governmental efforts towards fertility reduction often face a dilemma: babies who are planners' worry are also a parent's hope and joy (Mandelbaum 1974:110). The beliefs of the people on this subject and what planners believe ought to be done may on occasion diverge substantially.