We are totally against any legislation for compulsory sterilization either at the Central level or by the States. Sterilization, both of male and female, is a terminal method and suitable for those couples who have reached the optimum family size. Services for sterilization will be offered free of cost to those who voluntarily wish to adopt this method. Similarly other services under the programme will be available to the people free of charge. The acceptance of voluntary sterilization and IUD involves to and fro travel to a clinic, a brief stay in the hospital resulting in a possible loss of wages which the majority of or people cannot easily afford. In view of this, it has been decided to retain the provision for monetary compensation. Any medical complication resulting from a voluntary sterilization operation will be attended to free of cost; and if in an unfortunate case recanalization becomes necessary, this facility will also be offered to the individual concerned under the best possible professional care without any charge.

Nearly 80 per cent of our population lives in villages. Medical services are not able to reach them in an effective way. An integrated rural health scheme is on the anvil and will be implemented shortly. It is of the utmost importance that adequate ante-natal, natal and post-natal care is made available to pregnant mothers. To this end a comprehensive scheme of training of indigenous mid-wives (dais) will be implemented. Under it maternity services will be made available to all mothers, who may need them. The programme of immunizing children against common disease such as a whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus will be expended further. We expect that the State Governments will give necessary cooperation and assistance in this direction.

The direct correlation between illiteracy and fertility and between infant/maternal mortality and the age at marriage is well established by demographic studies, while on the one hand the government will pursue its policy of according high priority to the improvement of women's educational level, both through formal and non-formal channels, it will also bring legislation for raising the minimum age of marriage for girls to 18 and for boys to 21.