13. While the existing methods of contraception will continue to be available to the people, it is important that the search for newer methods should be intensified. The government will give special attention to the necessary research inputs in the field of reproductive biology and contraception.

14. The programme and the approach for implementation of the Family Welfare Programme as outlined in the above paragraphs will succeed only if there is willing cooperation from all in full measure. The Family Welfare Programme embraces all the principal areas of human welfare. It will be wrong to leave it only to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in the Centre and their counterparts in the States. It is essential that all Ministries and Departments of the Government of India as well as of the States give due importance to this Programme and work for its furtherance. The performance of Family Welfare in the States will be intensively and carefully monitored and the Union Cabinet will review the situation in depth at least once a year, Suitable machinery for ensuring coordination with other connected programmes of welfare may be set up instates also.

The above document shows that the Janata policy aimed at balancing two things: (a) a need to pursue population control measures as integrated part of the overall development planning; and (b) a democratic necessity to promote voluntarism in family planning by emphasizing choice and participation. It attempted to do this by strengthening civil society organizations, trade unions, Panchayati Raj Institutions, and promoting gender justice and empowerment. The spirit behind this change was good and it was to provide a new framework to pursue population programmes in the future but it also created an impression among health professionals and administration that government no longer considers population growth to be an important issue. Consequently, family planning programme in India, which relies more on sterilization, suffered. For several years, nobody talked about need to make efforts to motivate couples to accept family planning; virtually nobody went for family planning.