The general thinking is that the MDGs are too ambitious. Looking at the available resources, the state of governance in the country and the social environment, we may not be able to achieve the MDGs as fixed in the Millennium Declaration. Yet, one cannot deny the importance of the framework of MDGs. They have directed attention of the planners (and also of the researchers and NGOs) towards specific goals and targets. They have also influenced the perspective of Tenth and Eleventh Five Year Plans in the country. MDGs have put the development agenda on top of family planning. It has accorded special importance to women empowerment, reproductive and child health and fighting HIV epidemic.

Reflecting the ICPD goals and MDGs, in India the National Population Policy 2000 has called for a more humane approach to population planning and for paying greater attention to social development with particular emphasis on improving education, reproductive health and unmet needs of slums and other special categories of population. One major factor of new thinking is the stress on three points: (a) importance of area specific approach about which some academicians were arguing for a long time (Misra, 1992); (b) a need to recognize the importance of reciprocal relationship between population and development; and (c) acceptance of the fact that there could be multiple perspectives on social and organizational issues (Riley and McCarthy, 2003). The goals of NPP 2000 are further operationalized in terms of facilities for people. For example, the goal of reducing maternal mortality ratio has been translated into increasing institutional deliveries under National Rural Health Mission (NHRM) involving ASHAs.

PARADIGM SHIFT IN FAMILY PLANNING