Total
Fertility Rate (TFR)
Total
Fertility Rate (TFR) signifies the total
number of children an average woman will
produce in her child bearing years. In India
the TFR is 3.0. Total
Fertility Rate (TFR) is a useful indicator
for analysing the prospects for population
stabilization.
Kerala,
Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa
and some UTs have reached the total
fertility rate of 2.1 or less. Several
encouraging trends have emerged from the
latest National Family Health Survey-3. Of
the states surveyed, three more have reached
replacement levels of total fertility
Maharashtra* (2.1), Punjab* (2.0) and Andhra
Pradesh (1.8). That means that now twelve
states and Union Territories have crossed
the fertility reduction signpost and Gujarat
and Orissa are within an achievable
distance.
However
according to projections, at the current
rate of decline, it will take many states
from 18 to 45 years to achieve a TFR of 2.1.
This is particularly so in the states of
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar
Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and
Uttranchal. Special measures are vitally
necessary to reduce the TFR in these states. States with high TFR (3 or more)
account for more than 40% of the population.
Education and the provision of reproductive
health services and nutrition were
substantially responsible for achieving the
TFR of 2.1 in Kerala in 1998 and in Tamil
Nadu in 1993. These states achieved early
progress by making population stabilisation
a priority. Maternal and child health has to
be promoted as a priority in the states
having a high TFR. if we are to stabilise
the population. The states that achieved
reduction in TFR did this as a mission.
Birth
Order Three and Above:
The
percentage of births of order three and
above is a direct measure of fertility. The
larger the percentages of birth of order
three and above indicates weak impact of the
family welfare programme. In other words,
lower the percentage of births of order
three and above the more likely that the
district would be developed. The majority of
the bottom 100 districts according to this
ranking belong to Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar,
Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya,
Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, and Uttar
Pradesh (Table:
Ranking and Mapping of Districts - Based on
Socio - economic and Demographic Indicators,
NCP, MOHFW)
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