ABSTRACT
A unique feature of the Indian population, compared to all other populations, European, Chinese and African included, is that its natural fertility levels were among the lowest ever recorded, almost 40 per cent lower than the natural fertility of the European populations studied by Louis Henry. The estimates of total fertility rate (TFR) and crude birth rate provided by Mari Bhat for different decades from 1871 to 1971 based on the census data show that the TFR values were around 6 in most decades before independence, with the crude birth rate between 45 and 47 births per 1,000 population per year until 1961. Though falling short of targets, the steady increase in contraceptive use among eligible couples in the country, stimulated and supported by the national programme of family planning over the decades, has been largely responsible for the declines in fertility, beginning in the urban areas and in the southern states and spreading throughout the country.
