Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

                trigger_error($message, E_USER_WARNING);

            } else {
$response = object(Cake\Http\Response) {

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		&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;-The Hindu&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced draft Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 that focuses exclusively on making a two-child norm a law, specifying various incentives and penalties for contravention. The burgeoning negative reaction to this proposal derives from a variety of inherent dangers, but also because most experts would agree that the conceptual clarity on &amp;lsquo;development being the best contraception&amp;rsquo; and the irrationality of incentives-disincentives had been, ostensibly, long settled.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As early as 1994, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (UN 1994); to which India is a signatory, strongly avers that coercion, incentives and disincentives have little role to play in population stabilisation and need to be replaced by the principle of informed free choice.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;This principle is also echoed in the National Population Policy 2000, which unequivocally supports a target-free approach and explicitly focuses on education, maternal and child health and survival, and the availability of health-care services, including contraceptive services, as key strategies for population stabilisation. The logic and rationale for this global and national articulation against incentives and disincentives, and in favour of the developmental measures mentioned above applies as much to Uttar Pradesh and other States today as they did when these policies were formulated.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Signs of stabilisation&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Consider the rationale below with the facts as they stand:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The population of India, and Uttar Pradesh is on the road to stabilisation regardless of coercive policies such as the two-child norm. The fertility rate for Uttar Pradesh (National Family Health Survey, or NFHS-4) is 2.7, compared to 3.8 10 years ago (NFHS-3). This trend is correlated with improvements in health indicators for the State, such as infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and malnutrition, in the same period.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;There are many States that have attained the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 by NFHS-4 such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal (excluding Union Territories and some northeastern States); all of which have much better development indicators. For instance, by NFHS-4, child mortality rate in Uttar Pradesh is 78 compared to seven in Kerala and 27 in Tamil Nadu. Women with 10 or more years of schooling stand at 33% in Uttar Pradesh compared to 72% in Kerala and 50% in Tamil Nadu. Thus, there is much scope for acceleration of population stabilisation through better delivery of health and education services.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice

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	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;-The Hindu&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced draft Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 that focuses exclusively on making a two-child norm a law, specifying various incentives and penalties for contravention. The burgeoning negative reaction to this proposal derives from a variety of inherent dangers, but also because most experts would agree that the conceptual clarity on &amp;lsquo;development being the best contraception&amp;rsquo; and the irrationality of incentives-disincentives had been, ostensibly, long settled.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As early as 1994, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (UN 1994); to which India is a signatory, strongly avers that coercion, incentives and disincentives have little role to play in population stabilisation and need to be replaced by the principle of informed free choice.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;This principle is also echoed in the National Population Policy 2000, which unequivocally supports a target-free approach and explicitly focuses on education, maternal and child health and survival, and the availability of health-care services, including contraceptive services, as key strategies for population stabilisation. The logic and rationale for this global and national articulation against incentives and disincentives, and in favour of the developmental measures mentioned above applies as much to Uttar Pradesh and other States today as they did when these policies were formulated.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Signs of stabilisation&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Consider the rationale below with the facts as they stand:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The population of India, and Uttar Pradesh is on the road to stabilisation regardless of coercive policies such as the two-child norm. The fertility rate for Uttar Pradesh (National Family Health Survey, or NFHS-4) is 2.7, compared to 3.8 10 years ago (NFHS-3). This trend is correlated with improvements in health indicators for the State, such as infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and malnutrition, in the same period.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;There are many States that have attained the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 by NFHS-4 such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal (excluding Union Territories and some northeastern States); all of which have much better development indicators. For instance, by NFHS-4, child mortality rate in Uttar Pradesh is 78 compared to seven in Kerala and 27 in Tamil Nadu. Women with 10 or more years of schooling stand at 33% in Uttar Pradesh compared to 72% in Kerala and 50% in Tamil Nadu. Thus, there is much scope for acceleration of population stabilisation through better delivery of health and education services.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true&quot; title=&quot;https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
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&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced draft Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 that focuses exclusively on making a two-child norm a law, specifying various incentives and penalties for contravention. The burgeoning negative reaction to this proposal derives from a variety of inherent dangers, but also because most experts would agree that the conceptual clarity on &amp;lsquo;development being the best contraception&amp;rsquo; and the irrationality of incentives-disincentives had been, ostensibly, long settled.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As early as 1994, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (UN 1994); to which India is a signatory, strongly avers that coercion, incentives and disincentives have little role to play in population stabilisation and need to be replaced by the principle of informed free choice.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;This principle is also echoed in the National Population Policy 2000, which unequivocally supports a target-free approach and explicitly focuses on education, maternal and child health and survival, and the availability of health-care services, including contraceptive services, as key strategies for population stabilisation. The logic and rationale for this global and national articulation against incentives and disincentives, and in favour of the developmental measures mentioned above applies as much to Uttar Pradesh and other States today as they did when these policies were formulated.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Signs of stabilisation&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Consider the rationale below with the facts as they stand:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The population of India, and Uttar Pradesh is on the road to stabilisation regardless of coercive policies such as the two-child norm. The fertility rate for Uttar Pradesh (National Family Health Survey, or NFHS-4) is 2.7, compared to 3.8 10 years ago (NFHS-3). This trend is correlated with improvements in health indicators for the State, such as infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and malnutrition, in the same period.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;There are many States that have attained the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 by NFHS-4 such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal (excluding Union Territories and some northeastern States); all of which have much better development indicators. For instance, by NFHS-4, child mortality rate in Uttar Pradesh is 78 compared to seven in Kerala and 27 in Tamil Nadu. Women with 10 or more years of schooling stand at 33% in Uttar Pradesh compared to 72% in Kerala and 50% in Tamil Nadu. Thus, there is much scope for acceleration of population stabilisation through better delivery of health and education services.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice

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                <strong>An irrational draft population control Bill that must go -Dipa Sinha and Vandana Prasad</strong></h1>
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                <p style="text-align:justify">-The Hindu</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced draft Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 that focuses exclusively on making a two-child norm a law, specifying various incentives and penalties for contravention. The burgeoning negative reaction to this proposal derives from a variety of inherent dangers, but also because most experts would agree that the conceptual clarity on &lsquo;development being the best contraception&rsquo; and the irrationality of incentives-disincentives had been, ostensibly, long settled.</p><p style="text-align:justify">As early as 1994, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (UN 1994); to which India is a signatory, strongly avers that coercion, incentives and disincentives have little role to play in population stabilisation and need to be replaced by the principle of informed free choice.</p><p style="text-align:justify">This principle is also echoed in the National Population Policy 2000, which unequivocally supports a target-free approach and explicitly focuses on education, maternal and child health and survival, and the availability of health-care services, including contraceptive services, as key strategies for population stabilisation. The logic and rationale for this global and national articulation against incentives and disincentives, and in favour of the developmental measures mentioned above applies as much to Uttar Pradesh and other States today as they did when these policies were formulated.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>Signs of stabilisation</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Consider the rationale below with the facts as they stand:</p><p style="text-align:justify">The population of India, and Uttar Pradesh is on the road to stabilisation regardless of coercive policies such as the two-child norm. The fertility rate for Uttar Pradesh (National Family Health Survey, or NFHS-4) is 2.7, compared to 3.8 10 years ago (NFHS-3). This trend is correlated with improvements in health indicators for the State, such as infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and malnutrition, in the same period.</p><p style="text-align:justify">There are many States that have attained the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 by NFHS-4 such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal (excluding Union Territories and some northeastern States); all of which have much better development indicators. For instance, by NFHS-4, child mortality rate in Uttar Pradesh is 78 compared to seven in Kerala and 27 in Tamil Nadu. Women with 10 or more years of schooling stand at 33% in Uttar Pradesh compared to 72% in Kerala and 50% in Tamil Nadu. Thus, there is much scope for acceleration of population stabilisation through better delivery of health and education services.</p><p style="text-align:justify">Please <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true" title="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true">click here</a> to read more.&nbsp;</p>               </font>
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&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced draft Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 that focuses exclusively on making a two-child norm a law, specifying various incentives and penalties for contravention. The burgeoning negative reaction to this proposal derives from a variety of inherent dangers, but also because most experts would agree that the conceptual clarity on &amp;lsquo;development being the best contraception&amp;rsquo; and the irrationality of incentives-disincentives had been, ostensibly, long settled.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As early as 1994, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (UN 1994); to which India is a signatory, strongly avers that coercion, incentives and disincentives have little role to play in population stabilisation and need to be replaced by the principle of informed free choice.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;This principle is also echoed in the National Population Policy 2000, which unequivocally supports a target-free approach and explicitly focuses on education, maternal and child health and survival, and the availability of health-care services, including contraceptive services, as key strategies for population stabilisation. The logic and rationale for this global and national articulation against incentives and disincentives, and in favour of the developmental measures mentioned above applies as much to Uttar Pradesh and other States today as they did when these policies were formulated.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Signs of stabilisation&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Consider the rationale below with the facts as they stand:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The population of India, and Uttar Pradesh is on the road to stabilisation regardless of coercive policies such as the two-child norm. The fertility rate for Uttar Pradesh (National Family Health Survey, or NFHS-4) is 2.7, compared to 3.8 10 years ago (NFHS-3). This trend is correlated with improvements in health indicators for the State, such as infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and malnutrition, in the same period.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;There are many States that have attained the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 by NFHS-4 such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal (excluding Union Territories and some northeastern States); all of which have much better development indicators. For instance, by NFHS-4, child mortality rate in Uttar Pradesh is 78 compared to seven in Kerala and 27 in Tamil Nadu. Women with 10 or more years of schooling stand at 33% in Uttar Pradesh compared to 72% in Kerala and 50% in Tamil Nadu. Thus, there is much scope for acceleration of population stabilisation through better delivery of health and education services.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced draft Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 that focuses exclusively on making a two-child norm a law, specifying various incentives and penalties for contravention. The burgeoning negative reaction to this proposal derives from a variety of inherent dangers, but also because most experts would agree that the conceptual clarity on &amp;lsquo;development being the best contraception&amp;rsquo; and the irrationality of incentives-disincentives had been, ostensibly, long settled.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As early as 1994, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (UN 1994); to which India is a signatory, strongly avers that coercion, incentives and disincentives have little role to play in population stabilisation and need to be replaced by the principle of informed free choice.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;This principle is also echoed in the National Population Policy 2000, which unequivocally supports a target-free approach and explicitly focuses on education, maternal and child health and survival, and the availability of health-care services, including contraceptive services, as key strategies for population stabilisation. The logic and rationale for this global and national articulation against incentives and disincentives, and in favour of the developmental measures mentioned above applies as much to Uttar Pradesh and other States today as they did when these policies were formulated.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Signs of stabilisation&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Consider the rationale below with the facts as they stand:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The population of India, and Uttar Pradesh is on the road to stabilisation regardless of coercive policies such as the two-child norm. The fertility rate for Uttar Pradesh (National Family Health Survey, or NFHS-4) is 2.7, compared to 3.8 10 years ago (NFHS-3). This trend is correlated with improvements in health indicators for the State, such as infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and malnutrition, in the same period.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;There are many States that have attained the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 by NFHS-4 such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal (excluding Union Territories and some northeastern States); all of which have much better development indicators. For instance, by NFHS-4, child mortality rate in Uttar Pradesh is 78 compared to seven in Kerala and 27 in Tamil Nadu. Women with 10 or more years of schooling stand at 33% in Uttar Pradesh compared to 72% in Kerala and 50% in Tamil Nadu. Thus, there is much scope for acceleration of population stabilisation through better delivery of health and education services.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice

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                <strong>An irrational draft population control Bill that must go -Dipa Sinha and Vandana Prasad</strong></h1>
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                <p style="text-align:justify">-The Hindu</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced draft Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 that focuses exclusively on making a two-child norm a law, specifying various incentives and penalties for contravention. The burgeoning negative reaction to this proposal derives from a variety of inherent dangers, but also because most experts would agree that the conceptual clarity on &lsquo;development being the best contraception&rsquo; and the irrationality of incentives-disincentives had been, ostensibly, long settled.</p><p style="text-align:justify">As early as 1994, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (UN 1994); to which India is a signatory, strongly avers that coercion, incentives and disincentives have little role to play in population stabilisation and need to be replaced by the principle of informed free choice.</p><p style="text-align:justify">This principle is also echoed in the National Population Policy 2000, which unequivocally supports a target-free approach and explicitly focuses on education, maternal and child health and survival, and the availability of health-care services, including contraceptive services, as key strategies for population stabilisation. The logic and rationale for this global and national articulation against incentives and disincentives, and in favour of the developmental measures mentioned above applies as much to Uttar Pradesh and other States today as they did when these policies were formulated.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>Signs of stabilisation</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Consider the rationale below with the facts as they stand:</p><p style="text-align:justify">The population of India, and Uttar Pradesh is on the road to stabilisation regardless of coercive policies such as the two-child norm. The fertility rate for Uttar Pradesh (National Family Health Survey, or NFHS-4) is 2.7, compared to 3.8 10 years ago (NFHS-3). This trend is correlated with improvements in health indicators for the State, such as infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and malnutrition, in the same period.</p><p style="text-align:justify">There are many States that have attained the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 by NFHS-4 such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal (excluding Union Territories and some northeastern States); all of which have much better development indicators. For instance, by NFHS-4, child mortality rate in Uttar Pradesh is 78 compared to seven in Kerala and 27 in Tamil Nadu. Women with 10 or more years of schooling stand at 33% in Uttar Pradesh compared to 72% in Kerala and 50% in Tamil Nadu. Thus, there is much scope for acceleration of population stabilisation through better delivery of health and education services.</p><p style="text-align:justify">Please <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true" title="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true">click here</a> to read more.&nbsp;</p>               </font>
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		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;An irrational draft population control Bill that must go -Dipa Sinha and Vandana Prasad&#039;,
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		&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;-The Hindu&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced draft Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 that focuses exclusively on making a two-child norm a law, specifying various incentives and penalties for contravention. The burgeoning negative reaction to this proposal derives from a variety of inherent dangers, but also because most experts would agree that the conceptual clarity on &amp;lsquo;development being the best contraception&amp;rsquo; and the irrationality of incentives-disincentives had been, ostensibly, long settled.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As early as 1994, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (UN 1994); to which India is a signatory, strongly avers that coercion, incentives and disincentives have little role to play in population stabilisation and need to be replaced by the principle of informed free choice.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;This principle is also echoed in the National Population Policy 2000, which unequivocally supports a target-free approach and explicitly focuses on education, maternal and child health and survival, and the availability of health-care services, including contraceptive services, as key strategies for population stabilisation. The logic and rationale for this global and national articulation against incentives and disincentives, and in favour of the developmental measures mentioned above applies as much to Uttar Pradesh and other States today as they did when these policies were formulated.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Signs of stabilisation&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Consider the rationale below with the facts as they stand:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The population of India, and Uttar Pradesh is on the road to stabilisation regardless of coercive policies such as the two-child norm. The fertility rate for Uttar Pradesh (National Family Health Survey, or NFHS-4) is 2.7, compared to 3.8 10 years ago (NFHS-3). This trend is correlated with improvements in health indicators for the State, such as infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and malnutrition, in the same period.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;There are many States that have attained the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 by NFHS-4 such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal (excluding Union Territories and some northeastern States); all of which have much better development indicators. For instance, by NFHS-4, child mortality rate in Uttar Pradesh is 78 compared to seven in Kerala and 27 in Tamil Nadu. Women with 10 or more years of schooling stand at 33% in Uttar Pradesh compared to 72% in Kerala and 50% in Tamil Nadu. Thus, there is much scope for acceleration of population stabilisation through better delivery of health and education services.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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	&#039;metaDesc&#039; =&gt; &#039;-The Hindu

The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice

Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;-The Hindu&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced draft Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 that focuses exclusively on making a two-child norm a law, specifying various incentives and penalties for contravention. The burgeoning negative reaction to this proposal derives from a variety of inherent dangers, but also because most experts would agree that the conceptual clarity on &amp;lsquo;development being the best contraception&amp;rsquo; and the irrationality of incentives-disincentives had been, ostensibly, long settled.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As early as 1994, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (UN 1994); to which India is a signatory, strongly avers that coercion, incentives and disincentives have little role to play in population stabilisation and need to be replaced by the principle of informed free choice.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;This principle is also echoed in the National Population Policy 2000, which unequivocally supports a target-free approach and explicitly focuses on education, maternal and child health and survival, and the availability of health-care services, including contraceptive services, as key strategies for population stabilisation. The logic and rationale for this global and national articulation against incentives and disincentives, and in favour of the developmental measures mentioned above applies as much to Uttar Pradesh and other States today as they did when these policies were formulated.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Signs of stabilisation&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Consider the rationale below with the facts as they stand:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The population of India, and Uttar Pradesh is on the road to stabilisation regardless of coercive policies such as the two-child norm. The fertility rate for Uttar Pradesh (National Family Health Survey, or NFHS-4) is 2.7, compared to 3.8 10 years ago (NFHS-3). This trend is correlated with improvements in health indicators for the State, such as infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and malnutrition, in the same period.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;There are many States that have attained the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 by NFHS-4 such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal (excluding Union Territories and some northeastern States); all of which have much better development indicators. For instance, by NFHS-4, child mortality rate in Uttar Pradesh is 78 compared to seven in Kerala and 27 in Tamil Nadu. Women with 10 or more years of schooling stand at 33% in Uttar Pradesh compared to 72% in Kerala and 50% in Tamil Nadu. Thus, there is much scope for acceleration of population stabilisation through better delivery of health and education services.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true&quot; title=&quot;https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
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	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;An irrational draft population control Bill that must go -Dipa Sinha and Vandana Prasad&#039;,
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	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;-The Hindu&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced draft Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 that focuses exclusively on making a two-child norm a law, specifying various incentives and penalties for contravention. The burgeoning negative reaction to this proposal derives from a variety of inherent dangers, but also because most experts would agree that the conceptual clarity on &amp;lsquo;development being the best contraception&amp;rsquo; and the irrationality of incentives-disincentives had been, ostensibly, long settled.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As early as 1994, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (UN 1994); to which India is a signatory, strongly avers that coercion, incentives and disincentives have little role to play in population stabilisation and need to be replaced by the principle of informed free choice.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;This principle is also echoed in the National Population Policy 2000, which unequivocally supports a target-free approach and explicitly focuses on education, maternal and child health and survival, and the availability of health-care services, including contraceptive services, as key strategies for population stabilisation. The logic and rationale for this global and national articulation against incentives and disincentives, and in favour of the developmental measures mentioned above applies as much to Uttar Pradesh and other States today as they did when these policies were formulated.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Signs of stabilisation&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Consider the rationale below with the facts as they stand:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The population of India, and Uttar Pradesh is on the road to stabilisation regardless of coercive policies such as the two-child norm. The fertility rate for Uttar Pradesh (National Family Health Survey, or NFHS-4) is 2.7, compared to 3.8 10 years ago (NFHS-3). This trend is correlated with improvements in health indicators for the State, such as infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and malnutrition, in the same period.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;There are many States that have attained the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 by NFHS-4 such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal (excluding Union Territories and some northeastern States); all of which have much better development indicators. For instance, by NFHS-4, child mortality rate in Uttar Pradesh is 78 compared to seven in Kerala and 27 in Tamil Nadu. Women with 10 or more years of schooling stand at 33% in Uttar Pradesh compared to 72% in Kerala and 50% in Tamil Nadu. Thus, there is much scope for acceleration of population stabilisation through better delivery of health and education services.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice

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$disp = &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;-The Hindu&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced draft Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 that focuses exclusively on making a two-child norm a law, specifying various incentives and penalties for contravention. The burgeoning negative reaction to this proposal derives from a variety of inherent dangers, but also because most experts would agree that the conceptual clarity on &amp;lsquo;development being the best contraception&amp;rsquo; and the irrationality of incentives-disincentives had been, ostensibly, long settled.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As early as 1994, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (UN 1994); to which India is a signatory, strongly avers that coercion, incentives and disincentives have little role to play in population stabilisation and need to be replaced by the principle of informed free choice.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;This principle is also echoed in the National Population Policy 2000, which unequivocally supports a target-free approach and explicitly focuses on education, maternal and child health and survival, and the availability of health-care services, including contraceptive services, as key strategies for population stabilisation. The logic and rationale for this global and national articulation against incentives and disincentives, and in favour of the developmental measures mentioned above applies as much to Uttar Pradesh and other States today as they did when these policies were formulated.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Signs of stabilisation&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Consider the rationale below with the facts as they stand:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The population of India, and Uttar Pradesh is on the road to stabilisation regardless of coercive policies such as the two-child norm. The fertility rate for Uttar Pradesh (National Family Health Survey, or NFHS-4) is 2.7, compared to 3.8 10 years ago (NFHS-3). This trend is correlated with improvements in health indicators for the State, such as infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and malnutrition, in the same period.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;There are many States that have attained the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 by NFHS-4 such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal (excluding Union Territories and some northeastern States); all of which have much better development indicators. For instance, by NFHS-4, child mortality rate in Uttar Pradesh is 78 compared to seven in Kerala and 27 in Tamil Nadu. Women with 10 or more years of schooling stand at 33% in Uttar Pradesh compared to 72% in Kerala and 50% in Tamil Nadu. Thus, there is much scope for acceleration of population stabilisation through better delivery of health and education services.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true&quot; title=&quot;https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;
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The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice

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                <strong>An irrational draft population control Bill that must go -Dipa Sinha and Vandana Prasad</strong></h1>
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                <p style="text-align:justify">-The Hindu</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced draft Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 that focuses exclusively on making a two-child norm a law, specifying various incentives and penalties for contravention. The burgeoning negative reaction to this proposal derives from a variety of inherent dangers, but also because most experts would agree that the conceptual clarity on &lsquo;development being the best contraception&rsquo; and the irrationality of incentives-disincentives had been, ostensibly, long settled.</p><p style="text-align:justify">As early as 1994, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (UN 1994); to which India is a signatory, strongly avers that coercion, incentives and disincentives have little role to play in population stabilisation and need to be replaced by the principle of informed free choice.</p><p style="text-align:justify">This principle is also echoed in the National Population Policy 2000, which unequivocally supports a target-free approach and explicitly focuses on education, maternal and child health and survival, and the availability of health-care services, including contraceptive services, as key strategies for population stabilisation. The logic and rationale for this global and national articulation against incentives and disincentives, and in favour of the developmental measures mentioned above applies as much to Uttar Pradesh and other States today as they did when these policies were formulated.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>Signs of stabilisation</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Consider the rationale below with the facts as they stand:</p><p style="text-align:justify">The population of India, and Uttar Pradesh is on the road to stabilisation regardless of coercive policies such as the two-child norm. The fertility rate for Uttar Pradesh (National Family Health Survey, or NFHS-4) is 2.7, compared to 3.8 10 years ago (NFHS-3). This trend is correlated with improvements in health indicators for the State, such as infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and malnutrition, in the same period.</p><p style="text-align:justify">There are many States that have attained the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 by NFHS-4 such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal (excluding Union Territories and some northeastern States); all of which have much better development indicators. For instance, by NFHS-4, child mortality rate in Uttar Pradesh is 78 compared to seven in Kerala and 27 in Tamil Nadu. Women with 10 or more years of schooling stand at 33% in Uttar Pradesh compared to 72% in Kerala and 50% in Tamil Nadu. Thus, there is much scope for acceleration of population stabilisation through better delivery of health and education services.</p><p style="text-align:justify">Please <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true" title="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true">click here</a> to read more.&nbsp;</p>               </font>
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		'description' => '<p style="text-align:justify">-The Hindu</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em>The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced draft Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 that focuses exclusively on making a two-child norm a law, specifying various incentives and penalties for contravention. The burgeoning negative reaction to this proposal derives from a variety of inherent dangers, but also because most experts would agree that the conceptual clarity on &lsquo;development being the best contraception&rsquo; and the irrationality of incentives-disincentives had been, ostensibly, long settled.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">As early as 1994, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (UN 1994); to which India is a signatory, strongly avers that coercion, incentives and disincentives have little role to play in population stabilisation and need to be replaced by the principle of informed free choice.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">This principle is also echoed in the National Population Policy 2000, which unequivocally supports a target-free approach and explicitly focuses on education, maternal and child health and survival, and the availability of health-care services, including contraceptive services, as key strategies for population stabilisation. The logic and rationale for this global and national articulation against incentives and disincentives, and in favour of the developmental measures mentioned above applies as much to Uttar Pradesh and other States today as they did when these policies were formulated.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em>Signs of stabilisation</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Consider the rationale below with the facts as they stand:</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">The population of India, and Uttar Pradesh is on the road to stabilisation regardless of coercive policies such as the two-child norm. The fertility rate for Uttar Pradesh (National Family Health Survey, or NFHS-4) is 2.7, compared to 3.8 10 years ago (NFHS-3). This trend is correlated with improvements in health indicators for the State, such as infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and malnutrition, in the same period.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">There are many States that have attained the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 by NFHS-4 such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal (excluding Union Territories and some northeastern States); all of which have much better development indicators. For instance, by NFHS-4, child mortality rate in Uttar Pradesh is 78 compared to seven in Kerala and 27 in Tamil Nadu. Women with 10 or more years of schooling stand at 33% in Uttar Pradesh compared to 72% in Kerala and 50% in Tamil Nadu. Thus, there is much scope for acceleration of population stabilisation through better delivery of health and education services.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Please <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true">click here</a> to read more.&nbsp;</p>
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	'metaTitle' => 'LATEST NEWS UPDATES | An irrational draft population control Bill that must go -Dipa Sinha and Vandana Prasad',
	'metaKeywords' => 'Two-child norm,Uttar Pradesh,Population control,Birth control,Sterilisation,Contraceptives,Population explosion,Overpopulation,draft Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021,NFHS,National Family Health Survey',
	'metaDesc' => '-The Hindu

The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice

Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced...',
	'disp' => '<p style="text-align:justify">-The Hindu</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced draft Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 that focuses exclusively on making a two-child norm a law, specifying various incentives and penalties for contravention. The burgeoning negative reaction to this proposal derives from a variety of inherent dangers, but also because most experts would agree that the conceptual clarity on &lsquo;development being the best contraception&rsquo; and the irrationality of incentives-disincentives had been, ostensibly, long settled.</p><p style="text-align:justify">As early as 1994, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (UN 1994); to which India is a signatory, strongly avers that coercion, incentives and disincentives have little role to play in population stabilisation and need to be replaced by the principle of informed free choice.</p><p style="text-align:justify">This principle is also echoed in the National Population Policy 2000, which unequivocally supports a target-free approach and explicitly focuses on education, maternal and child health and survival, and the availability of health-care services, including contraceptive services, as key strategies for population stabilisation. The logic and rationale for this global and national articulation against incentives and disincentives, and in favour of the developmental measures mentioned above applies as much to Uttar Pradesh and other States today as they did when these policies were formulated.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>Signs of stabilisation</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Consider the rationale below with the facts as they stand:</p><p style="text-align:justify">The population of India, and Uttar Pradesh is on the road to stabilisation regardless of coercive policies such as the two-child norm. The fertility rate for Uttar Pradesh (National Family Health Survey, or NFHS-4) is 2.7, compared to 3.8 10 years ago (NFHS-3). This trend is correlated with improvements in health indicators for the State, such as infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and malnutrition, in the same period.</p><p style="text-align:justify">There are many States that have attained the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 by NFHS-4 such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal (excluding Union Territories and some northeastern States); all of which have much better development indicators. For instance, by NFHS-4, child mortality rate in Uttar Pradesh is 78 compared to seven in Kerala and 27 in Tamil Nadu. Women with 10 or more years of schooling stand at 33% in Uttar Pradesh compared to 72% in Kerala and 50% in Tamil Nadu. Thus, there is much scope for acceleration of population stabilisation through better delivery of health and education services.</p><p style="text-align:justify">Please <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true" title="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true">click here</a> to read more.&nbsp;</p>',
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	'title' => 'An irrational draft population control Bill that must go -Dipa Sinha and Vandana Prasad',
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	'description' => '<p style="text-align:justify">-The Hindu</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em>The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced draft Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 that focuses exclusively on making a two-child norm a law, specifying various incentives and penalties for contravention. The burgeoning negative reaction to this proposal derives from a variety of inherent dangers, but also because most experts would agree that the conceptual clarity on &lsquo;development being the best contraception&rsquo; and the irrationality of incentives-disincentives had been, ostensibly, long settled.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">As early as 1994, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (UN 1994); to which India is a signatory, strongly avers that coercion, incentives and disincentives have little role to play in population stabilisation and need to be replaced by the principle of informed free choice.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">This principle is also echoed in the National Population Policy 2000, which unequivocally supports a target-free approach and explicitly focuses on education, maternal and child health and survival, and the availability of health-care services, including contraceptive services, as key strategies for population stabilisation. The logic and rationale for this global and national articulation against incentives and disincentives, and in favour of the developmental measures mentioned above applies as much to Uttar Pradesh and other States today as they did when these policies were formulated.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em>Signs of stabilisation</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Consider the rationale below with the facts as they stand:</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">The population of India, and Uttar Pradesh is on the road to stabilisation regardless of coercive policies such as the two-child norm. The fertility rate for Uttar Pradesh (National Family Health Survey, or NFHS-4) is 2.7, compared to 3.8 10 years ago (NFHS-3). This trend is correlated with improvements in health indicators for the State, such as infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and malnutrition, in the same period.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">There are many States that have attained the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 by NFHS-4 such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal (excluding Union Territories and some northeastern States); all of which have much better development indicators. For instance, by NFHS-4, child mortality rate in Uttar Pradesh is 78 compared to seven in Kerala and 27 in Tamil Nadu. Women with 10 or more years of schooling stand at 33% in Uttar Pradesh compared to 72% in Kerala and 50% in Tamil Nadu. Thus, there is much scope for acceleration of population stabilisation through better delivery of health and education services.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Please <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true">click here</a> to read more.&nbsp;</p>
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The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice

Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced...'
$disp = '<p style="text-align:justify">-The Hindu</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced draft Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 that focuses exclusively on making a two-child norm a law, specifying various incentives and penalties for contravention. The burgeoning negative reaction to this proposal derives from a variety of inherent dangers, but also because most experts would agree that the conceptual clarity on &lsquo;development being the best contraception&rsquo; and the irrationality of incentives-disincentives had been, ostensibly, long settled.</p><p style="text-align:justify">As early as 1994, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (UN 1994); to which India is a signatory, strongly avers that coercion, incentives and disincentives have little role to play in population stabilisation and need to be replaced by the principle of informed free choice.</p><p style="text-align:justify">This principle is also echoed in the National Population Policy 2000, which unequivocally supports a target-free approach and explicitly focuses on education, maternal and child health and survival, and the availability of health-care services, including contraceptive services, as key strategies for population stabilisation. The logic and rationale for this global and national articulation against incentives and disincentives, and in favour of the developmental measures mentioned above applies as much to Uttar Pradesh and other States today as they did when these policies were formulated.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>Signs of stabilisation</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Consider the rationale below with the facts as they stand:</p><p style="text-align:justify">The population of India, and Uttar Pradesh is on the road to stabilisation regardless of coercive policies such as the two-child norm. The fertility rate for Uttar Pradesh (National Family Health Survey, or NFHS-4) is 2.7, compared to 3.8 10 years ago (NFHS-3). This trend is correlated with improvements in health indicators for the State, such as infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and malnutrition, in the same period.</p><p style="text-align:justify">There are many States that have attained the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 by NFHS-4 such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal (excluding Union Territories and some northeastern States); all of which have much better development indicators. For instance, by NFHS-4, child mortality rate in Uttar Pradesh is 78 compared to seven in Kerala and 27 in Tamil Nadu. Women with 10 or more years of schooling stand at 33% in Uttar Pradesh compared to 72% in Kerala and 50% in Tamil Nadu. Thus, there is much scope for acceleration of population stabilisation through better delivery of health and education services.</p><p style="text-align:justify">Please <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true" title="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-irrational-draft-population-control-bill-that-must-go/article35372762.ece?homepage=true">click here</a> to read more.&nbsp;</p>'
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An irrational draft population control Bill that must go -Dipa Sinha and Vandana Prasad

-The Hindu The Uttar Pradesh government should understand that evidence backs the principle of informed free choice Many of us working in the field of public health and social development have been taken aback, if not downright shocked, by the recently announced draft Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 that focuses exclusively on making a two-child norm a law, specifying various incentives and penalties for contravention. The burgeoning negative reaction to this proposal derives from a variety of inherent dangers, but also because most experts would agree that the conceptual clarity on ‘development being the best contraception’ and the irrationality of incentives-disincentives had been, ostensibly, long settled. As early as 1994, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (UN 1994); to which India is a signatory, strongly avers that coercion, incentives and disincentives have little role to play in population stabilisation and need to be replaced by the principle of informed free choice. This principle is also echoed in the National Population Policy 2000, which unequivocally supports a target-free approach and explicitly focuses on education, maternal and child health and survival, and the availability of health-care services, including contraceptive services, as key strategies for population stabilisation. The logic and rationale for this global and national articulation against incentives and disincentives, and in favour of the developmental measures mentioned above applies as much to Uttar Pradesh and other States today as they did when these policies were formulated. Signs of stabilisation Consider the rationale below with the facts as they stand: The population of India, and Uttar Pradesh is on the road to stabilisation regardless of coercive policies such as the two-child norm. The fertility rate for Uttar Pradesh (National Family Health Survey, or NFHS-4) is 2.7, compared to 3.8 10 years ago (NFHS-3). This trend is correlated with improvements in health indicators for the State, such as infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and malnutrition, in the same period. There are many States that have attained the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 by NFHS-4 such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal (excluding Union Territories and some northeastern States); all of which have much better development indicators. For instance, by NFHS-4, child mortality rate in Uttar Pradesh is 78 compared to seven in Kerala and 27 in Tamil Nadu. Women with 10 or more years of schooling stand at 33% in Uttar Pradesh compared to 72% in Kerala and 50% in Tamil Nadu. Thus, there is much scope for acceleration of population stabilisation through better delivery of health and education services. Please click here to read more.