Question

Which of the following population policies decided the minimum marriage age as 21 years for males and 18 years for females?

1. National Population Policy, 1976 
2. National Population Policy, 1977 
3. National Population Policy, 2000 
4. Population Projections (2001 - 2026) 

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 1 : National Population Policy, 1976 

The correct answer is the National Population Policy, 1976.

• In 1976, the government of India came up with its first National Population policy.
• The policy came up with a number of measures to arrest population growth.
• Some of the measures are:
  • Increasing the minimum legal age of marriage for girls and boys to 18 and 21 respectively. Hence option 1 is correct.
  • Monetary incentives for birth control.
  • Improving the literacy levels of females both through the formal and non-formal channels.
  • The population was made as a factor for sharing central resources with that of the states. Linking 8% of the central assistance to the State Plans by weighing the performance of the states in the family welfare programs.
  • Popularise family welfare programs by using all forms of media.
  • Inculcating population education into the formal education system.
• It was hitherto believed that development and education would themselves restrict the rate of population growth, while the government’s own program was restricted to family planning, by way of motivating people to accept family planning and providing clinical facilities and other services to its acceptors.