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Directorate of Family Welfare

The National Family Welfare Programme is being implemented in Tamil Nadu since 1956 purely on voluntary basis. It is viewed and implemented as people's programme aimed to raise the Standard of living of the people and improve the Maternal and Child Health and thereby reduce population growth. Tamil Nadu now follows the  "Community Needs Assessment Approach" to implement the Family Welfare And Maternity Child Health programmes in the State.

Family Welfare Programme is intended to provide maternal and child health care and thereby to bring down the growth rate of population. It is also intended to avoid higher order birth (i.e. birth of more than two children in a family) and prevention of female infanticide. This is a countrywide programme implemented with the 100% financial assistance from Government of India.

It is aimed to stabilize the population of Tamil Nadu as 7.2 crores by the year 2010 from the current level of 6.2 crores.

Female infanticide is prevailing in few districts like Salem, Dharmapuri, Theni and Dindigul. Family Welfare Programme aims at avoiding such higher order birth to prevent female infanticide.  Most of the female infanticide children are third or fourth order births.

Indicators and Goals:

The demographic scenario of Tamil Nadu for 1999 (provisional) is furnished below :

      1. Birth Rate                              19.3/1000 population
      2. Death Rate                            8.0/1000 population
      3. Infant Mortality Rate            52/1000 live births
      4. Maternal Mortality Rate         1.4/1000 Deliveries
      5. Natural Growth Rate              1.13 percent

The department is attempting to achieve the following medium term demographic goals for Tamil Nadu by 2005 AD.

1.

Institutional Deliveries

90%

2.

Infant Morality Rate

30 or less/1000 Live Birth

3.

Birth Rate

15/1000 population

Population to stabilise in Tamil Nadu by 2010 at 7.2 crores.

State Commission on Population:

The Government of Tamil Nadu have constituted "State Commission on Population" under the Chairmanship of Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The State Commission on Population has been constituted to oversee and review "National Population Policy 2000" in the State.