Family planning can boost India's per capita GDP 13% by 2031: Study

If the existing set of policies are implemented to their fullest, India can see a definitive and sustained improvement in metrics such as reduced infant and maternal deaths, according to the study.

India’s per capita gross domestic product (GDP) can rise an additional 13% by 2031 if family planning policies are actively prioritised, according to a new study.

This can also prevent 2.9 million infant deaths and 1.2 million maternal deaths and save households Rs 77,600 crore (20%) of out-of-pocket health expenditure on childbirth and child hospitalisation, it added.

Currently, family planning gets barely 4% of India’s National Health Mission allocations and this share has been stagnant for several years.

‘Cost of Inaction in Family Planning in India: An Analysis of Health and Economic Implications’ a study by Population Foundation of India, assessed the cost benefit analysis of family planning interventions at the national level and in four populous states--Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. These together make for 37% of the country’s population.

(Business Standard)

The study showed that India needs to implement the following reproductive health strategies to ensure economic gains:

Target adolescents and youth;

Ensure a greater resource envelope for family planning in the health budgets of the Centre and states;

Adopt a multi-sectoral and community engagement;

Ensure availability and access to quality reproductive health services;

Invest in women’s education and job opportunities.

The gains that come through these strategies will be more pronounced in the four populous states, the study estimated.

A push for family planning can also result in cumulative savings of up to Rs 27,000 crore for the National Health Mission budget.

Why family planning is integral for health of women and children

If the existing set of policies are implemented to their fullest, India can see a definitive and sustained improvement in metrics such as reduced infant and maternal deaths, safer abortions, and overall reduction in unplanned pregnancies, according to the study. These will, in turn, result in benefits of magnitude higher than their immediate financial impact.

Globally, access to safe, voluntary family planning is a considered a human right and is central to concepts of gender equality and women’s empowerment. It is also the most effective pathway to unleashing the socio-economic potential of a healthy youth, as proved in this study by Harvard economists David Bloom and David Canning.