The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) India, in partnership with the Family Planning 2030 (FP2030) Asia-Pacific Regional Hub and the Gates Foundation, convened a high-level roundtable today bringing together senior officials from the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC-PM), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), development partners, academics and civil society organisations. The dialogue focused on India’s shifting demographic landscape and the urgent need to strengthen access to quality, choice-based family planning services.
The meeting comes at a pivotal moment. India’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has declined to 2.0—below the replacement level of 2.1—yet the unmet need for family planning remains significant at 9.4 percent. This gap affects an estimated 47 million women who continue to face barriers in accessing modern contraceptive methods. Participants agreed that expanding access, improving service quality and ensuring informed choice must remain central to India’s demographic and public health strategy.
“India stands at a defining moment in its demographic journey,” said Ms Andrea M. Wojnar, UNFPA India Representative. “With current fertility trends, focus must champion reproductive rights, choice, and the full continuum of reproductive health for all. This roundtable marks an important step toward shaping a future-ready, evidence-driven family planning agenda, one that places people, especially young women and those with unmet needs, at the centre of national policy and socio-economic development.”
Dr. Shamika Ravi, Member of the EAC-PM, emphasised the need for data-led, localised interventions, noting, “India is a diverse country, and this diversity demands precise policymaking.” There is no one-size-fits-all approach. To deliver real impact, we must localise strategies and design interventions that respond to what is happening on the ground.”
Reinforcing the message of shared responsibility, Ms Aradhana Patnaik, Additional Secretary & Mission Director, National Health Mission, MoHFW, said, “Family planning is not a women’s programme; it is a family programme. When couples share responsibility and decisions, we move closer to what truly matters: healthy mothers, healthy babies and healthy families.”
Discussions stressed that despite notable progress, India’s family planning agenda remains unfinished. Priorities highlighted included expanding the contraceptive basket, integrating infertility services, strengthening adolescent reproductive healthcare and ensuring policy coherence across stakeholders. The event concluded with a collective call to deepen collaboration to ensure that India’s family planning programmes remain people-centred, inclusive and responsive to evolving fertility trends.