SURVEY SAID : INDIA's FERTILITY RATE DROPPED

According to a latest data from the National Family Health Survey-III, an increasing number of couples want a maximum of 2 children. this data caused the fertility rate to drop from 2.9 in the year 2000 to 2.7 in the year 2006. urban women have already achieved replacement level fertility--a maximum of two children per couple. they have recoded a total fertility rate of 2.1. over 10 states , mostly in south india, have also reached replacement level / before replacement level fertility. however, the total fertility rate (TFR) among rural women is still too high & stands an average of 3 children per family. it is specially the case in 8 states & is particularly high 3, 3-4, 4 in bihar, up, meghalaya & nagaland. in the national population policy 2000, the union health ministry had set a goal of achieveing replacement level fertility of 2 children per women nationally by the year 2010.this was expected to help india's swelling population to stabilise. in another exciting finding, the survey has found an increasing desire to have a girl child. even though a son is still preferred, over 62% of women with two daughters & no sons said they wanted no more children. in the NFGS-II survey conducted in 2003 53% women wanted third child hoping to have a son. experts are attributing the declaining fertility to women's increased use of contraception. the overall contraception prevalence rate is much higher in urban areas (64%), rural areas (53%).