Rajasthan's total fertility rate falls below replacement rate to 2.0

Jaipur: Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in Rajasthan has fallen from 2.4 to 2.0, below the replacement rate of 2.1.

The replacement rate refers to the rate at which children must be born for the population to maintain itself from one generation to the next. Anything below that means, over the years, the state must bear an increasingly older population.

The fall in the TFR has been attributed in great part to the adoption of modern contraceptive methods, which has risen to 62.1 per cent, according to NFHS-5 data.

Experts at a media workshop, organised by the Vikalp project at Jaipur Press Club, emphasised the health benefits of delaying the first pregnancy and maintaining gaps between children.

"Women are increasingly adopting temporary contraceptive methods, empowering themselves to make informed choices," Surendra Singh Shekhawat, Director, Family Welfare Department, said.

Dr Suman Mittal, retired professor at SMS Hospital, said that delaying the first child by two years and spacing subsequent births improves maternal health and reduces mortality.

The Vikalp project, in collaboration with the Rajasthan government, also runs a free helpline, Sakhi (1800-202-5862), to offer confidential guidance on contraception.

All the same, the decline in the TFR does not forbode all that well for India, nor by extension, for Rajasthan.

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report India Ageing 2017, with the falling fertility rate, the elderly population of India will increase to 19 per cent of the total population by 2050.