L to R: Ms. Sumita Banerjee (FP2030 Managing Director, Asia- Pacific Regional Hub), Ms. Andrea M. Wojnar (UNFPA India Representative and Country Director Bhutan), Dr. Shamika Ravi (Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister), Ms. Aradhana Patnaik (Additional Secretary and Mission Director National Health Mission, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare) and Dr. Rajani Ved (Director Health, Gates Foundation)
A high-level policy dialogue brought together government leaders, development partners, and experts to shape evidence-based policies in India
New Delhi, 19 November 2025 – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) India, in collaboration with the Family Planning 2030 (FP2030) Asia-Pacific Regional Hub and the Gates Foundation, hosted a roundtable today with senior officials from the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC-PM) and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), alongside representatives from development partners, academia, and civil society. The discussion focused on India’s evolving demographic landscape, marked by declining fertility rates and a continued need to expand access to quality family planning services. The roundtable offered a forward-looking vision for strengthening family planning policies and programmes to align with the changing population profile.
The roundtable comes at a crucial time. While India’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has fallen to 2.0, below the replacement level of 2.1, millions of women do not have access to the family planning services they seek. With unmet need standing at 9.4 percent, this gap affects an estimated 47 million women, underscoring the importance of strengthening access, choice, and quality in family planning.
Ms. Andrea M. Wojnar, UNFPA India Representative said, “India stands at a defining moment in its demographic journey. 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 Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) commented “India is a diverse country, and this diversity demands precision policy making. Every block, every village, every region is different — each with its own social realities, needs, and challenges. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. To deliver real impact, we must localise our strategies and design interventions that respond to what is happening on the ground in each pocket of the country. Precision policy making is not just desirable; it is essential for ensuring that programmes reach the people who need them most, in the way they need them.”
Ms. Aradhana Patnaik, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Health Mission, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) said “We must remember that family planning is not a women’s programme — it is a family programme. This is why, alongside saas-bahu sammelans, the Ministry also convenes saas-bahu-pati sammelans to reinforce that husbands and wives must make choices together. When couples share responsibility and decisions, we move closer to what truly matters: healthy mothers, healthy babies, and healthy families. Partnership is at the core of real reproductive choice.”
The discussions highlighted that while India has made significant progress, the family planning agenda remains unfinished. Sustaining investments and broadening the definition of reproductive health to include infertility care was pressed upon. Participants also called for policy developments to guide future family planning strategies and priorities, while strengthening alignment among stakeholders on choice-based principles, irrespective of fertility rates.
Panel discussions explored key themes such as expanding the contraceptive basket of choice, integrating infertility services, and addressing the reproductive health needs of adolescents and young people. The event concluded with a call to strengthen collaboration among government, development partners, and civil society to ensure that family planning in India remains people centered, inclusive, and responsive to changing fertility trends.
For more information, please contact:
Pinky Pradhan, Communications & Media Specialist | ppradhan@unfpa.org | +91 9810788435
About UNFPA
UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. UNFPA’s mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA calls for the realization of reproductive rights for all and supports access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services, including voluntary family planning, quality maternal health care and comprehensive sexuality education. Visit us at https://india.unfpa.org/en
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