New Delhi, July 7: The World Population Day 2017 will be celebrated on July 11 with the theme ‘Family Planning: Empowering People, Developing Nations‘. This year, the theme of World Population Day aims at providing safe, voluntary family planning to the people around the world and in a way, help in curbing the population growth. While the world population, today, stands over 7 Billion. While India stands at number two with nearly 1,129,866,154 in the list of most populous countries, China remains at rank one with a population of nearly 1,321,851,888. Also Read - Envelope Containing Poison Ricin Sent to President Trump at White House Intercepted

With the world population ever growing, the countries around the world have initiated family planning policies to help maintain the world population. In India itself, a number of initiatives have been taken for population stabilisation such as Mission Parivar Vikas under which the Uttar Pradesh government has planned to distribute condoms and contraceptives to the newlywed couples in the state. The state govt has decided to gift a ‘Nayi Pahal’ kit to the newlywed couples which will carry brochures, guidelines and other important pieces of information on safe sex and family planning. The initiative will be launched on July 11 on the World Population Day 2017. Let’s now look at how the other countries around the world are assisting in family planning. Also Read - Monsoon Session 2020 LIVE: Contentious Farm Bills Tabled in Rajya Sabha; Cong Calls it 'Ill-conceived, Ill-timed'

In India, the government has launched a number of policies and initiatives such as Mission Parivar Vikas, New Contraceptive Choices, New Family Planning Media Campaign, Scheme for ASHAs to ensure spacing in births etc. The ongoing interventions under family planning programme include “ensuring the quality of care in Family Planning services by establishing Quality Assurance Committees in all state and districts. Increasing male participation and promotion of ‘Non Scalpel Vasectomy’’, Operating the ‘National Family Planning Indemnity Scheme’ (NFPIS) under which clients are insured in the eventualities of deaths, complications and failures following sterilization and the providers/accredited institutions are indemnified against litigations in those eventualities” etc. Click here to read more on family planning initiatives in India. Also Read - Farm Bills to be Tabled in Rajya Sabha Today; Oppn Puts United Front, BJP Seeks Support From Regional Parties | Top Points

ALSO READ: World Population Day 2017 to be Observed on July 11 With The Theme Family Planning: Empowering People, Developing Nations

While India has many policies to control birth rate, China decided to do away with the controversial ‘One Child Policy’ according to which a couple was only allowed a child. In 2015, 35 years after the implementation of the policy, China government ended the policy and allowed the couples to have more than one child. Not only China, even United States has been lagging behind in controlling the birth rate in the country. According to the reports, over half of the pregnancies in the United States of America are unintended. The reports also have it that contraceptives remain underused in the country.

In 1959, a white paper was submitted to Parliament which recommended a Five-year Mass Family Planning programme that would reduce the birth rate to 20.0 per thousand individuals by 1970. Though birth rates fell from 1957 to 1970, the govt started a ‘Stop at Two’ family planning campaign. In fact, the following also witnessed legalisation of Abortion and sterilisation; women were urged to get sterilised after their second child. This is not all, the women in Singapore didn’t get a maternity leave if they are pregnant with a third child. Also, between 1969 and 1972, the government made sure that hospitals charge incrementally higher fees for each additional child and Income tax deductions are given for the first two children only.

China has remained the most populous country with a total of 1,373,541,278 registered people living in the country. India stands at the second position with 1,266,883,598 people, and the US at rank 3 with 323,995,528 population. The countries on 4 to 10 rank are Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Russia and Japan.