Events of CHP
Speaker : Prof. P. M. Kulkarni, a renowned demographer and former Professor of Centre for Study in Regional Development (CSRD) in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi
Patna, August 7. The Centre for Health Policy (CHP) at Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI), Patna organized an interactive talk on ‘Stalled Demographic Transition in Bihar’. Professor P. M. Kulkarni, a renowned demographer and population expert and former professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi was the main speaker. Prof. Prabhat P. Ghosh, Director-ADRI, welcomed the guest, described the demographic changes in India over the period and provided the overall context for the discussion.In his lecture, Prof. Kulkarni summarized that India has been passing through the classical demographic transition for some time and is now nearing the low replacement level mortality and fertility stage.While a number of states have already reached below replacement level fertility, Bihar is lagging in the process. Though mortality decline in Bihar has kept pace with the national average,the fertility has declined only marginally. Two factors seem to have kept fertility in Bihar well above the national level. Apart from challenges in socioeconomic development, inadequacy in meeting the needs of family welfare services seems to have contributed in fertility stagnation. Moreover, the small family norm has not been as widely accepted in Bihar even by the urban, educated and affluent couples as compared to national average. Therefore, it is noticed that the overall societal thinking is not as inclined towards small family desires as observed in other states.As policy implication, the need for maternal and child health care services will continue to be quite high. At the same time, the need for health services for the elderly and non-communicable diseases would continue to rise. The future planning for health service delivery will have to keep these challenges in mind.
Prof. Rash Bihari Prasad Singh, Vice – Chancellor, Patna University chaired and moderated the session. In his concluding remarks, he emphasised that state of Bihar should have a robust population policy so that the demographic dividend can be harnessed optimally. High level policy makers, academic luminaries, representatives of development partners and members of civil society actively participated in the discussion. Dr. Saswata Ghosh from CHP proposed the vote of thanks.
Brief : The state of Bihar has been witnessing very slow demographic transition over sufficiently long period, which can lead to many complex health and nutrition challenges in coming years. In this context, the Centre for Health Policy (CHP) at ADRI, Patna is organizing an interactive lecture cum discussion on “Stalled Demographic Transition in Bihar”.
This interactive lecture will be delivered by Prof. P. M. Kulkarni, a renowned demographer and former Professor of Centre for Study in Regional Development (CSRD) in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. Apart from teaching and research Prof. Kulkarni served as consultant to Sachar Committee, which was formed to understand the status of minority in India. He was also associated with numerous technical advisory groups and expert committees on population formed by Union Government of India and UN organizations from time to time.
The lecture will be held on 7th August, 2018 (Tuesday) from 11 AM to 1 PM at Darbar Hall, Ground Floor, Hotel Chanakya, Patna.