Articles by K Srinivasan

The form and nature of marriage and family life have changed over the past few decades in Western societies and in East Asia, but they have taken different pathways. Reproduction is becoming delinked from marriage in the West, while in East Asia remaining single has become more of a norm. Looking at how the various factors operating in these societies impinge on marriages in India, this paper finds that while development has contributed to a significant rise in age at marriage, it has not altered the ultimate proportion of the population getting married by 0-34. These figures are in stark contrast to what is observed in the West and Japan. Deeply rooted in religion and caste, and with marital breakdown facing punishing social and economic costs, the institution of marriage is strong in India and unlikely to show signs of a breakdown in the near future.

The household deprivation scores, based on the availability of some basic amenities to a household and the presence of a literate adult member, have been applied to data sets of the three National Family Health Surveys to study the trends in deprivation levels over 1992-2006 and the correlates of selected reproductive and child heath parameters with household deprivation levels. It is found that the proportion of households classified as "deprived" on the basis of the hds has recorded a secular declining trend over this period and that the quantum of decline in the proportions of the deprived is strongly associated with improvements in reproductive and child health parameters. Analysis of the data on malnourishment of children reveals that the availability of some basic amenities at the household level makes a significant contribution to children's growth and prevention of malnutrition.

Since the early 1990s, "decentralisation" and "integration" seem to be the buzz words underlying the implementation of various social development programmes in India, especially the reproductive and child health programme. Analysis reveals that the state-level effects of various RCH services are significantly higher than those at the district level. The pace of annual progress after 1998 in many RCH indicators is slower than before and a few indicators (e g, child-immunisation) have worsened, despite the expenditure on the programme being doubled. Decentralisation and integration of basic healthcare services may not be effective unless monitored centrally and backed by full time health (medical/paramedical) professionals at the delivery level.

The persistence of high growth rates of the population in a number of states is calling to question the wisdom and feasibility of integrating family planning programmes in a larger reproductive health package as recommended in the National Population Policy 2000. There is an apparent inconsistency between the needs of the state governments to regulate population growth and fertility levels as part of developmental strategies and the requirements for implementation of family planning programmes as a part of a larger reproductive health package. In this article an attempt is made to reconcile this inconsistency through a birth-based approach to contraception which is feasible, humane and effective in terms of its fertility impact. The data from NFHS-2 are used to empirically validate the approach.

While the NFHS was conducted with the primary objective of collecting data on reproductive status, it has generated considerable data on caste and economic conditions. An analysis of this data set shows that there are wide differentials in the economic conditions of the socially backward castes and classes. This raises vital questions on the role and relevance of caste-based privileges.