After independence, interest in population studies has been tremendous. Each decade is seen to surpass the previous one when the progress in the field of population studies is considered.
The 1951 Census report of the first post-independence census taken in 1951 prepared by R.A. Gopalaswamy, the Census Commissioner, departed considerably from the previous census reports in respect of the treatment of data.
The report covered changes in the size and structure of the Indian population and underscored their implications for the level of living of the population. Foreseeing the dangers of rapid population growth, Gopalaswamy declared.
“It is extremely important that the attention of the people should be focused on this factor of improvident maternity. The occurrence of improvident maternity should evoke social disapproval as any other form of social indulgence.”
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An important contribution of Gopalaswamy was the introduction of the rural-urban dichotomy in census tabulations. He was also responsible for emphasising the economic aspects of population analysis.
As the results of the 1951 Census brought the population question into focus, political leaders, planners and policy-makers were alarmed by the high rate of growth of the population.
The First Five-Year Plan, therefore, considered the emerging population problem of India and its social and economic consequences and, in 1952, the National Family Planning Programme was launched.
India thus achieved the distinction of being the first country in the world with a national family planning programme. The adoption of this programme gave fresh impetus to population studies and its various aspects.
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In addition to the 1951 Census of India, another study which focused attention on the implications of population growth in India, mainly in the economic sphere, was the study of population growth and economic development in India by Ansley J. Coale and Edgar M. Hoover, two American Demographers.
This was the first systematic authoritative study to bring out the economic implications of different rates of population growth in India. The National Sample Survey: The dearth of data on various social, economic and population aspects was keenly felt when the Five-Year Plans were being drafted.
Reliable estimates of birth and death rates and rates of natural increase in the population were not available because of the inadequacy of the vital registration system. The nation-wide National Sample Survey System was, therefore, established in 1949 to meet this need and produce data for the evaluation of development plans.
The National Sample Survey (NSS) started collecting and death rates and on the rates of population growth from its fourteenth round taken in 1958-59.
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It also collected data on initial fertility, family planning knowledge, attitude and Practice for rural and urban areas, internal migration, employment.