1.4 11.1 84.1

age group who had married by the age of 18, declined by 7.7 per cent. At this time, the use of contraceptives by married women increased by 17.26 per cent.

NFHS-4 shows increase in TFR in states with high number of child marriages. The number of women aged 20-24 years, married before 18 years, was 42.5 per cent in Bihar and 21.1 per cent in Uttar Pradesh. But it was only 7.6 per cent in Kerala and Punjab.

From 1998-99 to 2005-06, TFR declined from 2.9 to 2.7. During this period, the country witnessed a change in women’s mindset. Use of contraceptives increased by 13.3 per cent and child marriage fell by 5.2 per cent. Data shows an increase in use of contraceptive by married women aged 15-19 years from 8 per cent to 13 per cent from 1998-99 to 2005-06. From 200506 to 2015-16, TFR was down from 2.7 to 2.2 children, close to the replacement level. However, during this period the use of contraceptives strangely decreased by 1.4 per cent. According to Muttreja, almost 30 million married women in the 15-49 age group and 10 million women in the 1524 age group wish to delay or avoid pregnancy, but they do not have access to contraceptives.

A study by Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organisation, says that in 2015, as many as 15.6 million abortions took place in India. This means the abortion rate was 47 per 1,000 women aged 15-49 years. Similarly, a 2018 study by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) says, “From NFHS-3 to NFHS-4, TFR declined even more, by 18.5 per cent. The decline was due to increases in abortion (62 per cent) and in the age at marriage (38 per cent).”

Also, there is a surge in the number of women opting for smaller families. Devendra Kothari, former professor at the Indian Institute of Health Management Research University, Jaipur, says that only 24 per cent of the married women between 15 and 49 years want a second child. He, on the other hand, attributes