PM effects major revamp of population panel

New Delhi,: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday night reconstituted the National Commission on Population (NCP) and pruned it from 131 to 44 members to ensure its "more effective" functioning in achieving population stabilisation.

While the Prime Minister is the Chairman of NCP, Health and Family Welfare Minister A Ramadoss and Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia are its two vice chairmen.

UPA Chairperson and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief L K Advani and BSP supremo Mayawati will be among its members, it was officially stated here.

The NCP will review, monitor and direct implementation of the National Population Policy with a view to achieving population stablisation by promoting synergy between demographic, educational, environmental and developmental programmes.

The Commission will have as members eight union ministers and seven chief ministers -- both from demographically-challenged states and from those where population stabilisation has been successful -- UP, MP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Other members include Presidents of six political parties--Congress, BJP, BSP, CPI-M, CPI and NCP.

More effective functioning

"To ensure its more effective functioning, the Prime Minister has scaled down the size of the Commission, reducing it from the previous 131 members to 44," PM's Media Advisor Sanjaya Baru said.

The other members are presidents of Indian Medical Association and Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Society of India besides several specialists and prominent citizens.

They are Lila Visaria, Ashish Bose, Meera Shiva, Manu Kulkarni, Bolin Khangoria, H Sudarshan, Mohan Rao (all doctors), Shabana Azmi, Ilina Sen, Viji Srinivasan, Ruth Manorama, T V Anthony, A R Nanda and Azghar Ali Engineer.

The Commission seeks to promote inter-sectoral coordination in planning and implementation of population policies across central and state government agencies.

It will also facilitate the development of an active people's movement in support of the national efforts at population stabilisation with a special focus on demographically weaker states, Baru added.