The need for control of population growth is quite pressing for India, as it hampers the country’s growth prospects and leads to sustenance of poverty and unemployment, etc. Hence, India was the first nation to have officially launched the family planning programme.However, the health care system created for delivery of various health and family welfare services has not been effective enough to curtail the enormous population growth as well as to better the general health standards of the common masses.The article analyses in detail the various factors responsible for it. It brings out the lacuna in the health system as well as the unmet needs and deficiencies at different levels. The article not only throws light on the qualitative inadequacies in the health manpower but also suggests certain measures to enhance their effectiveness.