n 1992–93, India’s National Family Health Survey (NFHS) estimated a total fertility rate (TFR) of 3.4 children per woman. This indicates the average number of Ichi ldren a woman would be a r i f she expe ri enc ed cur r ent f e rt i l i ty r a t e s throughout her reproductive years. While this figure represents a drop of about two children per woman over the past 20 years, it is still much higher than replacement level, which is generally put at 2.1 children per women. It is also higher than 2.9, the average number of children that ever-married women age 13–49 said that they wanted when they were interviewed by the NFHS. There is, thus, an urgent need to continue— even to accelerate—India’s fertility decline. For decades now, the Indian family welfare programme has been dominated by a reliance on female sterilization. Indeed, the widespread use of sterilization has enabled India to achieve considerable fertility reduction. It would be unwise to rely entirely on sterilization for future fertility decline, however, because most Indian women who become sterilized have the operation only after bearing a large number of children. To help the country slow down population growth and to help Indian women achieve their desired family size, the family welfare programme needs to place greater emphasis on alternative contraceptive methods—temporary methods such as pills, intrauterine devices (IUDs), injections, and condoms—that will help women control their fertility before they have large families