This paper deals with the characteristics of development in the agriculture and population growth of Maharashtra from 1961 to 1991. It seeks to examine the nature and linkage between population and agricultural development at the district level. Rapid population growth associated with increased demand for food, limited land resource base of the state, stagnant position of modernization due to the reduced capacity of investment and slow rate of growth of the agrarian economy have accentuated the problem of economic growth of Maharashtra. The district wise analysis has been done by computing ratio, percentage, average annual compound growth rates of population and agriculture. To examine the inter-relationship between population growth and agricultural change multiple regression analysis were utilized. The variables used in the analysis are limited to availability of data. The findings revealed that there are inter-district variations in population growth and agricultural change in Maharashtra. The regression analysis indicates that the acceleration in the growth of population has neutralized to a considerable extent recent remarkable achievements in agricultural development.

In 1995, the Human Development Report focussed upon gender disparity highlighting that women receive unequal treatment all over the world. The need to integrate women into development, without which no country can lay claim to development, was internationally proclaimed in the 1995 Beijing conference. Although there have been successes in improving the health of women and children worldwide, there remain an unfinished agenda of unnecessary, preventable deaths, illness and disability that disproportionately affects poor women and children especially in the rural areas of developing regions of the world. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 80 percent of world's population may rely on traditional medicine as its primary source of medical care including advice and assistance during pregnancy, infant and child health, and maternal health. Keeping this in mind the early interventions to improve the health of women and children need to be integrated into the care provided by ANM. In the governmental rural health set up the ANM is the health functionary closest to the community. ANM is found at sub-center along with multipurpose health worker (MPHW) who deals mainly with malaria, sanitation and to a small extent family welfare. The domain of ANM usually consists of half a dozen villages-one of which is sub-center village. She visits to villages and houses for providing services, giving medicines, tendering advice to men, women and children, keeping touch with PHC/CHC and even district hospital for attending meetings, procuring essential supplies and performing other odd jobs. The present paper examines the role of ANM in reproductive and child health. At the same time an attempt has been made to understand and explore the problems faced by them. The data have been analyzed from RCH- Rapid Household Survey conducted in 1998. The analysis of data shall be exploratory to provide some explanation for overburdening of ANM and their role in the reproductive and child health services in rural India and some policy measures to solve the problems and improve reproductive and child health in rural India. The importance of ANM in rural health has been highlighted. The paper concludes with some health policy reflections and emphasizes the potential importance of ANM in improving health in rural India. Health Policy aimed at improving health should certainly include efforts to provide ANM in each and every village or some trained male and female volunteers from villages. It is these factors which, are often overlooked in the planning, funding and services to rural areas. Rural health programs must change from being dependent on demand to being based on active offer of preventive measures. The active offer must be sustained by non-standardized communication procedures with the aim of providing empowerment of involved people. ANM is the primary caregivers in India. They have demonstrated bold leadership under extreme adversity consequently when empowered and involved.

Introduction: The unborn child is totally dependent on the mother; after birth, the child depends completely on the immediate social environment of the family and of the mother in particular. Recently the Indian Government changed its emphasis from family planning programs to family welfare programs. The intention was to promote the maternal and child health (MCH) programs to improve the health of mothers and young children. This study examined urban-rural differentials in MCH, and the factors influencing net change in MCH input, its utilisation and its output between the Indian National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-I and NFHS-II.
Methods: The NFHS data collected from 4276 ever-married women in the age group 13-49 years in 1992 (NFHS-I) and 4032 ever-married women in the age group 15-49 years in 1998 (NFHS-II) were analysed.
Results: The analysis revealed a positive net change in maternal and child health input, its utilisation and its output in the years 1992-1998.
Conclusion: Andhra Pradesh was one of the most successful Indian States in providing MCH services, even though urban-rural differentials still exist. The Indian Government must take the necessary steps to improve MCH programs, including the provision of information and education campaigns, and sending dedicated health personnel to remote and inaccessible rural areas in order to reduce child mortality.
Key words: child mortality, India, maternal and child health, urban-rural comparison.

Rapidly increasing population increases the demand for the products of land, yet the area of land is limited. The most important features of land use in Maharashtra are fallow land and other cultivated land excluding fallow land, which can be extensify under cultivation. The main emphasis, therefore, should be laid on intensification and extensification of arable land to satisfy the wants of rapidly increasing population in Maharashtra. In this paper, the land area of Maharashtra has been classified according to their various uses and the variations of different categories of land use have been identified within the state. The data have been analyzed from 1971 to 1991. Population data were obtained exclusively from the various Census reports. Agricultural data on land utilization, cropping intensity and productivity were obtained from statistical abstract of Maharashtra. In the present study district-wise analysis has been done by computing ratio, percentage and index. Intensity of cropping index is used to find out the degree of cropping. At the same time, an attempt has been made to know the pattern of land utilization and the per capita availability of food grains. The findings revealed that the total population of Maharashtra has increased more than 1.5 times from 1971 to 1991. It is increasing at a growth rate of more than 2 percent annually. A wide inter-district variation in population growth observed in Maharashtra during 1971 to 1991. The net sown area decreased from 59.29 percent in 1971 to 58.33 percent in 1991. The highest percentages of land were reported as net area sown in Osmanabad district 79.97 percent whereas lowest 25.75 percent in Chandrapur district during 1991. Forest area has decreased slightly from 17.6 percent in 1971 to 17.59 percent in 1991. The highest percentage of forest area found in Chandrapur district (58.14%). Land not available for cultivation and other uncultivated land excluding fallow land increases but fallow land decreases. Ratnagiri (17.21%) and Osmanabad (11.93%) were found to have more fallow land during 1971 to 1991. Per capita arable land decline during the study period.

Environmental pollution is one the serious problems in most of the mega cities of the world, especially in developing countries, which not only experiences a rapid growth of population but also industrialization which is accompanied by air, water and vehicular pollution. Though the relationship is complex, population size and growth tend to expand and accelerate these human impacts on the environment. Delhi is one of the ten most polluted cities in the world and lacking in basic amenities. The present paper is an attempt to examine the trend in the level of environmental pollution in Delhi and measures taken to control it. The data have been analyzed from various population censuses of India, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and Compendium of Environment Statistics and Statistical Handbook of Delhi. The analysis reveals that rapid population growth continues to be a matter of concern as it has manifold effects, one of the most important being environmental pollution. Densely populated and rapidly growing Delhi mega city is often entombed in a pall of pollution from vehicles, sewage and liquid wastes generated by human settlement and uncontrolled pollution from industries. The recent pollution control measures taken by central government reduced the environmental pollution. The analysis suggests that there is now high time to protect the environment by controlling population and pollution of all types. As regards to water pollution, more of wastewater treatment plants be established in accordance with the need of time and heavy penalty be imposed on industries disposing off the wastes into the river.

Air pollution is one of the serious problems faced by the people globally, especially in urban areas of developing countries, which not only experiences a rapid growth of population but also industrialization which is accompanied by growing number of vehicles. All these in turn lead to an increase in the air pollution levels and have adverse effects on the health of people. Decades of economic expansion and population growth have degraded its air. India is one of the most degraded environment countries in the world and it is paying heavy health and economic price for it. The present paper is an attempt to examine some of the linkages between the demographic changes taking place in India, impact of the automobile emission on air pollution and its concomitant hazards interfaced with case studies of major Indian cities. The data have been analyzed from secondary sources of data. The analysis has been done by computing rates, percentage and index. At the same time, an attempt has been made to understand the relationship between air pollution and its influence on health in India. The analysis reveals that rapid population growth, increasing urbanization and vehicles of all kinds plays an important role in air pollution of the country. The urban growth leads to an increase in the air pollution levels. The considerable magnitude of air pollution pulls up the number of people suffering from respiratory diseases and many a times leading to deaths and serious health hazards. The analysis suggests that there is urgent need to control population and air pollution in the country for better health of present and future generation.

The impact of an irrigation project on demographic behaviour through agricultural development and socio-economic characteristics of the rural population are of special importance for developing country like India. The present paper is an attempt to study the effects of an irrigation project on demographic behaviour of rural Maharashtra. The data has been used from IIPS Research Project entitled "Impact of an Irrigation Project on Demographic Behaviour of Rural Maharashtra" conducted in 2001-2002. The reference period was 2000. The data has been collected from two irrigated and two non-irrigated villages in Bhandara district using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The complete enumeration of the populations of the villages was conducted. The research is a combination of matched perspective and case control studies. Anthropological approach was used for collection of extensive information on population change and development. It is revealed from analysis that the irrigation project has change demographic behaviour of the population in irrigated area. The irrigated area has lower fertility and higher child survival as compared to non-irrigated area. The higher fertility and higher child loss is found to be in non-irrigated area. The mean number of children ever born varies significantly with respect to mother's education, husband's education, husband's occupation, household income, caste of the household and marital duration in both irrigated and non-irrigated villages. The knowledge of at least one modern method of contraceptives is almost universal in irrigated villages whereas 88 percent of the respondents in non-irrigated villages had knowledge of at least one modern method of contraceptives. Female sterilization is found to be mostly known method followed by condom, pill and male sterilization in both irrigated and non-irrigated villages. The paper concludes with some population policy reflections and emphasizes the potential importance of rural development related irrigation project on demographic behaviour in irrigated area and negative consequences in non-irrigated area. Population Policy aimed to change demographic behaviour should certainly include efforts to co-ordinate development projects with demographic behaviour.

The present paper is an attempt to study; the linkages between activities of the health and family welfare programmes and the Panchayat raj institutions. The specific objectives are to Study functions and roles of the member of Panchayat raj institution with regard health and family welfare activities. To Study the functional linkages between Gram panchayats and Panchayat samitis and Zilha parishad with regard health and family welfare programmes. To Study the infrastructure facilities and resources available to the Panchayats. All districts of the state were ranked according to their performance with regard health and family welfare programmes. Two districts are having good performance and another poor performance was selected for the present study. While doing so the cut of point has been taken as the rank obtained by the state as a whole. The Udaipur relatively poor performance district and Bharathpur as relatively good performance district have been selected. After having selected two districts for the study, among all Panchayat Samitis in a district 30 percent were selected randomly. From each Panchayat Samiti, 5 Gram Panchayats were selected in such a way that one Gram Panchayat should have a primary health center, two Gram Panchayats should be located around 3 kilometers away from the primary health center and the remaining two Gram Panchayats should be away more than 3 kilometers from primary health center. Specially designed interview schedule comprising structured as well as unstructured questions had been administered for interviewing these persons. These persons include District Collector, Chairman Zilha Parishad, Director, Panchayat Raj, Block Development Officer, District Health Officer, Medical Health Officer Incharge (PHC). Beside, some of the qualitative techniques of data collection like observation technique, case studies and focus group discussion had also been used for gathering the required data. It is revealed that the involvement of the PRI members in health and family welfare programmes at Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad levels is certainly a good endeavour for multidimensional rural development and this novel approach may yield better results at the grass root level. Since the approach is in its infancy stage, there are some teething problems but one can hope that gradually there would be better understanding and coordination between the PRI members and health and family welfare personnel. This novel approach would get strengthened and the health and family welfare services will cater to the needs of the masses in the country.