The first national population policy was adopted by India in 1952, which promoted contraceptive services within clinics, including condom handouts and both female and male sterilizations. It wasn’t until then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi proclaimed a state of national emergency (known as the Emergency Period, which lasted 21 months) due to the internal and external threats in 1975 did the family planning policy shifted from an educational level to an incentive and target-driven strategy to achieve population stability. However, with Gandhi’s sequential loss of power in 1977, the revised population policy outlawed compulsory sterilizations and shifted back to a milder strategy.

On the other hand, despite the economic turmoil in China at the same time, its family planning policy experienced little backlash because of its relative political stability and the relationship between the public and the government. The continuity of the policy ensured a more visible outcome compared to the back-and-forth strategies in India.

It is worth noticing that the population trend appears steadier in India even with the 2-year Emergency Period from 1975 to 1977, while it is evident that there was a resurgence in both the fertility rate and the birth rate in China during the 80s, which was possibly influenced by the proposal of a selected Two-Child Policy around 1984, which allowed families with certain criteria to have a second child. From that we can see the impact of China’s family planning policy on the public seems to be larger than that of India.