The reason the Indian population growth rate maintained a constant level of around 2.3% starting in the 1950s to the first half of the 1970s, despite the fall in the mortality rate, should be explained by the gradual decline in its birth rate. The total birth rate in India was 6.0 in the first half of the 1950s, which dropped to 5.4 in the first half of the 1970, and the rate of decline of the birth rate accelerated in the latter half of 1970s. The total birth rate declined by 0.54 percentile points during the 20 years from the first half of the 1950s to the first half of 1970s, but by 1.68 points in the following 20 years from the first half of 1970s to the first half of 1990s. The rate of decline was more than triple.
It is, however, quite hard to find any social or economic factors for the acceleration in the birth rate's decline in the latter half of the 1970s. At that time, India was suffering from political and economic problems, including famines caused by the abnormal weather, as well as the inflation stemming from the oil shock.
The second Indira Gandhi administration attempted to overcome such difficulties by applying stronger regulatory policies, among which was enforced family planing involving sterilization at its core. Thus, this policy is considered the only factor accelerating the decline of the birth rate during this period. The coercive nature of the operations, however, is said to have provoked the people's fury and became a factor in the severe defeat suffered by the All-India National Congress Party in the following general election.
Population trends cannot be easily manipulated by the government policies alone. Especially, when it comes to the birth rate, family planning cannot achieve any desired effect unless a large-scale demand for fewer children exists among the general public. Even if birth rate decline is temporarily achieved, it is difficult to maintain or build on without such popular demand. There is an argument that attributes the delay in India's family planning to bureaucratic inefficiency or to the political system lacking organizational force, but I do not think they explain everything. It is very important to grasp this point correctly in considering the future of India.
