Over the last five years, I’ve traveled to India annually for personal and professional reasons. Every year, I notice things changing in the country. As an emerging economy embracing economic liberalization, India has experienced rapid growth in industry, infrastructure, social change, and migration. Changes are also happening with respect to family planning and reproductive health. Just five years ago, the city of Bengaluru displayed no public signs of sex education; today, Kamasutra brand condoms are advertised on national television.

With a population of over one billion and projections predicting that by 2030, India will be even more populous than its neighbor, China, demographic challenges within India are numerous. Last year, a Population Reference Bureau report projected that India’s population could reach the 1.8 billion mark by mid-century and might exceed 2 billion  by 2101, unless fertility rates decline more sharply in Northern India.

Currently, nearly 200 million married couples in India are of reproductive age, yet only over half of them report contraceptive use. Projections indicate that population stabilization can take up to fifty years in states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Coupled with historical stigmas about sex, contraception, domestic violence, son selection, sexual assault and rape, and gender roles, many parts of the country possess few methods for men and women to learn more about voluntary family planning, women’s well-being, and reproductive health in a private, unbiased fashion.

Recently, however, the Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (National Population Stabilization Fund) has launched an innovative, confidential call center devoted specifically to disseminating information on topics related to population and reproductive health. Receiving calls mainly from rural parts of the country, call center operators answer a variety of questions regarding sex, fertility, infant and maternal health, and contraceptive use and availability from information provided by five Indian medical hospitals.  Armed with local knowledge, awareness of social norms regarding population issues, and the ability to build a comfortable rapport with callers, call center operators are providing one-of-a-kind services to the Indian public.