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On
the recommendations of Demographic Sub-Committee appointed
by the Research Programme of Planning Commision in 1955,
the Ministry of Health provided grants for the
establishment of Demographic Research Centres (DRC) in
Delhi, Calcutta and Trivandrum to undertake research on
various demographic, social & economic aspects of
population growth in their respective regions. Later on,
Family Planning Communication Action Research Centres were
established to carry out research studies in the field of
family planning communication to understand the processes
of acceptance of family planning and evolve more efficient
programmes for the acceptance of small family norm under
the guidance of expert committees appointed by the Union
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare from time to time.
These centres exist mostly in Universities and
Institutions of national repute. The nomenclatures of DRC
and Family Planning Committee Action Research Centres were
changed to Population Research Centre (PRC) in 1978-79
after taking into account the fact that activities of all
research centres were more or less alike.
The PRCs are expected to carry out research on various
aspects of population stabilisation, conduct demographic
and socio-demographic surveys and study communication
aspects of Population and Family Welfare Programme. At
present, there is a network of 18 PRCs in 12 Universities
and 6 institutions of national repute scattered over 17
states of India.
The PRCs are autonomous in their functioning. These
Centres are provided with 100 per cent central assistance
in the form of grants-in-aid on a year-to-year basis. In
most of the States where PRCs are present, Research
Coordination Committees have been constituted under the
chairmanship of Health Secretaries of respective States.
This is to provide a forum for exchange of ideas and
findings between programme administrators and researchers
for the optimum utilisation of resources and also
identification of areas where further research may be
needed.
The PRCs are monitored by the Central Government from
time to time to ensure that the research effort is not
merely academic but also action-oriented. Most of the
studies conducted by the PRCs are on varying topics such
as population growth, socioeconomic characteristics of
rural/ urban population, evaluation of Family Welfare
Programme for non-acceptance of family planning methods,
evaluation of special school health check up scheme, and
fertility and socioeconomic indicators. | 
