India was the first country to launch a national family planning program in 1952. Contraception is needed as 21% of pregnancies are unintended and 40% of pregnancies overall are unintended. This can be addressed by meeting unmet contraceptive needs, which could avoid 55 million unwanted pregnancies, 22 million abortions, and 90,000 maternal deaths. Various contraceptive methods available include barrier methods like condoms and diaphragms, hormonal methods like pills and implants, and long acting reversible contraceptives like IUDs and injectables. The ideal contraceptive is safe, effective, free of side effects, easily obtainable, affordable, acceptable to users, and does not affect future fertility.