Dhaka, Sep 3 (IANS): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who heads the National Population Council that resumed work after 14 years, has called for "a balanced approach" to curb Bangladesh's population growth that is projected to reach 170 million by 2020.

Registration of couples in the reproductive age, a bunch of incentives for those who keep their families small and home visits to popularise the use of contraceptives are among the new thrust areas decided at the meeting Hasina chaired Thursday.

Population planning had "come to a standstill" in Bangladesh in the recent years, The Daily Star said Friday.

The government is thinking of launching programmes to increase participation of men in permanent methods of family planning, one of the 60 members who attended the meeting told United News of Bangladesh (UNB) news agency.

The world's most densely populated nation has an estimated population of 156 million. A decennial head count is scheduled for next March.