As a part of its advocacy programme, Population Foundation of India instituted in 1990 'Encounter with Population Crisis' lecture series inviting important international and Indian celebrities to deliver lectures once in a year to focus on critical issues related to population and to carry the debate forward. The lecture was given by various dignitaries like Dr Norman E Borlaug, Nobel Laurete , Dr M S Swaminathan, Dr Ashok Mitra, Dr Abid Hussain and Mr Vasant Sathe.

In the Silver Jubilee Year of the Foundation, the Encounter with Population Crisis' lecture series was re-christened as 'JRD Tata Memorial Oration' in memory of the Founder of the Foundation. The first of these lectures was given by Mr Ramakrishna Hegde, followed by Mr Chandra Shekhar, Dr Najma Heptulla, Mr I K Gujral, Dr Nafis Sadik and Mr K C Pant. Last year, i.e. in 2001 PFI invited Shri Digvijay Singh, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh to deliver the Lecture. This year the Oration was delivered by Dr Manmohan Singh, Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha) on February 3, 2003.

These orations are published by PFI. Till now PFI published five booklets on "Encounter with Population Crisis" and eight JRD Tata Memorial Oration Booklets, which were delivered by various eminent scholars mentioned above for wider dissemination.