Andhra Pradesh plans cash incentives to encourage higher birth rates
Addressing a public meeting at Narsannapeta in Srikakulam district, Naidu said the government has taken the decision and will announce more details within a month.
“I have made a new decision. We will provide Rs 30,000 immediately after the birth of the third child and Rs 40,000 for the fourth child. Isn’t this the right decision?” Naidu said on the sidelines of the SwarnaAndhra-SwachAndhra cleanliness programme.
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Although he had once advocated population control measures, the CM said it was now time for the society to work together to increase the birth rate.
Naidu’s latest announcement follows an earlier proposal to provide an incentive of Rs 25,000 for the birth of a second child.
On March 5, the CM informed the Assembly that the state government was considering an incentive of Rs 25,000 for couples having a second child. However, Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav later told PTI that the government has decided to extend the incentives to families with a third child and more.
According to Naidu, some couples prefer to have only one child as their income increases, while others prefer to have a second child if their first child is not a boy.
He warned that the state’s population growth rate was falling as a result and emphasized the importance of maintaining the replacement level Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 2.1.
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Naidu noted that a population can remain stable only if the average fertility rate is 2.1 children per woman. He claimed that declining populations and aging societies in many countries had a negative impact on their economies.
Rejecting the idea that children are a burden, Naidu argued that they are an asset and said he would prove it.
