Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu
VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday announced financial incentives of Rs 30,000 for the birth of a third child and Rs 40,000 for a fourth, as part of efforts to reverse the state’s declining population trend.Addressing a public meeting at Narsannapeta in Srikakulam district on Saturday, Naidu said the government had taken the decision and would announce further details within a month.“I have made a new decision. We will provide Rs 30,000 immediately after the birth of a third child and Rs 40,000 for a fourth child. Isn’t this the right decision?” Naidu said on the sidelines of the SwarnaAndhra–SwachAndhra cleanliness programme.Although he had once advocated population control measures, the Chief Minister said the time had now come for society to work together to increase the birth rate.Naidu’s latest announcement follows an earlier proposal to provide a Rs 25,000 incentive for the birth of a second child.On March 5, he had informed the Assembly that the state government was considering an incentive of Rs 25,000 for couples having a second child.According to Naidu, changing social and economic trends are influencing family size, with some couples opting for a single child as incomes rise, while others choose a second child only if their firstborn is not a boy.He said this was contributing to a decline in population growth and stressed the need to maintain the replacement-level Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 2.1.Naidu noted that a population remains stable when the average fertility rate is 2.1 children per woman, and warned that declining populations and ageing societies in several countries have hurt economic growth.Rejecting the idea that children are a burden, Naidu said they are an asset and said he would prove it.(With PTI inputs)
