Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday announced that his government will pay an enhanced cash incentive for families which give birth to more than two children as part of the new population management policy.
Participating in the “Swarna Andhra–Swachh Andhra” programme at Tamrapalli village in Narasannapeta constituency of Srikakulam district, Naidu expressed concern over declining population growth in the state.
“Children are our wealth. We need to have more children to enhance human resource,” he said.
As part of the policy, the chief minister announced that the state government was planning to introduce incentives for families having a third and fourth child.
He said the government would provide an incentive of Rs. 30,000 for the birth of a third child and Rs. 40,000 for a fourth child.
It may be mentioned that on March 5, Naidu presented the draft document of a comprehensive “Population Management Policy,” in the state legislative assembly, stating that the government was shifting its focus from traditional family planning to “population care” in view of declining fertility rates and future demographic challenges.
As part of the policy, the chief minister said the government was proposing financial incentives for childbirth.
“Under the plan, parents who have a second child or more will receive Rs 25,000 at the time of delivery. This move will be a major policy intervention to encourage population growth,” he said.
The policy also proposes Rs 1,000 monthly nutritional support for five years for the third child, along with free education up to 18 years of age.
Additionally, the government is considering 12 months of parental leave for the birth of a third child, including two months of paternity leave for fathers.
According to the chief minister, currently about three lakh families, accounting for 58% of the total number, have only one child, while around 2.17 lakh families have two or more children.
