Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu Friday said his government would soon launch a policy to encourage people to have more children, citing concerns that South India’s low birth rate could affect its future representation in Parliament.
“We will launch a robust policy on population growth soon. Population is our strongest economic resource. The world is increasingly reliant on countries with large populations,” he said at the Amaravati Summit on World Population Day. Naidu’s TDP and the BJP are allies in the state and the Centre.
“To avoid a human resource crisis in the future, the fertility rate in the state must rise. Joint families are disappearing. There’s growing concern about the declining population in South India. While Parliament seats may increase in the future, southern states could see reduced representation,’’ he said.
Naidu also quoted renowned Telugu playwright Gurajada Apparao, saying: “A nation is made of its people, not just its soil.’’
The Chief Minister expressed concern that declining population growth would hamper economic growth.
Acknowledging the impact of the rising cost of living, he said the government will introduce a plan to encourage couples to have children.
Among the proposals on the cards is to increase the amount of PDS rice given to beneficiary families from 25 kg per month to 50 kg per month if the family size increases. Another proposal to encourage female government employees is to have child care centers to set up in government offices.
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Naidu said that while in the past the state government had launched a movement for population control in united Andhra Pradesh, the need now is population management. He said India’s ability to compete with developed nations is because of its population.
“Once, population was seen as a major problem. Before 2004, as CM, I incentivized family planning. We even brought a law disqualifying those with more than two children from contesting local body elections. But today, there’s a need to amend the law to allow those with more than two children to contest,” the CM said.
He expressed concern that while the global population is increasing, birth rates are declining, and the youth population is shrinking while the elderly population is increasing.
“Wherever aging becomes an issue, growth stagnates. In rich nations, low birth rates are becoming the norm. When the rate falls below 2.1, the population starts declining. In India, Bihar is at 3.0, Meghalaya 2.9, UP 2.4, Jharkhand 2.3, Manipur 2.2, Tamil Nadu 1.8, Telangana 1.8, Kerala 1.8, Karnataka 1.7, and Andhra Pradesh 1.7. To maintain population equilibrium, a 2.1 rate is essential,” the CM said.
