Andhra to roll out policy to encourage families to have more children: CM Naidu

Amaravati: Seemingly concerned over the declining birth rate in South India, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced that his government would soon introduce a comprehensive policy to encourage families to have more children in Andhra Pradesh.

Speaking at the Amaravati Summit on World Population Day, Naidu said, “Population is our strongest economic resource. The world is increasingly reliant on countries with large populations. We will launch a robust policy on population growth soon.”

Warns about low parliamentary representation

Highlighting a potential fallout, Naidu said that if South India’s fertility rate continues to decline, the region may see reduced representation in Parliament in the future despite an increase in overall seats.

“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.

Incentives on the cards

To encourage higher fertility, Naidu said the government is planning measures such as doubling the PDS rice allocation for larger families – from 25 kg per month to 50 kg – and setting up child care centres in government offices to support female employees.

He also acknowledged that rising living costs are discouraging young couples from having children, and promised policies that would address this challenge.

Need for policy shift

Recalling that he once championed population control in United Andhra Pradesh, Naidu said the focus now must shift to population management.

“Once, population was seen as a major problem. Before 2004, as CM, I incentivised family planning and even brought a law disqualifying those with more than two children from contesting local body elections. Today, there is a need to amend that law to allow them to contest,” he noted.

South’s low fertility rates

Quoting fertility rate data, he pointed out that Andhra Pradesh’s rate stands at 1.7, below the replacement level of 2.1. Other southern states like Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Kerala have similar rates (1.8), whereas states like Bihar (3.0) and Uttar Pradesh (2.4) remain above the replacement threshold.

“Wherever aging becomes an issue, growth stagnates. In rich nations, low birth rates are becoming the norm. A nation is made of its people, not just its soil,” he said, quoting renowned Telugu playwright Gurajada Apparao.