Andhra Pradesh to offer incentive of Rs 30,000 for third child, Rs 40,000 for fourth

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday announced that the government will offer incentives of Rs 30,000 to families for the birth of a third child and Rs 40,000 for a fourth one, PTI reported.

Naidu said at a public meeting in Narsannapeta in the Srikakulam district that the government will announce further details in a month. The chief minister said that the time has come for society to work together to increase birth rates, according to PTI.

The Telugu Desam Party chief had in March unveiled a policy aimed at raising the state’s Total Fertility Rate by paying a financial incentive of Rs 25,000 for couples who have a third child.

Speaking in the Legislative Assembly at the time, Naidu had highlighted that Andhra Pradesh faces a declining birth rate and an ageing population. He warned that if fertility rates are not stabilised, nearly 23% of residents could be elderly by 2047.

“Currently, about 58% of families have only one child, around 2.17 lakh families have two children, and nearly 62 lakh families have three or more children,” he had said. “Around three lakh families have only one child instead of two, while another three lakh families have more than two children.”

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.
...

Read more