Have more children in the interest of the nation: Chandrababu Naidu
#News Bureau October 21,2024
In Andhra Pradesh, there is now an emphasis on having more children. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is planning to make a law to increase the youth population in the state. This simply means that people who have more children will be given incentives.
Chandrababu Naidu said on Sunday that his government is planning to bring a law under which only people with two or more children will be able to contest local body elections. He expressed concern over the state’s increasing ageing population and its long-term impact on the demographic balance of the country. Expressing concern about the increasing ageing population of southern states, especially Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu urged couples to have more children.
Naidu also said, “We are thinking of giving incentives to families with more children and encourage couples to have more children. We have repealed the earlier law that barred people with more than two children from contesting local body elections. We will bring a new law under which only those with more than two children will be eligible to contest elections.
Naidu was speaking on Saturday at the occasion of resumption of construction work in Amaravati, which was stopped during the previous government.
The Chief Minister warned about growing signs of ageing crisis in South India and especially in Andhra Pradesh. He said India will maintain a demographic advantage till 2047, but the southern parts of the country are already showing the effects of ageing population.
Countries like Japan, China and many European countries are facing the consequences of ageing population, where a large part of the population is elderly, Naidu said. Besides, he pointed to the impact of youth migration, as many are moving to urban areas or abroad in search of better opportunities, leaving behind elderly people in villages. “In many villages in Andhra Pradesh and across the country, the younger generation has migrated to cities, leaving behind only elderly people,” Naidu said.
Naidu also cited the declining fertility rate in the southern state. He said India’s average population growth has declined from 6.2 per cent in the 1950s to 2.1 per cent in 2021, and in Andhra Pradesh, the number has come down to 1.6 per cent.
He expressed concern over the consequences of this decline and warned that if the trend continues, Andhra Pradesh may face a serious ageing problem by 2047. “This is not a desirable future and we must act now,” he warned.
“We are already at a disadvantage. Having less than two children leads to a rapid decline in the young population. Having more than two children will ensure a stable population,” he said. “We have a demographic advantage only till 2047. After 2047, Andhra Pradesh will have more elderly people than young people. This is already happening in Japan, China and many countries in Europe. It is also your responsibility to have more children. You are not doing this just for yourself, it is also beneficial for the country, it is also a service to society,” Naidu said.
He has expressed similar concerns earlier, saying the average age of the population in Andhra Pradesh is 32 years now, but it will be 40 years by 2047.
On August 7, the state cabinet repealed the rule barring people with more than two children from contesting local body elections. Naidu said, “I was once in favour of population control and had brought a law barring people with more than two children from contesting elections… I was afraid that there would be a shortage of water, land and other resources due to the large population. You listened to me and reduced the population of Andhra Pradesh in just 10 years. Now I fear that our state will not have enough young population.”