Why Naidu is asking South Indian families to have more kids

Citing concerns about an ageing population, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday (October 19) exhorted families in southern states to have more children.

Naidu said the state government is contemplating new legislation aimed at incentivising larger families as part of its “population management” efforts, reported The Times of India. “The state government is thinking of bringing a law that would make only those with more than two children eligible to contest local body elections,” Naidu said.

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Legislation repealed

Admitting that Andhra Pradesh had earlier implemented a law barring individuals with more than two children from contesting local body elections, the chief minister noted that the legislation has been repealed.

“We are now considering reversing it...the government may provide more benefits to families with more children,” Naidu said.

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Underlining demographic challenges, he pointed to a declining fertility rate in southern states, which has dropped to 1.6, well below the national average of 2.1.

“Though we have a demographic advantage until 2047, signs of an ageing population are already visible in southern India, including Andhra Pradesh,” Naidu cautioned.

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He said countries like Japan, China, and parts of Europe are already grappling with the burden of a large elderly population, a situation that could also affect India if birth rates continue to decline.

“In many villages across Andhra and other parts of the country, only elderly people remain. The younger population has moved to other parts of the country or abroad,” he said.

Not the first time

Interestingly, the chief minister also acknowledged his earlier stand on population control. “At that time, the thinking was to preserve scarce natural resources and the belief was that a growing population would hinder development. We succeeded in reducing population growth, but that has now brought new challenges,” TOI quoted him as saying.

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This is not the first time that Naidu has given a call for a shift in family planning policies. He had made a similar plea to the people in 2018. He had offered incentives to couples willing to have more than two children during his previous tenure as the CM, warning against the state becoming “senile” with more elderly citizens and fewer working hands by the mid-21st century.

Andhra Pradesh, which ranked as the 10th most populous state in the 2011 census with 84.6 million residents, has been facing demographic changes since Telangana was carved out as a separate state in 2014.