Why Andhra Urges Families to Have More Children – Falling Fertility or Delineation Panic | Today’s news

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s recent announcement of providing cash incentives to families for their third and fourth child has reignited the debate. In what is probably the most populous country in the world, how can the state encourage people to have more children?

Making this statement during a public meeting in Srikakulam district, Naidu said, “Population growth is declining. Children should be seen as an asset of the nation, not a burden. The government would provide them ₹30,000 for families upon the birth of a third child and ₹40,000 for the birth of a fourth child as part of efforts to boost population growth.

Naidu’s latest announcement comes after an earlier proposal in which he suggested a ₹25,000 incentive for families with a second child.

The neighboring state of Tamil Nadu has previously made similar announcements, while Telangana may reportedly do the same in the future. This has sparked a political debate, with leaders across parties sharply divided on the policy’s intent and feasibility.

Declining fertility rates

On the one hand, leaders of Andhra’s ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) have defended the policy as a long-term strategy to address declining birth rates. On the other hand, opposition voices question her prudence due to concerns about unemployment, fiscal stress and other population problems in the state.

Naidu’s ruling party claimed that while some North Indian states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand have high total fertility rates (TFRs) of around 3, Andhra Pradesh’s TFR has plummeted to 1.5.

TFR is a demographic metric defined as the average number of children a woman can have in her lifetime. A TFR of less than 2 is considered an indicator of a declining population.

Read also | Population growth is stagnating. What this means for economic activity.

TDP spokesperson Kommareddy Pattabhiram claimed that only a handful of North Indian states have a TFR above the national average of 2. In contrast, fewer states have a replacement level of 2.1 – considered the “magic number” at which the population is exactly replaced from one generation to the next without migration.

“More than 75% of the states in the country are suffering from low birth rate, which is very dangerous for the future,” Pattabhiram told news agency ANI.

Economic goals

TDP spokesperson Deepak Reddy said Andhra Pradesh aims to achieve a gross state domestic product (GSDP) of $2.4 trillion and raise per capita income to ₹55 lakhs by 2047. He argued that addressing population decline is critical to achieving these ambitious goals.

Reddy went on to say that “Andhra Pradesh is one of the first states in India” to proactively recognize these global trends—several countries, including Japan and China, have reported aging or declining populations—and initiate corrective measures well in advance.

In fact, South Korea has declared its record low birthrate a “national emergency” and announced plans to establish a dedicated government ministry. However, developed countries are focusing on healthy and active aging to fill the gap left by a shrinking workforce.

Read also | America’s Fertility Fall Hits New Low

Reddy also said that the declining population trend could cause serious demographic and economic problems in the future, including a possible reduction in the state’s parliamentary representation during future delimitation exercises.

Delimitation creates panic in South India

The opposition party YSRCP in the state claimed that the financial system and governance have completely collapsed, debts are mounting and unemployment is at its peak. And that Naidu announced the policy “to divert people’s attention from the failure of his government”.

Meanwhile, Congress president Udit Raj said the move had more to do with the state’s representation in Parliament and budgetary allocations.

The delimitation exercise is expected to redraw electoral boundaries to reflect population shifts, likely to reduce the number of parliamentary seats for the economically prosperous southern states. As states are allocated budgets based on population, they fear the exercise could deepen their financial struggles and curtail policy-making freedom.

Congress leader Udit Raj said: “The fear of losing seats has created panic in South India where people fear their representation will dwindle as their population declines.” Raj added that states should actually get more budgetary support and their seats should not be reduced but instead increased.

Read also | Delimitation: India’s federal future depends on balanced power sharing