Andhara Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu urges couples to have more children for the benefit of nation

Expressing concern over “ageing population” of southern states, especially Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has urged couples to have more children for the benefit of the nation.

Naidu said his government was planning to bring in legislation to make only those with more than two children eligible to contest local body elections.

“We are thinking of providing incentives to families with more kids, encouraging couples to have more children. We have repealed the earlier law barring people with more than two children from contesting local body elections. We will bring in a new law to make only those with more than two children eligible to contest,’’ Naidu was quoted as saying on Oct 19 after flagging off the resumption of construction work at Amaravati.

The work had been halted under the previous government.

He said that many villages in Andhra are left with only elderly people as the younger generation migrated to different parts of the country and abroad. He noted that India’s average population growth has declined from 6.2% in the 1950s to 2.1% in 2021, and that in Andhra Pradesh, the number has come down to 1.6 %.

Naidu also cited the examples of Japan, China, and European countries. “We have a demographic advantage only till 2047. There will be more elderly people than young in Andhra Pradesh after 2047. It is already happening in Japan, China, and many countries in Europe.” he said.

“Having more children is also your responsibility. You are not doing it for yourself, it is also for the benefit of the nation, it is a service to society also,” he added.

Naidu said he was staunchly in favor of population control once upon a time.

“I brought in legislation barring persons having more than two children from contesting election. I was afraid that a huge population would cause shortages of water, land, and other resources,” he said.

“You listened to me and brought down the population in Andhra Pradesh in just 10 years. Now, I am afraid that we won’t have enough young population in our state,” he added.