Push for bigger families in Andhra Pradesh amid declining fertility rate
Authorities in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh have announced fresh financial incentives for families with a third child and more for those with a fourth.
The move comes amid concern over the declining fertility rate, with the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) having fallen to 1.9 births per woman, placing it below the replacement level of 2.1.
Andhra Pradesh's Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu announced over the weekend that there would offer a one-time cash incentive of 30,000 rupees ($311, €267) for a third child and 40,000 rupees for a fourth.
This is a revision of an ?earlier proposal for 25,000 rupees for a second child and no direct support for a first-born.
"In the past, we worked extensively on family planning,” Naidu said. "Now, given the changed circumstances, we are calling for children to be seen as wealth."
There was no indication as to when the plan would be implemented.
