Andhra Pradesh. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has advised the residents of the state to have more children. Naidu has given this advice in view of the increasing population of elderly people in the state. He said on Saturday that the state government is planning population management. Under this, a bill is also being considered, in which incentives will be given to families with more children. Not only this, there is also a consideration to make a law under which only those people will be able to contest local body elections, who have more than two children.
Chandrababu Naidu said that earlier we had made a law in which people with more children could not contest elections. But now we have abolished that law and are thinking of reversing it. The government is thinking of giving more facilities to families with more children.
Naidu said that we have demographic advantage till 2047. But the increasing ageing population in the southern states, especially Andhra Pradesh, is a matter of concern. He said that Japan, China and some European countries are also facing this problem. This problem is happening in South India because young people are going to other parts of the country or abroad.
The Chief Minister also expressed concern over the falling fertility rate in the southern states. He said that the fertility rate here is 1.6 percent which is much lower than the national rate of 2.1. If this situation continues, then by 2047 the population of the elderly will increase considerably. He said that not only in Andhra Pradesh, but in many villages of the country, only the elderly are left. Naidu also talked about his earlier efforts on population control. He said that the situation was different then. Natural resources were in danger due to the rapidly increasing population. But now the situation has changed.
