• Source:JND
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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu urged couples in the state to have more children to address the issue of the ageing population of the southern states. The TDP leader further said that his cabinet was planning to introduce legislation to allow only couples with more than two children to contest in the local bodies polls.

The government will incentivise families with more kids and encourage couples to have more children, the CM added.

“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 We have repealed the earlier law barring people with more than two children from contesting local body elections.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 said while relaunching the infrastructure works in Amravati, which were suspended by the previous government.

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The CM noted that in many districts, only elderly people are left in villages as the younger generation settled outside or abroad. He also highlighted the decline in India's average population growth rate from 6.2 per cent in the 1950s to 2.1 per cent in 2021. The Andhra leader expressed concern over Andhra Pradesh's population growth rate, which stands at a meagre 1.6 per cent.

“We are already in deficit. Having fewer than two children leads to the rapid decline of the young population. Having more than two kids will ensure a stable population,” he was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

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“We have a demographic advantage only till 2047. After 2047, there will be more elderly people than young in Andhra Pradesh. It is already happening in Japan, China, and many countries in Europe. 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,” Naidu said.