Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu recently spoke about introducing legislation that would make candidates eligible for local body elections only if they have more than two children.
The perfect number is 2.1. For the population of a particular country or region to remain stable, this is the average number of children a married couple should have. Naidu highlighted this during a public meeting, appealing to the audience to have more than two children in light of the state’s declining population.
"There is a need for us to manage our population. Until 2047, there will be more youngsters. But after that, there will be more elders," he said. "South India is also facing the issue of an ageing population. I want to tell all the women here—if you have fewer than two children, the population will decrease. In our state, the birth rate is 1.6, which is already in deficit. Many youngsters are migrating to other countries and our villages are becoming empty. Keeping this in mind, everyone must act responsibly, not just for themselves but for the country as well."
He emphasised hat if India manages its population well, the country could emerge as a global service provider in the knowledge economy in the future.
Naidu intends to introduce new legislation that would make candidates eligible to contest local body elections only if they have more than two children, a reversal of the old law that disqualifies candidates with more than two children from contesting.
Naidu also spoke about worrying trends in Europe, China and Japan, where the elderly population outnumbers the youth. So, what are Western and developed countries doing to tackle this issue?
Finland offers a monthly allowance for families with one or more children. A single child earns the family 94 euros (Rs 8,500) per month, the second child 104 euros (Rs 9,444), and the third child 133 euros (Rs 12,078). For each additional child, 26 euros (Rs 2,361) is added. Japan provides a child allowance of 30,000 yen (Rs 16605) per month for the third child and each subsequent child. Hungary introduced a policy where women with four or more children are exempt from income taxes for life. Italy, Russia, France, Singapore and many other countries have similar incentives to encourage couples to have more children.
Celebrity tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has consistently stressed, "Population collapse is a big risk to civilization."
Experts believe that factors contributing to declining fertility rates include an increased focus on careers, the rising cost of raising children and lifestyle changes. This trend could have a major impact on the economy resulting in a reduced workforce and increased spending on ageing citizens. The very existence of the human race has come into question, as nearly all developed countries struggle to halt the decline of their populations.