‘Have more children…’ Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu’s strategy to tackle ageing population; proposes new election rules

Chandrababu Naidu proposes new legislation to encourage larger families in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu expressed concern over the region's ageing population and advised couples to have more children.

Additionally, he disclosed that his government intended to introduce legislation restricting local body election participation to individuals with two or more children.

“We are thinking of incentivising 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 We have repealed the earlier law barring people with more than two children from contesting local body elections.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 on Saturday after flagging off the resumption of construction work at Amaravati that had been halted under the previous government.

The chief minister claimed that younger generations were migrating to other regions of the nation and overseas, leaving several districts with just elderly residents. He mentioned that the population growth rate in Andhra Pradesh has dropped to 1.6% and that the average growth rate in India has decreased from 6.2% in the 1950s to 2.1 in 2021.

“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 said.

He also cited China, Japan, and European nations as examples. Our demographic advantage won't last past 2047. In Andhra Pradesh, there will be more elderly people than young ones after 2047. It is already taking place in numerous European nations, China, and Japan. Having more kids is another duty you have. You are serving society and the country by doing this; you are not just doing it for yourself, Naidu stated.

He has previously voiced similar worries, stating that although Andhra Pradesh's population is currently 32 years old on average, by 2047 it will be 40 years old.

On August 7, the state Cabinet repealed the rule that barred those with more than two children from contesting in local body elections.

“I was staunchly in favour of population control once upon a time, and brought in legislation barring persons having more than two children from contesting elections… I was afraid that a huge population would cause shortages of water, land, and other resources. 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,” Naidu said Saturday.