Andhra CM Naidu offers Rs 30,000 for third child, Rs 40,000 for fourth

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday announced cash incentives of Rs 30,000 for the birth of a third child and Rs 40,000 for a fourth child as the state government looks to address declining population growth.

Addressing a public meeting at Narsannapeta in Srikakulam district, Naidu said further details of the scheme would be announced within a month.

“I have made a new decision. We will provide Rs 30,000 immediately after the birth of a third child and Rs 40,000 for a fourth child. Isn’t this the right decision?” Naidu said on the sidelines of the SwarnaAndhra SwachAndhra cleanliness programme.

Naidu said that while he had earlier supported population control measures, the situation had now changed and society needed to work together to increase the birth rate.

The latest announcement comes after an earlier proposal to provide Rs 25,000 for the birth of a second child.

On March 5, Naidu informed the Assembly that the state government was considering an incentive of Rs 25,000 for couples having a second child.

Health minister Satya Kumar Yadav told PTI on Saturday that the government had now decided to extend incentives to families having a third child and beyond.

Naidu said rising incomes were leading some couples to choose to have only one child, while others were opting for a second child only if the firstborn was a girl.

He warned that the state’s population growth rate was declining and stressed the need to maintain the replacement-level total fertility rate (TFR) of 2.1.

According to Naidu, a population remains stable only when the fertility rate is 2.1 children per woman.

He also said declining populations and ageing societies in several countries had negatively affected their economies.

Rejecting the idea that children are a burden, Naidu said they should instead be viewed as an asset and added that he would demonstrate it.

Referring to the Talliki Vandanam welfare scheme, under which the government provides Rs 15,000 per year for every school-going child, Naidu said the amount would be increased “if God shows mercy”.

The chief minister also said the government was printing tamper-proof pattadar passbooks and assured that there would be “no land disputes” by March 2027.

Naidu said the TDP-led NDA government would focus on developing Srikakulam district through infrastructure and irrigation projects.

He announced that the Madduvalasa Stage-II project would be completed by January 2027, the Hiramandalam Lift Irrigation Project by April 2027, and the Thotapalli distributaries by July 2027.

The TDP supremo further said that after the formation of the TDP-led NDA government, 86 lakh tonnes of legacy waste had been cleared and promised 100 per cent clearance by June.

Naidu also urged people to follow the guidelines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to deal with economic challenges arising from the US-Israel-Iran conflict.

He advised people to work from home as much as possible, reduce gold purchases, promote domestic tourism, use public transport and take similar measures to support the economy and cooperate with the government.