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Srikakulam. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has made a big announcement to stop the rapidly falling birth rate in the state. Now families giving birth to the third child will be given Rs 30,000 and families giving birth to the fourth child will be given Rs 40,000. The Chief Minister made this announcement during a public meeting at Narasannapeta in Srikakulam district.

What was the plan earlier?

In March 2025, Naidu had said in the Assembly that the government was considering giving Rs 25,000 for the second child. But later the government changed its decision and now the facility will be given to the third and fourth children.

Why was this decision taken? Statistics tell the truth

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in Andhra Pradesh has fallen sharply to 1.5. Whereas to keep the population stable, a replacement level of 2.1 is considered necessary. That means the population of the state is now on the path of decline.

Changing structure of population:

1. Population of children under 14 years of age in 2011: 25%
2. By 2036 it will reduce to: only 15%
3. At the same time, the population of elderly people above 60 years of age will increase from the present 10% to 19%.
4. The share of elderly is expected to reach 23% by the year 2047.

The average age of the state is currently 32.5 years, while the average age of the entire country is 28 years. This means that Andhra Pradesh is aging faster than the entire country. There is a risk of a huge shortage of youth power after 2040, which may impact the economy, industry and service sector.

Government’s objective: Through this scheme, the government wants to encourage young couples to have more children, so that population imbalance and old age crisis can be avoided in future. This scheme can also become an example for those states where the fertility rate is falling rapidly.