Andhra’s new population policy offers Rs 30k for third child, Rs 40k for fourth

In a policy U-turn aimed at altering the state’s demographic trajectory, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister NChandrababu Naidu on Saturday announced direct cash incentives for families having more than two children. Under the new directive, the state government will provide an immediate cash payout of Rs 30,000 for the birth of a third child and Rs 40,000 for a fourth child.

The Chief Minister made the surprise announcement while addressing a public gathering at Narasannapeta in the Srikakulam district during a regional sanitation program. The move significantly expands on a draft “Population Management Policy” tabled in the State Assembly in March, which originally proposed a Rs 25,000 cash incentive for couples opting for a second child.

‘Children are the real wealth’

Naidu, who famously championed aggressive family planning and population control measures during his previous tenures in the 1990s, acknowledged that changing global and domestic realities required a complete ideological shift.

“There was a time when I worked heavily for family planning. But today, children are our asset. Once again, we all have to work hard for children. I have taken a decision: for the third child, we will give Rs 30,000 immediately after birth, and for the fourth child, we will give Rs 40,000,” CM Naidu said.

Rejecting the legacy view that larger families strain developing economies, Naidu added: “Population is the real wealth of the future. The government considers children a vital economic resource and a national asset.”

The looming demographic crisis

The drastic policy intervention comes against the backdrop of a rapidly declining Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in Andhra Pradesh. The state’s TFR has plummeted to an all-time low of 1.5—a steep drop from the 3.0 recorded in 1993, and significantly below the population replacement-level target of 2.1.

Government projections warn that if current trends hold, nearly 23 per cent of Andhra Pradesh’s population could be above 60 years of age by 2047, leading to acute labor shortages and an overburdened social welfare system similar to crises currently faced by Japan, South Korea, and Italy.

The state’s mean average age currently stands at 32.5 years, compared to the younger national average of 28.4 years.

A lifecycle approach to ‘population care’

State Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav confirmed that the financial rollouts are part of a broader, five-stage lifecycle policy built on maternal health, childcare, and female workforce empowerment.

Beyond the immediate cash handouts at delivery, the government’s proposed population framework includes:

• A Rs 1,000 monthly nutritional allowance for up to five years for a third child.

• Free education for the third child up to the age of 18.

• Up to 12 months of parental leave, including two months of mandatory paternity leave for fathers.

• The opening of state-backed fertility clinics to assist couples.

The Chief Minister stated that the official framework and finer details of the scheme would be fully notified within the next month, alongside a planned scale-up of the ‘Talliki Vandanam’ scheme, which currently provides Rs 15,000 annually to mothers of school-going children