Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday announced an enhanced incentive for families having more than two children as part of the state government’s new population management policy.Addressing a public event at Tamrapalli village in Srikakulam district, Naidu expressed concern over declining population growth in the state. “Children are our wealth. This is the message I want to drive home across the state,” he said.In this context, the chief minister announced that the state government was planning to introduce incentives for families having a third and fourth child. He said the government would provide an incentive of ₹30,000 for the birth of a third child and ₹40,000 for a fourth child.On March 5, Naidu presented the draft document of a comprehensive ‘Population Management Policy’, in the state assembly, stating that the government was shifting its focus from traditional family planning to “population care” in view of declining fertility rates and future demographic challenges.As part of the policy, the chief minister said the government was proposing financial incentives for childbirth. “Under the plan, parents who have a second child or more will receive ₹25,000 at the time of delivery. This move will be a major policy intervention to encourage population growth,” he said.The policy also proposes ₹1,000 monthly nutritional support for five years for the third child, along with free education up to 18 years of age. Additionally, the government is considering 12 months of parental leave for the birth of a third child, including two months of paternity leave for fathers.According to the chief minister, currently about 300,000 families, accounting for 58% of the total number, have only one child, while around 217,000 families have two or more children.He said the state’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is currently 1.5, a sharp fall from 3.0 recorded in 1993, whereas the ideal level should be 2.1 to maintain demographic balance. “If the TFR continues to decline rapidly, the number of working-age people could reduce significantly, potentially slowing economic growth,” he said in the assembly.He said the policy has become crucial for the state as fertility rates are steadily declining, a trend already seen in countries such as Japan, South Korea and Italy. Similar patterns are now emerging in India and in Andhra Pradesh.Citing 2023 data, Naidu said about 670,000 births were recorded in the state during the year. If the current trend continues, 23% of the population could be elderly by 2047, posing challenges for the economy and social welfare systems.He also pointed out that the female labour force participation rate in the state is currently 31%, and if it rises to 59%, the state’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) could increase by nearly 15%.Naidu said the policy will adopt a five-stage life-cycle approach to population management, built on five key pillars — Maatrutvam (Motherhood), Shakti (Empowerment), Kshema (Wellbeing), Naipunyam (Skills), and Sanjeevani (Health care).At the Narasannapet meeting on Saturday, the chief minister said the government was strengthening the Anganwadi system and providing financial assistance of ₹15,000 to mothers under the ‘Thalliki Vandanam’ scheme.Highlighting land administration reforms, Naidu said the government was cleansing and updating land records through a comprehensive re-survey process. He stated that modern technology was being used to print and issue pattadar (landholding) passbooks in a tamper-proof manner to prevent manipulation of land records.The chief minister further asserted that the government had taken responsibility to ensure that there would be no land disputes anywhere in the state by March 2027.