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Begetting more kids will balance demography of young, old: Naidu
On August 7, the state cabinet decided to do away with the two-child norm
Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s call to the people of the state to have more children is something which he has been advocating for a long time.
Naidu has been arguing that begetting more children will lead to a demographic balance of young and old. “Having less than two children leads to the rapid decline of the young population. In another 25 years, there will be more elderly people than young in Andhra Pradesh. It is already happening in Japan, China, and many countries of Europe,” Naidu said.
On August 7, the state cabinet decided to do away with the two-child norm, which makes people having more than two children ineligible to contest the elections to the rural and urban local bodies in the state.
The cabinet decided to amend the Andhra Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act-1955 and AP Municipalities Act-1965 for the municipal corporations and municipalities and AP Panchayat Raj Act-1994, removing the relevant provisions that bar people having more than two children contesting the municipal and panchayat elections.
State information and public relations minister Kolusu Parthasarathy said that the decision to revoke the two-child norm was taken keeping in view the changing socio-economic necessities and balance of population and also taking into consideration the falling total fertility rate (TFR).
“While the average national TFR is 2.11 (births per woman), it is only 1.5 in Andhra Pradesh. According to the latest figures, the average male fertility age in the state is 32.5 and it is expected to go up to 40 years by 2047. Similarly, the average fertility age of a woman is 29 years, which is likely to go up to 38 by 2047. This will result in reduction of people contributing to the economic development,” the minister said.
Similarly, the percentage of people above 60 years of age in Andhra Pradesh is 11% and it will go up to 19% by 2047. The national average of the people above 60 years is at present 10% and it will go up to 15% by 2047, Parthasarathy said.
The opposition YSR Congress Party preferred to remain silent on Naidu’s latest call. Its official spokesperson Jupudi Prabhakar Rao did not respond to calls to find out the party’s view on the issue.
Bharatiya Janata Party state vice-president S Vishnu Vardhan Reddy said there was a valid point in the chief minister’s call for more than two children to balance the ageing and youth population in the state.
“Yes, there is an imbalance in the population of old and young people in the state. But more than that, there is also a lot of gender imbalance in the state with number of girl children being lesser than the male children. We have to see that there should be more girl children. The slogan of “Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be followed in letter and spirit,” he said.
Retired IAS officer and former chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh I YR Krishna Rao said it was true that the ageing population was on the rise due to better medical facilities and increasing longevity. “But my immediate reaction to Naidu’s observation is that the focus should be more on improving the skills and employability of the younger generation, instead of just increasing in numbers. A skilled younger generation will enhance the productivity of the nation,” he said.
