Andhra Pradesh announces ₹50,000 and cow as reward to increase population

Andhra Pradesh’s Vizianagaram MP Kalisetti Appala Naidu has announced financial incentives to encourage families to have more children. At a public event on International Women’s Day, he declared that women giving birth to a third girl child would receive ₹50,000, while those having a third boy would be given a cow. He stated that the money would come from his salary and that the initiative would apply to all women, regardless of economic status.

Naidu’s announcement aligns with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s repeated calls for increasing the state’s population. The Chief Minister has expressed concerns over declining fertility rates, stating that an ageing population could put Andhra Pradesh at a disadvantage. During a visit to Delhi, he emphasized the need for “long-term demographic management” instead of population control. On March 8, he also announced that maternity leave would be granted to all women employees, regardless of the number of children they have.

Speaking about his decision, Appala Naidu said, “If the third child is a boy, we will give a cow and a calf. We will make a fixed deposit of ₹50,000 if the third child is a baby girl. The Indian population has to rise.” He added that he was inspired by the women in his life, including his mother, wife, sisters, and daughter. He also mentioned plans to create a fixed deposit that could grow to ₹10 lakh by the girl’s marriageable age.

The announcement has sparked mixed reactions, with Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders praising the move as "revolutionary," while others have criticized it as sexist due to the different incentives based on gender. The offer has also gained traction on social media, with discussions intensifying over its implications. Some supporters view it as a measure to support families, while critics question the rationale behind gender-based incentives.

This development comes amid ongoing debates over the upcoming delimitation process, which may affect South Indian states' representation in Parliament based on population data. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin recently encouraged families to have more children, a shift from earlier calls for family planning, as states with lower birth rates risk losing parliamentary seats in future redistributions.