A recent proposal by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Kalisetty Appalanaidu&mdash;offering ₹50,000 for a third girl child or a cow for a third boy child&mdash;has sparked fresh debates on population policy in India. His announcement comes just weeks after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu modified the state&rsquo;s maternity leave policy, allowing paid leave for women regardless of how many children they have. Together, these moves signal a subtle but significant policy shift aimed at encouraging larger families in a state where birth rates have steadily declined.
But why now? And why Andhra Pradesh?
These measures are not happening in isolation. They coincide with a larger, growing concern within India&rsquo;s political and ideological corridors about declining birth rates. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hinted at the need for larger families, while Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has explicitly warned that falling fertility rates could weaken India's social and cultural fabric. Increasingly, population growth is being reframed as a matter of national interest, driven not just by demographic concerns but also by cultural anxieties.
The Offer: Money or a Cow
On International Women&rsquo;s Day, Appalanaidu, a first-time MP from Vizianagaram, made a striking offer. Women who give birth to a third child will receive either ₹50,000 if the child is a girl or a cow if the child is a boy. He justified his announcement by referencing appeals from Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Naidu, both of whom have called for families to consider having more children.
The offer itself is symbolic, but the symbolism matters. It is not just about financial incentives; it is about framing childbirth as a service to the nation. By offering a cash reward for a third girl or a cow for a third boy, Appalanaidu effectively channels both economic and cultural incentives toward larger families, subtly reviving the older trope of family size as a marker of social stability.
Extending Maternity Leave
In a parallel move, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu modified the state&rsquo;s maternity leave policy, allowing paid leave for women regardless of the number of children they have. This is a sharp departure from previous policy, which capped paid maternity leave at two children. The shift came after a female police constable asked whether she could claim maternity leave for her third child. Naidu not only approved her request but publicly urged women to have more children, linking demographic growth to economic prosperity.
This combination of financial incentives and policy shifts reveals a clear push toward pronatalism&mdash;a government stance that encourages higher birth rates, often driven by anxieties around demographic decline.
Why This Push Now?
The push for higher fertility rates is not unique to Andhra Pradesh. It reflects a wider ideological shift in India, where population size is increasingly viewed as a strategic resource tied to cultural and economic dominance.
In December 2024, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat publicly warned that India&rsquo;s declining fertility rate&mdash;now at 2.0, below the replacement rate of 2.1&mdash;posed a long-term threat to the country&rsquo;s cultural identity. Bhagwat specifically argued that the fertility rate should ideally be 3, echoing long-standing anxieties within nationalist circles that shrinking populations would lead to cultural weakening or minority demographic dominance.
These ideological undercurrents shape policy. In advocating for larger families, politicians like Appalanaidu and Chief Minister Naidu are not just reacting to demographic shifts; they are actively embracing a worldview where population growth is linked to national strength and cultural preservation.
Who Should Have More Children&mdash;And Why
Implicit in this push for larger families is a question rarely stated aloud: who is expected to have more children, and why?
Much of the political rhetoric around birth rates is shaped by anxieties over demographic balance &mdash; a euphemism often deployed to express fear of Muslim population growth outpacing Hindu population growth. While no law explicitly calls for religiously selective pronatalism, the undercurrent of religious demographic anxiety runs deep. Bhagwat&rsquo;s repeated emphasis on "stabilizing" population ratios hints at these communal anxieties, subtly framing higher Hindu birth rates as a safeguard against cultural and political dilution.
In Andhra Pradesh, where religious demographics are complex, the push for larger families can easily acquire communal overtones. Policies that encourage higher birth rates without clear economic planning risk embedding sectarian tensions into the social fabric, fostering further division rather than unity.
Population Data: Where Does India Stand?
The data, however, tells a more complex story.
According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) released in 2021, India&rsquo;s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has already declined to 2.0, below the replacement rate of 2.1. Increased contraceptive use, higher female education, and urbanization have all contributed to smaller family sizes.
Key data from NFHS-5:
&middot;&nbsp;India&rsquo;s TFR:&nbsp;2.0 (decline from 2.2 in NFHS-4)
&middot;&nbsp;Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR):&nbsp;Increased from 54% to 67%
&middot;&nbsp;Urban fertility rate:&nbsp;1.6
&middot;&nbsp;Rural fertility rate:&nbsp;2.2
In Andhra Pradesh, the fertility rate has fallen even further to around 1.7, indicating an ageing population and slower population growth. Policymakers fear that declining birth rates will eventually lead to a smaller working-age population, putting economic growth, pension systems, and social stability at risk.
But here is the paradox: encouraging higher birth rates without economic growth to sustain them can lead to deeper social instability.
The Economic Trap of Higher Birth Rates
The assumption that increasing birth rates will lead to economic prosperity is a faulty one. In fact, it risks exacerbating existing economic challenges.&nbsp;
With slowing economic growth (forecasted at <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/budget/news/economic-survey-2025-gdp-growth-forecast-budget-session-nirmala-sitharaman-125013100748_1.html">between 6.3% and 6.8% in FY 2026</a>) and&nbsp;limited corporate investment, the market is failing to generate high-quality, stable jobs.&nbsp;According to 2023 data, 42.3% of graduates under 25&nbsp;are unemployed. The formal sector is not expanding fast enough to absorb new entrants into the workforce. Encouraging higher birth rates without parallel economic growth would simply flood the labour market, drive down wages, and deepen competition.
Moreover, the burden of larger families often falls on women, reducing their workforce participation. In 2023-24, female workforce participation in India was around <a href="#:~:text=At%20the%20same%20time%2C%2023.9,to%20balance%20work%20and%20family.">40.3%</a>, and policies that encourage childbirth without improving economic infrastructure often push women back into unpaid domestic labour, worsening economic gender gaps.
Further, if the government continues to incentivize birth rates without investing in infrastructure, education, and job creation, it could trigger a demographic disaster&mdash;with an oversized population, high unemployment, and stagnating economic growth.
Cultural Anxiety or Economic Policy?
At its core, the push for higher birth rates in Andhra Pradesh is less about economic growth and more about cultural anxiety. The repeated references to demographic shifts from RSS leaders like Mohan Bhagwat signal a deeper fear of demographic decline and cultural dilution. This anxiety is shaping state policy, turning population growth into a political tool.
However, demographic stability does not come from larger populations alone. It comes from building human capital, creating sustainable economic growth, and ensuring social infrastructure keeps pace with population needs. Without this, encouraging larger families simply creates future economic crises.
The real question is not whether Andhra Pradesh should have more births; it is whether the state is prepared to support a larger population with jobs, education, healthcare, and infrastructure. Without these, the promise of economic prosperity through population growth will remain an illusion.
In pushing for higher birth rates, policymakers may well be creating a demographic time bomb&mdash;one where population growth outstrips economic capacity, driving deeper inequality, unemployment, and resource strain. The future of Andhra Pradesh does not lie in more children but in smarter policies that create opportunities for the people already there.

An AI-generated representation of population policy in India, focusing on birth incentives

TDP’s cash-for-girl, cow-for-boy incentive, extended maternity leave reiterate a political drive for larger families

Andhra’s Birth Push: Money, Cows & Maternity Leave

TDP’s cash-for-girl, cow-for-boy incentive, extended maternity leave reiterate a political drive for larger families

March 10, 2025 | 12:25 IST