Today, according to the World Bank, 1.38 billion people live in India, after China. Four Indian states have fertility rates above 3.5: Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Nagaland, of which Bihar has a fertility rate of 4.0 births per woman, the highest of any Indian state. India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, is also the most populous: it has 240 million inhabitants, making it the fifth most populous in the world, and its population density is more than twice the national average.
On 11 July, the World Population Day, India is proposing a series of new populations-control measures reminiscent of China’s two-child policy. Since the 1970 s China is declining its overall fertility rate as a result of a national population policy aimed at limiting birth rates to control population growth and boost economic growth. The dramatic decline in birth rates is, at least to some extent, due to China’s population policy, known as the one-child policy.
While India has not adopted China’s overturned policy of fines for couples who have more than two children, a number of new measures of population control that are reminiscent of China’s two-child policy are trying to bring the growing population under control. The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of the country, has put forward proposals aimed at preventing couples from having more than two children and rewarding those who have one. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath presented a draft law on World Population Day to improve population policy from 2021 to 2030. The proposed measures, which are entitled the ‘New Population Policy’, would reward those who have two children and penalise those who have more than two.
The proposal aimed at discouraging couples from having more than two children and rewarding those who have only one child, has become a major political flashpoint in Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in the world, as several other states work to implement population control measures. The Population Control Bill, drafted by the Uttar Pradesh State Legislative Commission to promote a two-child policy, has provoked strong reactions in several quarters. Some have questioned the timing of the state going to the polls in eight months, while others have supported it, pointing out that several other states already have a two-child standard.
Several Indian states are considering implementing the controversial two-child policy, which promotes sterilization as a means of population control. Families with two children have an incentive for one parent to undergo voluntary sterilization. This policy has been criticised as unnecessary, violates women’s rights and discriminates against Muslims.
The state already has laws punishing ordinary citizens who have more than two children. This includes denying the government the right to have a child born after the second child. They also deny the state access to maternal and child health care, including nutritional supplements for pregnant women.
In Uttar Pradesh, legislation has been proposed to exclude people with more than two children from government jobs and to exclude them from government programs. The right-wing government of India’s most populous state is proposing a controversial law aimed at curbing population growth in the states. Experts call the move a coercive measure and fear it could lead to growing gender inequality. The UP government has extensive bills on two-child standards, which have already been included in many other states as part of eligibility criteria for municipal elections and public service rules.
India’s happiest state distributes benefits to couples with two children and bans more public offices and government jobs under a bill to control its population that is more than three times the size of Britain. Uttar Pradesh unveiled the proposal on World Population Day and set a deadline of July 19 for proposals on how to refine the legislation before it becomes law in the state. Last week, the Uttar Pradesh population control, stabilization and welfare bill 2021 was introduced by the Uttar Pradesh State Law Commission who asked the public to submit their proposals on the controversial Population Control and Welfare Bill by July 19.
Under the bill, people with more than two children would not be eligible for a job in state government and would reject public service promotions and exclude service-enhancing benefits from up to 77 state programs. The bill has sparked debate about the need and feasibility of a population control law in India. The bill aims to eliminate benefits and promotions from 77 programs or exclude them from benefits.
The bill also proposes incentives such as tax breaks for people with two or fewer children in states with more than 200 million people. Working President Alok Kumar from the VHP sent a letter to state law commission Alok Kumar saying that it should avoid giving incentives to parents with single children because it would affect state demographics.
In a two-page letter, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) said that it agrees with those who oppose the Population Control Act, but certain sections must reconsider whether they will object to the law. The VHP said that the one-child policy contained in the bill is likely to lead to a further imbalance between the different communities and a shrinking population. India draws inspiration from the Chinese people with its proposals for a two-child policy and a two-state policy.
According to the Uttar Pradesh government’s draft law, those who violate the two-child standard are not entitled to welfare benefits under government-sponsored welfare programs, to participate in municipal elections, to apply for government jobs, to be promoted to a government job, to receive any kind of government subsidy, or to hold four rationing cards per unit. Those who choose to have more than two children will be stripped of their state benefits. Those who violate the new population policy between 2021 and 2030 will not be allowed to contest local elections, apply for or receive promotion for a government job, or receive government subsidies or other provisions.
