India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, on July 11 proposed a measure that aims to discourage couples from having more than two children in an attempt to control the population.
Under the Indian state government's proposal unveiled Saturday, couples with more than two children are banned from receiving government benefits or subsidiaries. The bill would also bar individuals who have more than two children from applying for state government jobs.
Two-Child Policy
The draft bill also entails that couples with two children who choose to undergo voluntary sterilization would be given incentives. If only one member of the couple undergoes the procedure, the family would still be given a range of benefits, including tax rebates and cashback on utility bills, as reported by the Business Insider.
"Increasing population is the root of major problems including inequality prevailing in the society. Population control is the primary condition for the establishment of an advanced society," Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath wrote on Twitter. "Let us on World Population Day take a pledge to make ourselves and the society aware of the problems arising from the increasing population."
In Assam, where the population sits at 36 million, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had hinted at plans of introducing a two-child policy, with aims of withholding subsidies and other federal benefits to those who choose to have more than two children.
India is currently expected to become the world's most populous country, topping China, by 2027, according to a 2019 report by the United Nations. An estimate by UNICEF suggested that around 25 million children are born in India every year. This accounts for a fifth of the world's yearly births.
Massive Population
There are about 1.38 billion people in India, according to data from the World Bank, with Uttar Pradesh housing more than 240 million people. If the state was a country, it would be deemed the fifth most populous.
Officials say the "New Population Policy" bill, which resembles China's two-child policy, is primarily due to the state's "limited and ecological resources." The draft bill will be open for public consultation until July 19, after which it would be sent to the state's legislative assembly to be read and debated. If it is passed, it would then be written into law.
Many have said they were in favor of the measures, with more than 100 legislators submitting a letter to the Indian President Ram Nath Kovind in which they urged him to take the matter seriously.
"The land is shrinking and the population is rising. There is no place to build homes. In this situation, there should be some control on population," Legislator Ganesh Singh told CNN in an interview.
India's proposed population control measure comes after the country's health officials on Monday reported 37,154 new COVID-19 cases, which followed the 41,506 cases recorded Sunday and 42,766 cases on Saturday.
Indian health officials also reported 2,825 deaths from Saturday to Monday, with 724 in the last 24 hours, 895 on Sunday, and 1,206 on Saturday, according to Reuters.