New Delhi, May 25 -- The government of Andhra Pradesh wants to spur families to have more children. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has declared a plan to give families a one-time payment of Rs.30,000 for having a third child and Rs.40,000 for a fourth. In March, a policy had proposed Rs.25,000 for a second child.

The aim, as Naidu has stated, is to shift focus from population "control" to "care" in order to secure the state's "demographic future." Apart from cash incentives, a cradle-plus package may include nutritional support for mothers and young children, apart from free public education till age 18 and subsidized reproductive assistance at state-run hospitals.

The state has sought public feedback on this baby-boom project.

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