Chandigarh, May 18 -- Senior Punjab BJP leader and retired IAS officer Jagmohan Raju has urged the Punjab government to introduce a financial incentive scheme encouraging Sikh families to have more children, citing concerns over the declining Sikh population in the state.
In a letter addressed to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Raju suggested that every Sikh couple should be encouraged to have at least four children. He proposed that the state government provide financial assistance of Rs 30,000 for the birth of a third child and Rs 40,000 for a fourth child under a special population-support scheme.
Raju said the Sikh community, recognised as a minority under the Constitution, was witnessing a continuous decline in fertility rates c...