Rajya Sabha MP’s Bill Acknowledges Two-child Policy
According to the United Nations, India is all set to overtake China and become the most populous country by 2027. This highlights the urgent need for addressing this alarming situation.
In order to curb the growing population, Rakesh Sinha, nominated BJP’s MP introduced ‘The Population Regulation Bill, 2019’ in the Rajya Sabha on July 12. The Bill seeks punitive actions for people with more than two children. It suggests that procreating a third child will lead to disqualification from being elected as an MLA, MP, or any member of the local self-government.
Further, the bill seeks an undertaking from the government employees which mentions that they will not conceive more than two children. However, it mentions a relaxation for the employees who already have two or more children before the Bill becomes an Act.
In response to this Bill, Population Foundation of India released a press release which stated, “PFI calls upon policymakers, Members of Parliament and the government to reaffirm India’s commitment towards a rights-based approach to family planning. PFI appeals to the government to raise budgetary allocations in order to ensure expanded contraceptive choices for delaying and spacing births and better access and quality of health care for young people.”
Apart from restrictions from joining the parliament, the Bill also has provisions for a reduction in subsidies on loans and interest rates on savings instruments, a cut in public distribution system’s benefits and higher loan interest rates.
Sinha is also taking support from social media to gain popularity for the Bill. In a tweet on July 13, he created a twitter poll and asked Twitterati whether there should be a population control law or not.
Certain provision of the Bill layout benefits for central and public sector enterprise employees. Either the employee or his/her partner needs to undergo sterilization surgery in order to avail the benefits mentioned in the Bill.
