Residents of Assam, who have more than two children, will not get a government job from 2021.
The Assam Assembly on Monday issued a population policy specifying that only those candidates with two children or less would be eligible for government jobs. In September 2017, the 126-member assembly passed ‘Population and Women Empowerment Policy of Assam’ seeking to encourage small families.
The population policy also warranted that existing government employees should strictly follow the two-child norm, reports the Hindu.
The policy will come to effect from January 1, 2021.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 71st Independence Day Celebrations at Red Fort, Delhi. (Courtesy: Express Photo/Amit Mehra)
PM’s Population agenda
India’s population in 2019 is estimated at 1.37 billion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his Independence day speech, described the issue of ever-rising population a “matter of concern” and said that a small section of society, which keeps their families small, “deserves respect”.
The speech had triggered speculations that a new governmental push for population control may be in the offing, as in the states such as Assam, reports the Hindu.
There has been instances of governments going beyond awareness programmes on population control. The incidents of coercive sterilisation, even forced vasectomies, during the Emergency between 1975 and 1977 had been widely criticised, reports the Hindu
China’s population policy
China in the late 1970s introduced the one-child policy over the fears of population boom, with those flouting rule being penalised. However, in 2013, the government allowed married couples to have two children if one of the parents was a single child. Finally, in October 2015 the government, “to balance population development and address the challenge of an ageing population,” allowed all married couples to have two children. China’s population policy has also attracted criticism on the grounds that the government cannot dictate how many children one can have, reports Economic Times.
