#SayWhat: Mizoram church offers cash incentives to couples who have four or more babies

Lunglei Bazar Veng Baptist Church has announced a cash prize of Rs 4,000 for the fourth baby

By: News Desk |
January 17, 2018 11:09 am

A church in the Christian predominant state of Mizoram has announced a cash incentive for couples who have four or more babies. The Lunglei Bazar Veng Baptist Church has said that it would grant Rs 4,000 for the fourth baby, Rs 5,000 for the fifth baby and so on.

According to reports, the church secretary has confirmed that the church has decided not to fix an upper limit on the policy, which means the more babies are born, the more cash reward will be doled out.

According to the consensus of 2011, the population density of Mizoram is 52 per square kilometer, which is the second lowest in the country after Arunachal Pradesh. Furthermore, the total population growth in the state in the current decade has been 23.48 percent, while in previous decade it was 29.18 percent.

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The development in the church’s policy comes with the view of tackling the low birth rate among the dominant Mizo tribe.

“The population of Mizos is dwindling, and we encourage couples to have more children,” senior executive member of the Mizoram Synod of Presbyterian Church of India, Lalramleina Pachuau told The Indian Express.

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Also, the former chief minister of Mizoram Zoramthanga, during his tenure, had extended the maternity benefits for the birth of up to four children against two children in other states. He had also voiced his concern about the small size of the state’s population.