Tamil Nadu may offer childbirth incentives as fertility rate falls below 1.4
Tamil Nadu Health Minister KG Arunraj on Sunday said the state government could consider incentives for couples to have more children as it looks at
Tamil Nadu Health Minister KG Arunraj on Sunday said the state government could consider incentives for couples to have more children as it looks at the impact of a falling fertility rate and an ageing population. He said the state’s Total Fertility Rate had fallen below 1.4, well below the replacement level of 2.1, and described the trend as a major public health challenge. Read Full Story Addressing the mid-year workshop of the Obstetrics and Gynaecological Society of South India, Arunraj said nearly 16 per cent of Tamil Nadu’s population was aged above 60. Referring to steps taken elsewhere, he said the government could examine measures similar to those in Andhra Pradesh. ‘We were told that in places like Andhra Pradesh, there are government schemes providing incentives for couples to have a third child. Therefore, in the future, there could definitely be such things (here) too,’ he said.
The minister said 99 per cent of childbirths in the state take place in hospitals, but the share of deliveries in government facilities had fallen steadily from 65.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 51 per cent now. He attributed this to private medical colleges offering free maternity care and to the extension of the Muthulakshmi Reddy Maternity Benefit Scheme to private hospitals. He said the government had recently launched the ‘Thaai Maaman Thangam’ scheme to reduce the financial burden on poor and middle-class families seeking private healthcare. Arunraj said the health department would carry out a detailed study to find out why deliveries at government hospitals were declining despite the availability of quality care through Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care centres. Responding to reports of pregnant women facing long queues at outpatient registration counters, he said an Aadhaar card was not mandatory and that no government hospital could deny treatment in its absence.
He also referred to a scheme that allows patients to generate an outpatient receipt from home using a smartphone. On medical education, Arunraj criticised the previous administration for allowing three private medical colleges to get Deemed University status, alleging that this had affected social justice and the 7.5 per cent quota for government school students. He said the present government had quickly met the Medical Commission’s requirements and secured 150 additional seats across three government medical colleges this year. He added that the state’s medical counselling schedule and merit list would be published on August 10. He also warned of strict action against private medical colleges accused of illegally collecting fees beyond the stipulated period, and said a newly formed committee was looking into complaints. On the political front, Arunraj rejected opposition charges that the ruling government was only renaming schemes started by earlier administrations, and said policy continuity was necessary for good governance.
The BriefWire