Why politicians in India are offering cows and cash to encourage having kids

A politician in southern India has offered new parents 50,000 rupees ($911) if they have a third child, as long as it's a girl.

If it's a boy, the offer is a cow.

The promise from Kalisetti Appalanaidu, an MP from the state of Andhra Pradesh, reflects heightened anxiety over population in southern India.

Leaders in some of India's biggest southern states are now offering incentives for people to have bigger families — a dramatic shift in a country that, for more than 50 years, actively promoted smaller families.

The reversal in population policy comes as India prepares for a long-delayed national census and a political process known as delimitation, which could dramatically reshape who holds power in the country's parliament.

What is delimitation and why does it matter?

Delimitation is the redrawing of the boundaries of India's parliamentary constituencies based on population.

The ongoing process was frozen in 1976 so that nationwide family planning efforts did not affect states' political representation in the union.

However, the Modi government has indicated it will restart the process of delimitation after India conducts its census in 2027.

The goal is to ensure that each elected representative in India's lower house, the Lok Sabha, represents roughly the same number of people.

But this has sparked concerns in India's south.

For decades, states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh had reduced their birth rates through proactive family planning policies.

In contrast, many northern states have higher fertility rates.

Under the delimitation formula, states with faster-growing populations could gain more seats in parliament, while states that have successfully curbed their population growth may lose political influence.

Seeing a loss of political power on the horizon, some leaders are urging citizens to reverse decades of population control and start having more children.

Both Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin have spoken publicly about the need for population growth to protect their states' political representation.

Mr Stalin encouraged his constituents to start having children "immediately".

In the meantime, there have been calls for the redrawing of boundaries to be delayed.

"We have requested that the delimitation freeze be extended for another 25 years," said Manu Sundaram, a spokesperson for Tamil Nadu's ruling party, the DMK.

Will the policies work?

In 2004, then-treasurer Peter Costello introduced a baby bonus — a one-time cash payment of up to $5,000 for new parents.

The goal was to encourage population growth.

It appeared to modestly increase the birth rate before it was eventually scrapped in 2014.

In India, while politicians worry about seats in parliament, many families say that getting by is the priority — and that cash handouts won't change their reality.

Malleshwari, a 28-year-old woman from a tribal community in Andhra Pradesh, has one child and says that is enough.

"Considering the uncertainties of health and life, I would rather have one child and give them everything I can," she said.

She said she believed the government needed to change its priorities if it really wanted to support families.

"The main focus should be on education. The government must provide free and quality education. Not just academic, but life and vocational skills," she said.

"Simply offering money as an incentive to have children will not be enough or widely accepted."

Keshav, a 32-year-old tribal man working with an NGO, said his own upbringing had been marked by poverty and domestic violence and he did not want to see that cycle repeated.

"Without being able to provide a good education, financial stability and a healthy lifestyle, I don't think it's right to bring more children into this world," he said.

It's about more than money

Those working closely with women and health care in southern India say the proposed strategy is misguided.

Andhra Pradesh women's advocate Keerthi Bollineni said short-term cash incentives missed the bigger picture.

"Sustainable population growth is essential," she said.

Andhra Pradesh MP Appala Naidu has acknowledged women need more support — and part of his plan has been to promise greater access to maternity leave.

But these moves are unlikely to have a measurable effect before the census in 2027.

Dr Geetha Devi, a gynaecologist with more than 30 years of experience in Andhra Pradesh, said she was already seeing the limitations of the politicians' approach.

She said investment in health care needed to be the priority.

"To some extent [the incentives] may work. But educated and working women, I don't think they will be influenced by 50,000 rupees and a cow," she said.

"Nowadays I see many families having a single child … I know many people who are having only one child in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and other southern states."

"If you encourage population growth, we have to improve our healthcare system first," she said.

"The public health system lacks doctors, functioning equipment and even basic repairs. Many centres are short on staff."