Postponing will be rewarded

In the white sari, Sunita Jadhav sailed along the muddy village road from house to house calling for newlyweds to postpone birth for 2 years. In return, they will get government cash reward.

" I want to tell you about our" honeymoon package ", Jadhav, an assistant nurse, said during a visit to a family with a new bride in rural Satara, Maharashtra state, India.

Jadhav explained that the district committee will pay 5,000 rupees (about 106 dollars) if couples delay giving birth. This wait, according to her, will allow them more time to study or earn money.

Dr. Archana R. Khade ( left ) and nurse Sunita Laxman Jadhav ( right ) are encouraging a bride to postpone birth. (Photo: The New York Times).

Delaying childbirth will also help India gain more time to curb the rate of galloping population growth, threatening to turn its rich human resources into an economic burden . With nearly 1.2 billion people, India is a young country, with nearly half of the population under the age of 25.

This population structure makes some experts predict that India may surpass China in terms of economic growth in the next 5 years, because the country has young, abundant human resources, while China is Aging rapidly.

However, the young population advantage also means a great pressure on resources, a challenge for the school system and other services, according to the New York Times.

With the population forecast to reach 1.5 to 1.9 billion, Indian leaders realize that action must be taken to avoid the prospect of crowded land.

However, unlike in China, where the government controls a tight population policy for a long time, India is a relaxed democracy, where the central government places a target of population, still working. Whether or not enforcement is up to the state government.

While some states have banned parents from giving birth to more than two children , or reducing state employees' benefits if they lay too much, in other states, regulations are much looser. Some experts say that India has been slow in population control, and now they need to act now.

The Satara rural program is a point program - one of the " soft " initiatives implemented nationwide - to slow down population growth.

Experts say too many rural women get married in their teens and have children soon after, contributing to accelerating poverty and creating a vicious cycle .

In Satara, health authorities launched a campaign to limit child marriage and encourage " honeymoon packages " with cash bonuses, encouraging the use of contraceptives, thus couples. will slow birth.

Thanks in part to this " honeymoon package ", the Satara birth rate has dropped to about 1.9 children per family, and many women have opted for sterilization after the birth of their second child.

However, the reduction in the number of children has made the gender imbalance soar, as many families find ways to give birth to a son.

However, the idea of ​​postponing to be rewarded is still quite attractive to many young women. Reshma Yogesh Sawand, 25, said she and her husband wanted to postpone giving birth - and give birth only one - to save money and move to live in a big city.

" If there is only one child, I can take better care of it ," said Sawand, an insurance salesman.