New Delhi:
Amid the demand of a Population Control Bill by a section, the Assam Cabinet on Tuesday decided that people who will not follow the 2-children policy will not be able to apply for the state government jobs from January 1, 2021. "Yesterday (October 21) our state cabinet decided that, starting 1st January 2021, those not following the 2-children policy will not be eligible to apply for government jobs," Assam Industry Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said.
The rising population has been a major issue in India and a demand to bring a lagislation in Parliament to put a check on it has come from several quarters over the past few years. While the birth rate has decreased worldwide, it has seen an upward trend in India in the last decade. According to a UN population forecast, India will overtake China to become the most populous country with over 1,600 million people by 2050.
In his Independence Day speech this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also expressed concern over ‘population explosion’ and praised those, who keeps their families small.
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"Population explosion in India is a big problem for us and our future. An enlightened section in our society thinks hard before bringing a child into the world, if they can fulfill child's dreams. This small section limits his family, shows patriotism," Modi had said.
This is the first time the prime minister raised the issue, even though a section of the BJP has been vocal about the matter. Earlier last month, Congress leader Jitin Prasada had also stressed the need to maintain the two-child norm.
