Gangtok, Jan 05: Sikkim government has announced an increment for women employees of the state with two or more children. Financial incentives will soon be declared for the more extensive section of women not enrolled with the state government.
There has been an alarming decrease in the state’s fertility rate, which has come down from 2.5 percent in 1999 to 1.1 percent in 2021.
Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang stated that “For those who adopt IVF (in-vitro fertilisation) to increase the population, we will provide monetary support of Rs 3 lakh.”
Earlier, there were incentives for those who supported reducing population growth; this will change now.
“Women government employees with more than two children shall get an increment. For mothers who have more than two children and are not government employees, we shall provide financial help to them. We will soon come out with an order. We are worried and seeking reasons behind the steep decline (in fertility rate). If we do not arrest the trend now, we will be facing bigger problems in the future. The decline in indigenous populations will threaten the prominence of the Sikkimese,” CM Tamang added.
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According to the Census issued in 2011, Sikkim has a population of 6.11 lakh. The population was 5.41 lakh as per the 2001 Census. Sikkim has 6,10,577 people – 3,23,070 males and 2,87,507 females – as per the 2011 Census.
In 2001, there were 2,88,484 males and 2,52,367 females. The total population growth in this decade was 12.89 percent, while it was 32.98 percent in the previous decade. The population of Sikkim formed 0.05 percent of India in 2011. In 2001, the figure was the same.
The state government’s decision comes at a time when states like Uttar Pradesh and Assam are supporting policies preventing people with more than two children from receiving government jobs or incentives.
