China's New Measures for More Children: Avert Demographic Crisis

By By K J M Varma, Beijing
Oct 29, 2024 17:40
China tackles its demographic crisis with new policies, including childbirth subsidies and tax cuts, to incentivize couples to have more children. The move comes amid falling birth rates and a rapidly aging population.
Beijing, Oct 29 (PTI) China has announced a slew of policies, including a childbirth subsidy system and tax cuts for parents, aimed at motivating couples to have more children to halt the falling birth-rates in order to deal with the looming demographic crisis.

A directive issued by the State Council or the central cabinet on Monday outlined 13 targeted measures designed to enhance childbirth support services; expand childcare systems; strengthen support in education, housing and employment, and cultivate a birth-friendly social atmosphere.

The falling birth rates resulted in China losing the most populous nation in the world to India last year.

The latest initiative also includes improvements to the childbirth subsidy system and personal income tax relief related to childbirth, official media reported.

Key provisions include extending the maternity insurance scheme to individuals in flexible employment and rural migrant workers who have already participated in the basic medical insurance scheme.

This move aims to ensure that new parents feel more secure taking time off work, as local authorities are urged to enforce policies regarding maternity, paternity and childcare leave, official media reported.

Notably, suitable labour pain relief and assisted reproductive technology services will be added to the list of medical services eligible for insurance reimbursement, state-run CGTN reported.

The new measures appear to have drawn a lukewarm response from the public with a user on microblogging platform Weibo commenting that the measures were like if “you're buying a Ferrari, and the government is giving you a coupon worth 100 Yuan”, the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post reported.

China, with its 1.4 billion population, is grappling with a rapidly ageing population with people above 65 years now comprising over 14 per cent of the population.

China's population aged 60 years and above approached 300 million by the end of 2023. Projections suggest it will exceed 400 million by 2035 and reach 500 million by 2050, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported earlier this month.

Recent reports said thousands of kindergarten schools are being closed all over China as the children's recruitment declined rapidly.

The schools are being converted to run old age homes with staff trained to manage geriatric care.

China's serious demographic crisis is blamed on the decades-old one-child policy followed by the ruling Communist Party.

Amid warnings that the demographic crisis will seriously impact the economy, China scrapped the one child policy in 2016 and permitted all couples to have two children.

As it failed to make an impact, China revised the population policy in 2021, allowing people to have three children in an attempt to address the reluctance of couples to have more kids due to mounting costs.

As the costs of pensions and geriatric care mounted, China last month raised the retirement age of men from 60 to 63 and for female office workers from 55 to 58 years.
Source: PTI
Read More On:
chinapopulationdemographic crisisbirth ratechildbirthsubsidiestax cutsaging populationone-child policyfertility rate
DISCLAIMER - This article is from a syndicated feed. The original source is responsible for accuracy, views & content ownership. Views expressed may not reflect those of rediff.com India Limited.

You May Like To Read

MORE NEWS

Gold Price Soars on Dhanteras: Hits Rs 81,400

Gold prices surged to Rs 81,400 per 10 grams on Dhanteras due to strong demand. Silver...

ASK Automotive Q2 Net Profit Up 63% to Rs 67 Crore

ASK Automotive, India's largest brake shoe manufacturer, reported a 63% rise in net...

SBI Card Q2 Profit Down 33% to Rs 404 Cr

SBI Card's net profit fell 33% to Rs 404 crore in Q2 FY24 due to rising delinquency....

Virgin Atlantic Doubles London-Mumbai Flights

Virgin Atlantic launches its second daily flight from London Heathrow to Mumbai,...

Anant Raj Q2 Profit Surges 76% to Rs 105.58 Cr,...

Anant Raj Ltd.'s Q2 profit jumped 76% to Rs 105.58 crore. The company plans to raise up...

GlaxoSmithKline Q2 Profit Rises 16% to Rs 252 cr

GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals reports a 16% jump in Q2 net profit to Rs 252 crore,...

Karnataka CM Warns Officials on Tax Collection...

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has warned officials of accountability if they...

Domestic Base Metal Cos to Thrive in FY'25: ICRA

Robust prices and resilient domestic demand are set to drive the performance of...

Transformers and Rectifiers (India) Wins Rs 270...

Transformers and Rectifiers (India) secures orders worth Rs 270 crore from Adani...

HUDCO Q2 Profit Surges 52% to Rs 689 cr

HUDCO's consolidated net profit for Q2 FY24 jumped 52% to Rs 689 cr, driven by...

Read More »

Sectoral Indices Market Indicators Listed Companies Gainers Losers Mutual Funds Portfolio Watchlist
© 2024 Rediff.com