India’s northeastern state of Assam is set to implement a two-child-limit policy – candidates with more than two children will not be eligible to apply for government jobs in the State. The policy will come into effect from 1 January 2021.
Taking the decision two years after the Bill was passed in the State legislature, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal’s office tweeted:
“In a revolutionary move, the Cabinet (State’s council of Ministers) approved the Two-Child Norms and Prohibition of Child Marriage Act for entry and continuation in Govt. services.”
The law also outlines norms for electoral processes. It stipulates that the government may formulate a bill to prohibit voters that have more than two children from participating in local elections to the Panchayat (a governing body that acts on the village level in every Indian State) and Municipal Corporation.
A norm is already in place to bar individuals with more than two children from taking part in Panchayat polls in the State.
As per the 2011 Census, a routine demographic survey that India conducts after every ten years, the population of Assam increased to 3.12 crore (30.12 million) from 2.66 crores (20.66 million) in 2011. Assam’s total fertility rate of 2.3 is at par with the national rate, reported an Indian media agency quoting the government report.