While countries like Japan, Canada and Australia hand out “baby bonuses” to encourage people to have children, couples in one part of India are getting cash to do just the opposite.
Monday, 2 May 2011
Maharashtra state is paying newlyweds a so-called “honeymoon” bonus to delay starting a family, with the twin aims of slowing population growth and improving women’s health. Rajia Sayad was 20 when she married her husband Shakil in 2007. The couple lives with his parents in Shendurjane village in Satara district, about 250 kilometres (155 miles) from the state capital, Mumbai. Money is tight and not always regular. Rajia is an unpaid housewife and Shakil is a musician, earning 200 to 2,500 rupees ($4.40 to $55) a month during the wedding season. His father earns about 3,000 rupees a month selling fruit. The young couple signed up for the scheme soon after they were married.
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