Aizawl: The Presbyterian Church in Hualngohmun village, about 12 km south of Aizawl city, has started doling out cash to married couples who have children following a call by the Presbyterian Church’s Mizoram Synod to encourage higher birth rates.The ‘cash awards’ are given by church elders to the couples during Sunday morning worship services.According to the church committee’s decision, couples receive Rs 1,000 for first child, and Rs 2,000 for a second. A third child brings Rs 5,000, while a fourth carries Rs 50,000, with the amount increasing with each additional child. Couples with 10 children are to receive Rs 1 lakh, a church elder of the local church in Lalchawimawia said.“We have so far given a cash award of Rs 50,000, that also only to a married couple,” he said.Both the Presbyterian Church’s Mizoram Synod and the Baptist Church of Mizoram have been encouraging their members to have more children.Social workers and govt officials expressed concern over the low birth rate, with the state’s total fertility rate (TFR) at 1.89 in 2024, as against the national TFR of 1.9 children per woman — falling below the 2.1 “replacement level” required to maintain a stable population in the long term.
