. . . and on this side of the world, the government pays you not to have children . . .

India Offers Honeymoon Packages To Newlyweds Who Can Delay Having Kids

Officials of the Satara district in Maharashtra, India are offering incentives to newlywed couples who can delay having children by at least two years.

The project, aptly dubbed "Honeymoon Package," is an attempt to control the overbooming population in India, which grows at a rate of 1.7% a year to a most recent count of 1.1 billion people. In Satara alone, which sees around 25,000 new marriages annually, the population is 3 million. A whopping 87% of newly married couples already produce their first children during their initial year together. The rate alarmed Indian authorities, especially as the country is touted to outdo China's population growth rate by 2025.

The Honeymoon Package offers 5,000 rupees worth of honeymoon-grade vacations to newlyweds who choose to not have kids during their first two years together, and nearly 7500 rupees to couples who can stay childless for three years.

The health department is hopeful that if 20% of newlyweds adhere to the Honeymoon Package incentive, the number of new births could be decreased by 4,000 a year.

Quite a contrast to the European countries who are paying people to have children, and the US tax incentives that achieve the same thing, for some.

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