Agency report
 
Mumbai, Aug 8: Authorities in Maharashtra are offering to pay for a second honeymoon for couples who delay the birth of their first child by two years in an attempt to control birth rates, a newspaper report said on Tuesday.

The offer, called the "Honeymoon Package", is being made by authorities in Satara district in the state, the Times of India said.

Couples delaying the birth of their first child by two years would get a honeymoon package worth Rs 5,000 and around Rs 7,500 if they can hold off for three years, it said.

"The money is sufficient for a couple to enjoy a second honeymoon for two or three days at a favourite destination," district health officer V H Mohite was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Satara has a population of about 3 million. A recent survey found that the district registered about 25,000 marriages every year and 87 perxcent of the newly weds had a child in the first year of marriage.

Authorities hope that if 20 per cent of couples take up the offer, the birth of more than 4,000 babies could be delayed every year.

India, with 1.1 billion people, is the world's second most populous nation. But with an annual population growth rate of 1.7 per cent, it is expected to overtake China by 2025.