Incentives planned to encourage births

Shanghai's legislators and political advisers are pushing for more incentives to better implement China's new universal two-child policy and encourage women to become mothers for a second time.

Ideas put forward by lawmakers at their ongoing annual gathering include imposing taxes on families rather than individuals, financially subsidizing couples who have two children, extending maternity and childcare leave for both parents and providing more nurseries - especially for children under the age of 3.

These proposals are aimed at helping remove some of the major obstacles that prevent couples from planning for a second child.