Couples who have no siblings are being encouraged to give birth to a second child, Shanghai family planning officials said Thursday, the China News Service reported.

Xie Lingli, director of the Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission, said family planning services in communities will function as centers to give out information brochures for couples that meet the requirements of a second birth. She said it was meant to deal with the aging population issue.

But the commission said couples that violate the family planning law will be fined in line with their income.

Last year, more than 3 million people older than 60 accounted for 21.61% of Shanghai’s total population of 13.9 million. Among the newly born population, the number of second births increased to 3,934 in 2007 from 2,910 in 2005, said the commission.