India¡¯s skewed sex ratio is once again the talking point.?
The sex ratio at birth (SRB) saw a decline in 17 out of 21 large states of the country. The western state of Gujarat has recorded an alarming dip of 53 points while the other states that saw a decline fell by 10 points or more, a report released by the Niti Aayog stated and stressed on the need to check sex-selective abortion.
Sex Ratio at Birth is the number of girls born for every 1000 boys born during a specific year. It is an important indicator and reflects the extent to which there is reduction in the number of girl child born by sex-selective abortions.
Seventeen out of 21 states have SRB of less than 950 females per 1000 males indicating a substantially lower SRB in almost all larger Indian states.
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According to the report, among the 17 states which recorded substantial drop of 10 points or more, in Gujarat the SRB fell to 854 females from 907 females per 1,000 males born registering a drop of 53 points from 2014-15 (base year) to 2015-16 (reference year) in this indicator.
Gujarat is followed by Haryana, which registered a drop of 35 points, Rajasthan (32 points), Uttarakhand (27 points), Maharashtra (18 points), Himachal Pradesh (14 points), Chhattisgarh (drop of 12 points), and Karnataka (11 points), the Healthy States, Progressive India report states. ¡°There is a clear need for states to effectively implement the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994 and take measures to promote the value of the girl child,¡± the report stated.
The NITI Aayog report suggested an improvement in SRB in Punjab which registered a rise of 19 points, followed by Uttar Pradesh (10 points) and Bihar (9 points).
¡°Sex ratio at birth is an important indicator and reflects the extent to which there is reduction in number of girl children born by sex-selective abortions,¡± the report added.
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While India has made stringent laws against prenatal sex determination, they are not strictly implemented.
The Economic Survey tabled by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Parliament during the Budget session recommends that Indians confront the "societal meta-preference" for a son, observing that the adverse sex ratio of females to males has led to 63 million "missing" women.?
Putting it simply, the survey observes that many Indians continue to favour male child and relentlessly pursue the birth of a son, despite having number of children.
In 2015,?Women & Child Development minister Maneka Gandhi called for a need to fight the scourge of female foeticide which claims "2000 lives of girls daily."
The abnormal sex ratio may potentially give rise to a number of socio-economic threats. Taking strong steps to completely abolish gender-based abortion and educating people to end discrimination against girl child is the need of the hour. While social campaigns like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao by the government of India aims to generate awareness and improve the efficiency of welfare services intended for girls, little has been achieved so far.