Declining Child Sex Ratio

From 927 in 2001 to 918 in 2011 majorly due to pre natal sex determination & Female foeticides (15 million in last 25 years) due to patriarchal mindset – preference to son over daughter

What is Needed?

• Effective implementation of the the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994
• Fast track court to deal with the complaints under the Act
• Awareness campaigns to save the girl child, highlighting the grave dangers the society will face in future
• Incentive Schemes for the girl child at central as well as state level

Supreme Court had recently directed the government to constitute a nodal agency to monitor and trigger search engines to crack down on online pre-natal sex determination advertisements.

Initiatives to Check Decline in Child Sex Ratio 

• Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana + Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana
• Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act 1994
• The Girl Child Protection Scheme of Andhra Pradesh government
• Aapki Beti, Humari beti by Haryana government
• Ashray scheme of Rajasthan government
• Mukhya Mantri Kanya Suraksha Yojana of Bihar government
• Janani Suraksha Yojna – Incentives for registration of pregnancies & institutional deliveries
• Strict implementation of Right to Education
• Construction of Functional Toilets for girls in schools

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao 

• To address the issue of decline in CSR in 100 gender critical districts
• to celebrate the girl child & enable her education
• Mass Communication Campaign – girls are born, nurtured and educated without discrimination
• Multi-sectoral action in 100 selected districts (as a pilot) with adverse CSR

Improvement in Haryana – Haryana for the first time in past 2 decades has crossed 900 mark in Sex Ratio at Birth i.e. 916 in 2016.

It is high time to understand that no society can flourish if half of its population is discriminated. Inter-state co-ordination is necessary to crack down upon unholy nexus between doctors, quacks and illegal ultrasound centres. Educating girls & encouraging them to be at par with boys will help to achieve goal of higher sex ratio in long run.