Female infanticide on rise? Alarming dip in sex ratio at birth in India, says Niti Aayog report

Bad news for India, as a latest report once again confirmed that sex-selective abortion or female infanticide is on a rise in the country.

New Delhi, Feb 17: Bad news for India, as a latest report once again confirmed that sex-selective abortion or female infanticide is on a rise in the country.

The sex ratio at birth (SRB) saw a decline in 17 out of 21 large states of the country, with Gujarat recording an alarming dip of 53 points, stated a report released by the Niti Aayog. The report stressed on the need to check sex-selective abortion.

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 2012-14 (base year) to 2013-15 (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 appropriate measures to promote the value of the girl child," the report stated.

According to the report, improvement in SRB was witnessed in Punjab, which registered a rise of 19 points, followed by Uttar Pradesh (10 points) and Bihar (9 points).

The sex ratio at birth is an important indicator and reflects the extent to which there is a reduction in the number of girl children born by sex-selective abortions, the report added.

Recently, the Economic Survey stated that India has 21 million "unwanted" girls.
According to the Economic Survey, presented by Arvind Subramanian, the desire of Indian parents for sons has created an estimated 21 million unwanted girls because couples keep having children until they produce a boy.

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