Sex Ratio at Birth

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In India, "son bias" is reportedly declining as the sex ratio at birth normalized from 111 boys to every 100 girls in 2011 to 108 boys to every 100 girls in 2019–21, according to a recent study.

Findings of the Report

National Statistics:

• From roughly 4.8 lakh in 2010 to 4.1 lakh in 2019, India's average annual number of infant girls reported as "lost" decreased.
• If there had been no female-selective abortions throughout this time, then there would have been a greater number of female births.
• The sex ratio at birth in India has slightly normalised from 111 boys for every 100 girls in the 2011 census to roughly 109 in the 2015–16 National Family Health Survey (NFHS) wave and to 108 boys in the NFHS 5 2019–21.
• Nine crore female newborns between 2000 and 2019 were "missing" as a result of female-selective abortions.
• The survey also examined the sex selection of people based on their faith and found that Sikhs had the largest discrepancy.
• Sikhs had a sex ratio at birth of 130 males for every 100 females in the 2001 census, which was significantly higher than the national average of 110 that year.
• The Sikh ratio has decreased to 121 boys for every 100 females by the time of the 2011 census.
• According to the most recent NFHS, it is now hovering at 110, or about the same as the male-to-female birth ratio among the predominantly Hindu population of the nation (109).
• Muslims (106 boys to 100 girls) and Christians (105 boys to 100 girls) both have sex ratios that are somewhat close to the natural average.

Share of Indians according to religion in Missing Girls:

• Sikh: 2%
• Hindu: 80%
• Islamic: 14%
• Christian: 2.3%

Amount of Missing Girls as a Result of Sex-Selective Abortion:

• Sikh: 5%
• Hindu: 87%
• Islam: 7%
• Christian: 0.6%

History of Sex Ratio in India

• At birth, boys modestly outnumber girls over the world, with 105 male infants to every 100 female infants.
• Before nationwide access to prenatal sex testing, this was the ratio in India in the 1950s and 1960s.
• The issue started in the 1970s when sex-selective abortions were made possible by prenatal diagnostic techniques.
• India legalized abortion in 1971, but the 1980s saw a rise in sex selection because of the development of ultrasound technology.
• India's sex ratio was 105-100 in the 1970s, matching the global average, but it grew to 108 boys per 100 girls in the early 1980s and 110 boys per 100 girls in the 1990s.

Challenges in Ensuring Balanced Birth Sex Ratio

• Regressive Mentality: All states, probably with the exception of Kerala and Chhattisgarh, show a significant preference for sons.
• The preference of this son stems from a backwards-thinking mentality. For instance, people often link girls to dowries.
• Technology Misuse: Less expensive technology, such as ultrasonography, aids in sex selection.
• Law not being implemented properly: The Prenatal Conception and Prenatal Determination Act (PC-PNDT), passed in 1994, which punishes medical practitioners with imprisonment and substantial fines for disclosing a child's sex to pregnant parents, has failed to regulate sex choice.
• Major training deficiencies in the staff members adopting PC-PNDT were discovered in reports.
• Due to inadequate training, they were unable to build compelling cases against offenders in order to obtain convictions.

Way ahead

• Increasing female education and economic success help to increase the ratio as a means of bringing about behavioural change. The government's Beti-Bachao Beti Padhao Campaign has been extremely successful in changing society's behaviour in this direction.
• Youth Sensitization: It's critical to educate young people about reproductive health issues and provide them with services, as well as promote gender equitable standards.
• Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) services can be used for this, particularly in rural regions.
• India must more strictly enforce the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act of 1994 and allocate more funds to combating the preference for boys.

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