Child sex ratio better, Punjab and Haryana power change

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 1

For the first time, India has recorded an improved child sex ratio, indicating a growing preference for the girl child.

The latest round of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) reveals that there were 919 girls aged between 0 and six years per 1,000 boys, against only 914 in 2005-06, the last survey period.

“This is the first time we have managed to reverse the trend of declining child sex ratio defined as the number of girls aged 0 to 6 years for every 1,000 male children,” Health Secretary CK Mishra says.

Punjab and Haryana, notorious for disproportionate preference for sons, led the reversal in the country’s child sex ratio, powering its maiden improvement.

While Punjab recorded the maximum (126) points — an improvement in child sex ratio from 734 in 2005 to 860 in 2015 — Haryana stood second with an improvement of 74 points. Haryana’s child sex ratio rose from 762 girls in 2005 to 836 in 2015.

Except Delhi and Uttarakhand, which recorded a decline in child sex ratio over the past decade, the situation has improved in all other northern states. Child sex ratio in Himachal improved by 23 points (913 to 936) and in Jammu and Kashmir by 20 points (902 to 922).

Dr F Ram of the International Institute of Population Studies, which led the NFHS-4 survey, says the findings are path-breaking. Census 2011 had shown that while India’s overall sex ratio improved from 933 to 940 between 2001 and 2011, the child sex ratio fell from 927 to 914. That trend has been reversed for the first time.