SEX RATIO AT BIRTH

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According to the Sample Registration System Statistical Report 2020, Uttarakhand’s sex ratio (844) at birth was found lowest in the country at 844, and Kerala’s sex ratio (974) highest in the country,
- Sex ratio is defined as the number of females per 1000 males in a given population.
The report was released by the Registrar General of India (RGI).
- The Registrar General of India was established in 1961 under the Ministry of Home Affairs, for conducting and analyzing the results of the demographic surveys of India including the Census of India and the Linguistic Survey of India.
The report highlighted that India’s overall sex ratio at birth has increased to 907 in 2018-20 from 904 in 2017-19.
In rural areas, the highest and the lowest sex ratio at birth were in the states of Kerala (973) and Uttarakhand (853), respectively.
- The sex ratio at birth in urban areas varied from 975 in Kerala to 821 in Uttarakhand.”

Related news

Recently The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development presented a report to the Parliamentary Committee on progress made under the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ scheme.
The Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Programme aims to promote women’s empowerment, by focusing on girls' education and improving the sex ratio.

Background

The Census of 2011 reflects a declining trend in the Child Sex Ratio (CSR) between 0-6 years with an all-time low at 918.
A decline in CSR reflects:
- Pre-birth discrimination through gender-biased sex selection.
- Post-birth discrimination against girls (in form of their health, nutrition, and educational needs).

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) programme

In 2015, the Union Government has launched the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) programme.
It is a tri-ministerial effort of;
- Ministry of Women and Child Development.
- Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
- Ministry of Education (Earlier Ministry of Human Resource Development).
Since 2021 the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Ministry of Minority Affairs have also been added as partners.
The programme only focuses on awareness campaigns and no provision of individual cash transfers by the Government.
The scheme is now subsumed into Mission Shakti.
Objectives of the Scheme;
- Prevent gender-biased sex selective elimination.
- Ensure the survival and protection of the girl child.
- Ensure education and participation of the girl child.
- Increase girls' participation in the fields of sports.
The scheme aims to achieve:
- Improvement in the Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) by 2 points every year,
- Improvement in the percentage of institutional deliveries or sustained at the rate of 95% or above.
- 1% increase in enrolment at secondary education level and skilling of girls/women per year.
- To check the dropout rate among girls at secondary and higher secondary levels.
- Raising awareness about safe menstrual hygiene management (MHM)