image credits : Action Aid India
Data on birth and death registration for 2019 throws both good and bad news when it involves sex ratio at birth (SRB). While none of the states or Union territories (for which data is available) recorded 900 girls for each 1000 boys, a number of them recorded lower ratios than in 2018 or 2017. With almost 110 boys born for each 100 girls, India has one among the world’s most skewed sex ratios at birth after China, Azerbaijan, Vietnam, and Armenia.
Data from Civil Registration System for the year 2019 with place like Kerala and Uttarakhand are on top with 960 girls to a 1,000 boys. However, Kerala’s record has worsen from 965 in 2017 to 963 in 2018, and lowered further in 2019.
Among the large states, while Gujarat showed slight improvement from 2017, it still showed rock bottom sex ratio at only 901 girls to 1,000 boys. All five southern states recorded SRB between 942 and 960 – with Tamil Nadu recording rock bottom (942) but still showing improvement from 932 in 2017. Chhattisgarh recorded the very best fall in SRB – from 968 in 2017 to 931 in 2019. Himachal Pradesh, Assam also showed downward trends. For example, Himachal recorded SRB of 934 in 2017, 930 in 2018, and just 918 girls to 1,000 boys in 2019. Assam was one among the states where the ratio was already low with 921 in 2017. In 2019, the amount slipped further to 903.
On the opposite hand, Telangana took the most important breakthrough – going from 915 in 2017 to 953. On the other hand Uttarakhand has showed a improvement, with the SRB at 960 as compared to 929 two years earlier. Punjab, one among the states where female foeticide is high, showed steady improvement from 890 in 2017 to 914 in 2019.
Other states like Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Jammu & Kashmir have recorded worsening trends after making steady gains between 2017-2018. for instance , Jammu and Kashmir registered 909 SRB in 2017. This improved to 952 in 2018, but slid back to 909 in 2019.
However, data isn’t available for several big states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, or Uttar Pradesh as of now.