Why in the
news?
The central
government reported that the Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) improved from 918 In
2014-15 to 933 in 2022-23.
What
is Sex Ratio at Birth?
Sex ratio at birth
is defined as the number of male live births for every 100 female live births.
Reasons
for decline in Sex-Ratio at birth registered in pockets of India:
1) Meta-son
preference due to religious linkages in performing last rites and inheritance
of property.
2) Declining
fertility with increased cost of living and expenditure.
3) Concern &
burden of parents regarding safety and security of the girl child
4) The practice of
Dowry being a financial burden on parents and tend to avoid birth of girl
child.
5) Severe neglect
of girl child during infancy, for instance, girl infants are milk-fed for less
time and less quantity compared to their male infants.
6) Sex-specific
abortions facilitated by the access to sonographic scanning during pregnancy
for pre-natal sex determination.
As per 2011 census, 4 million girls of age 0-6
years have been reported missing, of which:
i) 2.5 million on account of
sex selection (pre- natal discrimination) and
ii) 1.5 million due to excess
female mortality (post-natal discrimination)
7) Female
infanticide for religious or cultural beliefs.
8) SRB by
socioeconomic background reveals, sex selection after second and third births
after first or second birth to be daughters.
9) Economically
prosperous families decide to restrict to fewer children and therefore also
wish to choose the sex of the child.
Initiatives
taken so far:
1) Pre-conception
and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection)
(PC&PNDT) Act in 1994
a) Aim: to ban the
use of sex-selective abortion techniques especially using pre-natal diagnostic
(PND) devices such as Ultra sonography.
b) Activities that
shall be considered as an offender under the act shall include,
i)
Conducting or helping in the conduct of prenatal diagnostic technique
in the unregistered units
ii)
Conducting PND test for any purpose other than the one mentioned in
the act
iii)
Sale, distribution, supply, renting etc. of any ultrasound machine or
any other equipment capable of detecting sex of the foetus.
c) Main provisions of the bill:
i) Prohibition of sex selection, before or after conception
ii) Use of pre-natal diagnostic
techniques, like ultrasound and amniocentesis to detect cases as only as per
the provisions of the act.
iii) No test including
ultrasonography for the purpose of determining the sex of the foetus shall be
conducted by any laboratory or centre.
iv) No person, including the one
who is conducting the procedure as per the law, will communicate the sex of the
foetus to the pregnant woman or her relatives by words, signs or any other
method.
v) Any advertisement for
pre-natal and pre-conception sex determination facilities in the form of a
notice, circular, label, wrapper or any document, or advertisements in
electronic or print form is liable for imprisoned for up to three years and
fined Rs. 10,000.
vi) Compulsory registration of all
diagnostic laboratories, all genetic counselling centres, genetic laboratories,
genetic clinics and ultrasound clinics.
2)
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme
(Save the girl child, educate the girl child):
a.
Introduced by the Indian
Government in 2015 to address gender discrimination and women empowerment in
India
b.
Introduced in the backdrop of
decline in Sex ratio at Birth from 927 in 2001 to 918 girls for every 1000 boys
in 2011.
c.
The Beti Bachao
Beti Padhao Yojana aims to achieve the following goals:
·
Improve the child
sex ratio
·
Ensure gender
equality and women empowerment
·
Prevent
gender-biased, sex selective elimination
·
Ensure survival
and protection of the girl child
·
Encourage
education and participation of the girl child
d.
Governing Bodies:
· Ministry of Women & Child Development (MoWCD)
· Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW)
·
Ministry of Human Resources Development (MoHRD)
e.
The scheme is divided into
three components:
·
Advocacy campaigns involving
i.
National awareness campaigns
ii.
Media awareness among
parents regarding raising of girl child without discrimination.
·
Multi-sectoral interventions
in gender-critical districts across the country
i.
Increase first
trimester antenatal care registration by 1% per year
ii.
Provide functional
toilets for girls in every school in select districts
· Financial incentive-linked scheme called Sukanya Samriddhi scheme, a small deposit-saving scheme was launched to encourage parents to build a fund for female children.
