Sex ratio at birth: Himachal ranks No 2 in region

Subhash Rajta

Shimla, January 29

The northern states and UTs recorded low sex ratio at birth (SRB) during 2021-22. As per a Health Management Information System (HMIS) report released by the government recently, only Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh in the region have recorded a higher SRB than the national average. Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi have registered lower SRB than the national average.

Even Himachal, J&K and Ladakh are not much above the national average of 934. While Ladakh recorded the highest SRB of 943 in the region, Himachal and J&K followed at the second and third place with 941 and 940, respectively.

“Although Himachal has higher SRB than the national average, the situation isn’t very comfortable. The SRB should be at least higher than 960,” said Professor NS Bist, a former director of the Population Research Centre at HPU.

Meanwhile, Punjab (928), Delhi (924), Haryana (920) and Chandigarh (892) are among the 11 states and UTs having lower SRB than the national average. Chandigarh, in fact, is placed just above the last-placed Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

Chandigarh, in fact, witnessed a huge drop in SRB during 2021-22 as compared to the previous year. In 2020-21, the SRB in Chandigarh was 941, which dropped by 49 points to 892 in 2021-22. The other northern state and UT in the region to register a drop in SRB are Ladakh and Haryana. While Ladakh’s SRB dropped from 973 to 943, it dipped to 920 from 927 in case of Haryana.

Professor Bist feels the situation calls for stricter implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act. The Act prohibits prenatal sex determination to promote gender equality.

“The Act needs to be implemented strictly so that there is no imbalance in gender ratio at birth. Efforts need to be stepped up to change the mindset of the people towards girl child,” he said.