Government report shows fall in sex ratio at birth

The latest government statistics shows that the sex ratio at birth (SRB) has fallen by three points to 906 live female births for every 1,000 live male births during the period 2012-14, compared to 909 in 2011-13.

The Sample Registration Statistical Report (SRS) has revealed a dip in SRB for the first time since 2008-10, when it was 905.

 In the 2009-11 report, it rose to 906 and then to 908 in 2010-12.

At 974, Kerala has the highest SRB, replacing Chhattisgarh which topped the survey since 2008-10. Chhattisgarh, which reported 991 in the 2009-11 report, is now at 970.

Among the 21 big states, Odisha (953), West Bengal (952) and Karnataka (950) are in the top five. Haryana and Delhi reported the worst figures at 866 and 876, respectively.

Along with them, Uttar Pradesh (869), Punjab (870), Uttarakhand (871), Rajasthan (893), Maharashtra (896), and Jammu and Kashmir (899) make up the eight big states to have a SRB below 900.

In comparison, rural areas trumped their urban counterparts. In 14 of the 21 big states, rural areas have higher SRB. The gap between rural and urban areas in Chhattisgarh is the highest at 61 points – 982 in rural and 921 in urban. Jharkhand, too, has high disparity – 918 in rural and 867 in urban areas.

Among the rural areas, the highest and the lowest SRB are in Chhattisgarh (982) and Punjab (863), respectively. The ratio in urban areas varies from 985 in Kerala to 848 in Uttarakhand.

Also, since 2005-07, no state has crossed the 1,000 mark. Rural Chhattisgarh, however, touched 1001 in 2009-11.