Over dozen states saw decline in sex ratio since 2020: Govt

Ladakh only state/UT with more girl children than boys with a sex ratio of 1,023

Despite a Niti Aayog evaluation report on the success of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme, the sex ratio in more than a dozen states, including Karnataka, Delhi, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Bihar and Haryana, fell between 2021-22 and 2022-23, according to the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development data.

Ladakh, with a sex ratio of 1,023, is the only state/UT in the country with more girl children than boys. In states like Rajasthan, Telangana, Assam, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, the sex ratio improved.

The WCD ministry said that in Karnataka, the sex ratio fell from 949 in 2020–21 to 940 in 2021–22 before rising marginally to 945 in 2022–23. In Delhi, the sex ratio was 927 in 2020–21, fell to 924 in 2021–22, and further fell to 916 in 2022–23. The sex ratio in West Bengal fell from 949 in 2020–21 to 943 in 2021–22 and then to 932 in 2022–23.

Bihar registered a significant fall, from 917 in 2020–21 to 915 in 2021–22, and then fell to 895 in 2022–23. Chandigarh, too, registered a steep fall — it first rose from 935 in 2020–21 to 941 in 2021–22, and then down to 902 in 2022–23. In Himachal, it fell from 944 in 2020–21 to 941 in 2021–22 and 932 in 2022–23.

In a written reply to a query posed by YSRCP MP N Reddeppa, WCD minister Smriti Irani said in an evaluation of all the schemes of the ministry, the Niti Aayog said that the scheme has been able to generate “significant mass-mobilisation” to eliminate gender discrimination. “... the scheme has been able to develop many good practices and community-level initiatives. Awareness about the scheme was also found to be high,” Smriti said.

The Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) has been set as a parameter for the progress of the BBBP scheme.

On the other hand, states like UP, Assam and Kerala showed improvement. In UP, it first fell from 940 in 2020-21 to 939 in 2021-22 but then improved to 944 in 2022-23. In Assam, it rose from 942 in 2020-21 to 944 in 2021-22, and then further rose to 951 in 2022-23. In Rajasthan, the sex ratio (946) remained the same in all three years.

Several states also registered large amounts of unutilised funds released for the scheme by the WCD ministry. For instance, in 2020–21, Haryana utilised only Rs 142.26 lakh of the Rs 249.83 lakh, and in 2021–22, it used only Rs 27.09 lakh of the Rs 162.8 lakh it received. Uttar Pradesh, on the other hand, utilised Rs 742.60 lakh in 2020–21 even when Rs 577.95 lakh was released under the scheme, but in 2021–22, it used only Rs 162.89 lakh of the Rs 1499.45 lakh it received.