INDEX: IS BETI BACHAO WORKING?

Questions are being asked about the figures Haryana released recently showing substantial improvement in the sex ratio— from 834 girls for 1,000 boys in the 2011 national census to 950 in March this year. According to news reports, several districts exaggerated figures. Panipat, for instance, recorded 1,007 girls for every 1,000 boys, only to revise it to 872. The revisions were the result of an audit conducted by a team from the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 to combat the falling sex ratio. If the Haryana figures are questionable, there is evidence of improvement in individual states and the country overall, as shown in the National Family Health Survey. Lack of education for women and child marriage remain problems.

943

WOMEN per 1,000 males in India, according to 2011 census, up from 933 in 2001

919

GIRLS born per 1,000 boys (2011 census), down from 927 in 2001 and 945 in 1991

836

GIRLS born per 1,000 boys in Haryana, says NFHS 201516, up from 762 in 200506

68.4%

LITERATE women, says NFHS 201516, compared to 85.7% men

904

WOMEN per 1,000 males— projected downtrend by World Bank in 2021; 898 in 2031

1,084

WOMEN per 1,000 men in Kerala (2011 census); only state with more women

817

GIRLS born per 1,000 boys in Delhi, down from 840 in 200506

78.5

LAKH girls married before they turn 10, says 2011 census