India’s sex ratio at birth has improved from 918 in NFHS-4 to 929 in NFHS-5, yet ten states still report ratios below 900. Examine the persistence of son preference and assess the effectiveness of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative.
Subtopic: Indian Society · Women and Gender
How to structure your answer
Introduction: Define sex ratio at birth (SRB) and the natural ratio (about 952 girls per 1,000 boys). Frame India's improvement and its limits.
Body — three dimensions: (1) Trend — SRB rose from 918 (NFHS-4, 2015-16) to 929 (NFHS-5, 2019-21); CRS 2020 puts it at 907. (2) Geography — Haryana, Punjab, UP and Rajasthan persistently low; northwest agrarian patrilineal belt worst hit. (3) Drivers and policy — dowry, patrilocal residence, ‘son-as-old-age-support’ logic; PCPNDT Act, 1994; Beti Bachao Beti Padhao launched 22 January 2015 from Panipat; Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana incentivising girl-child savings.
Conclusion: Awareness without enforcement is insufficient — strict PCPNDT prosecutions plus property-rights enforcement under the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 must reinforce BBBP.
Written within the word limit
131 words · target 150 words · 9 min
Introduction: India's sex ratio at birth (SRB) rose from 918 in NFHS-4 (2015–16) to 929 in NFHS-5 (2019–21), against a natural ratio of about 952 girls per 1,000 boys — progress, but well short of biological parity.
Body: Improvement is uneven. CRS 2020 still records SRB at 907; Haryana (893) and Uttarakhand (844) remain low while Sikkim leads at 969. The northwest patrilineal-agrarian belt sustains son preference rooted in dowry, patrilocal residence and the 'son-as-old-age-support' logic Amartya Sen flagged in 1990 as the cause of India's 'missing women'. The PCPNDT Act, 1994 banned prenatal sex determination; Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, launched from Panipat on 22 January 2015, paired with Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, frames the policy answer; the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act 2005 made daughters coparceners.
Conclusion: Awareness without enforcement is insufficient — strict PCPNDT prosecutions and the Mahendragarh-style district drive must underpin BBBP for the SRB gap to close.
What an examiner expects to see
- Natural SRB ~952 girls per 1,000 boys
- NFHS-4 (2015-16) SRB 918 → NFHS-5 (2019-21) SRB 929
- Civil Registration System (CRS) 2020 SRB 907
- Haryana SRB 893, Uttarakhand 844 — worst NFHS-5 readings
- PCPNDT Act, 1994 banning prenatal sex determination
- Beti Bachao Beti Padhao launched 22 January 2015, Panipat
- Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, January 2015
- Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 — daughter coparcener
- ‘Missing women’ — Amartya Sen, 1990
Concrete cases, schemes and judgments
- Mahendragarh, Haryana — district BBBP turnaround
- Punjab Nawanshahr ‘Nawanshahr model’ pre-BBBP
- Tamil Nadu Cradle Baby Scheme as anti-female-infanticide measure
- Sikkim — highest SRB at 969 (NFHS-5)