NHRC calls for report from Centre, states over reported decline of sex ratio at birth

New Delhi: Expressing concern over the reported decline of the sex ratio at birth across the country, the NHRC has sought a report from the WCD Ministry and chief secretaries of all the states and UTs on the status of implementation of the various welfare schemes on the issue.

According to an official statement, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also invited comments from the state governments and UT's along with their suggestions to improve the sex ratio at birth besides sharing of best practices for proper reporting and registration of births. The commission has taken a serious note of media reports that have raised the issue of abysmal sex ratio across the country, especially in the southern states.

The statement said as per a news report, the data collated by the Office of the Registrar General of India from the Civil Registration System (CRS) reveals that in 2016 Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan had the worst sex ratio at birth (SRB) of 806. Tamil Nadu, which had sex ratio of 935 in 2007, came down to 840 compared to the all India figure of 877.

Karnataka, as mentioned in the news report, has fallen from 1,004 to 896 and Telengana stands at 881.

The commission has further observed that it is aware that the central as well as state governments have announced and implemented various schemes ...but the data reflected in the instant news report gives a different picture.