Jaipur: In India, a social problem doesn’t get attention it deserves till it reaches alarming proportion. In that sense, census 2011, that reported steep fall of 21 points in child sex ratio, proved a blessing in disguise for the girl child in Rajasthan.
As per census 2011, child sex ratio (CSR) fell to sub 900 levels in Rajasthan. It was 909 in 2001 census but a decade later came down to 888. Out of 33 districts in the state, barely 10 districts had a CSR of 900 or above.
Experts had been warning about skewed child sex ratio ever since 2001 census revealed yawning gap between number of girls and boys in Rajasthan. But no one took them seriously and the slide continued.
A big shock was needed for people and the policy makers to acknowledge the impending catastrophe and census 2011 data was just what the doctor had ordered.
The government swung into action, finally. Four years later, its determination and innovative methods have paid off. A big leap of 42 points has been recorded in girl-boy sex ratio at birth.
According to Pregnancy and Child Tracking System (PCTS), the number of girls born per 1000 boys was 929 on the basis of total 28.38 lakh institutional births out of which 13.67 lakh were girls against 14.71 lakh boys.
