National Girl Child Day

Sex Ratio at Birth Rises, but National Girl Child Day Highlights Persistent Gaps

India's Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) improved modestly from 918 in 2014-15 to 930 in 2023-24, but the number is still far from ideal. This trend, celebrated annually on National Girl Child Day (January 24), comes amidst claims of progress under flagship initiatives like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP). However, this year's observance raises uncomfortable questions: Is the growing SRB enough to counter entrenched patriarchal preferences, and how sustainable are these gains given implementation roadblocks? While success stories exist, the broader panorama of gender inequality remains daunting — child marriage, inadequate access to secondary education in rural areas, and persistent violence against girls and women loom large.

A Mixed Break from History

Historically, India's treatment of its girl children has been marred by stark inequities. From sex-selective abortions facilitated by technological advances like ultrasounds to rampant female infanticide, the journey toward gender justice has been marked by resistance at every step. The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) estimates that close to two-thirds of rural families still prefer male offspring, despite outreach campaigns.

In this context, the successes of BBBP and allied schemes are worth noting. Child marriage prevention has made measurable progress, with 2,153 child marriages averted as of January 2026. Similarly, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for girls in secondary education climbed to 80.2% in 2024-25, as per the UDISE report. These figures signal change, but they fail to challenge deep-seated social dynamics that sustain male preference. A GER of 80.2% is neither universal nor evenly distributed — regional disparities highlight pockets of acute neglect, especially in northern states like Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

The Institutional Machinery: Lofty Goals, Uneven Execution

The Ministry of Women and Child Development leads the charge, but execution reveals structural limitations. Take the BBBP initiative: launched in 2015, its core emphasis was on advocacy. Yet, the Programme Evaluation Organisation under NITI Aayog noted in 2020 that the majority of its budget — over 78% — was spent on media campaigns rather than directly improving service delivery through, for instance, better access to secondary education or healthcare. The irony here is glaring: while visibility has increased, functional outcomes such as enhanced nutrition or financial autonomy remain uneven.

Even the Prevention of Child Marriage Act, 2006, has not reached decisive deterrence, despite the appointment of 60,262 Child Marriage Prohibition Officers. The absence of uniform implementation across states coupled with insufficient judicial interventions undermines enforcement. The lack of coordination between MWCD and state Social Welfare Departments further weakens institutional follow-through.

Behind the Numbers: Troubling Trends

While the government portrays the 930 SRB as a victory, it is crucial to delve deeper. Data from the Registrar General of India demonstrates that the SRB in certain states remains critically low. For instance, Haryana's SRB improved to 915, up from 834 in 2011, but this is still far short of parity. Similarly, Uttar Pradesh shows persistent imbalances, with rural districts lagging behind urban counterparts due to entrenched social norms and inadequate healthcare access for expectant mothers.

Schemes like the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) exhibit broad uptake — over 4.2 crore accounts were opened by 2024. However, SSY’s success is largely confined to urban and semi-urban aspirational classes, often bypassing families in deeply rural geographies, where the economic logic of 'investing in daughters' is still questioned. This disconnect underscores a familiar pattern in Indian welfare schemes: top-down design coupled with uneven on-ground adaptability.

The Unasked Questions: Systemic Blind Spots

The recurring focus on advocacy campaigns obscures the structural violence woven into the fabric of Indian patriarchy. Dowry-related pressures remain systemic despite laws prohibiting the practice since 1961. Moreover, administrative interventions fail to address the intersectionality of class, caste, and gender. Minority communities — particularly Muslims and scheduled tribes — show significantly lower SRB and female literacy, yet targeted interventions remain rare.

Another critical blind spot is gender-based violence. While media campaigns focus on empowerment, data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reveals persistently high rates of rape and trafficking. Between 2020 and 2024, cases of crimes against women increased by 24.6%, with minor girls particularly vulnerable. Unless policies address this omnipresent insecurity, advocacy initiatives will remain overly cosmetic.

An International Benchmark: Learning from South Korea

India could take cues from South Korea, which faced a significant gender imbalance in the 1980s due to son preference exacerbated by prenatal sex determination. By aligning legal restrictions with consistent gender-sensitisation campaigns and improving women’s labor force participation, South Korea closed its gender gap in SRB by the mid-2000s. Key to their success was the Government's focus on collective cultural shifts rather than isolated, ad-hoc programs. In contrast, India’s schemes, though well-intentioned, often work in silos, with insufficient emphasis on cultural reorientation at the grassroots.

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