Srinagar: Having a dubious distinction of recording sharpest decline in the child sex ratio across all the states in India with 862 females to every 1000 male children as per the last census report , Jammu and Kashmir has reported more female foeticide cases than nineteen other states.
Minister of Health and Family Welfare DR. Harsh Vardhan while responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, said two cases of female foeticide were reported in 2016 in Jammu and Kashmir as per information of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The total reported cases of foeticide across India are 144 in 2016. Seventeen states have recorded zero foeticides and two others—Andhra Pradesh and Assam are behind J&K with one reported case of foeticide. Utter Pradesh has witnessed highest with 52 reported cases followed by Rajasthan (21), Madhya Pradesh (19), Chhattisgarh (18), Maharashtra (7), Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand with 4 each while Karnataka reported as many as J&K (2).
Regarding Child Sex Ratio (number of girls per 1000 boys in the age group of 0-6 years), he said it is collected on decadal basis by Registrar General of India as a part of Census. The latest data available is of 2011.
He said that Jammu and Kashmir recorded lowest child sex ratio, registering a decline of 862 in 2011 from 941 in 2001. In 2011, the national average was 919 against 927 in 2011. In rural area of Jammu and Kashmir, the ratio was 865 in 2011 against 957 in 2011 while in Urban areas it stood 850 in 2011 and 873 in 2001.
The minister said that sex ratio at birth for children born in the last five years (females per 1000 males) was recorded
He said Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is regularly monitoring Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) through National Family Health Survey that has shown an improvement of 5 points, from 914 in 2005-06 to 919 in 2015-16 at the national level.
As per the Survey during 2005-06, he said, the ratio was 902 and during 2015-16, it was 922, showing an improvement of 20 points.
