The lowest-ever child sex ratio of 914 overshadowed an increase in the overall sex ratio, which is now 940 — the highest nationwide since Census 1971 and a shade lower than 1961 — as it reflects a continued preference for a male child.
As per the provisional data of Census 2011 released here on Thursday, while the overall sex ratio had gone up by seven points to touch 940, against 933 in Census 2001, the child sex ratio plummeted to 914 from 927.
Sex ratio is the number of women against 1,000 men, while child sex ratio is the number of girls against 1,000 boys in the age group of 0-6.
Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath was happy that the overall sex ratio had increased, but expressed concern at the decline in the child sex ratio.
Ms. Tirath said she would take up the issue with the ‘problem' States and stressed the need for proper implementation of women and child development schemes.
The increasing child sex ratio that came as a shocker in the latest census figures shows 914 girls, and this is the lowest ever since Independence, slipping from 927 in 2001.
The increasing trend has been seen in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, while in all the remaining 27 States and Union Territories, the ratio has shown a decline.
It was the highest in Mizoram at 971, closely followed by Meghalaya (970), while at the rock bottom was Haryana with 830 and Punjab with 846.
At the district level, Lahul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh had the highest sex ratio in the age group of 0-6 at 1,013, while in Twang (Arunachal Pradesh), it was 1,005. It was shamefully low in Jhajjar and Mahendragarh (Haryana) at 774 and 778.
The census figures indicate an increase in sex ratio in 29 States and Union Territories, with women outnumbering men in Kerala.
There were 1,084 women against 1,000 men in Kerala, followed by Puducherry where the figure was 1038.
Daman and Diu has a sex ratio of 618, next only to Dadra and Nagar Haveli at 775. Among the districts, Mahe (Puducherry) has the highest sex ratio of 1,176, followed by Almora in Uttarakhand, where it is 1,142. In Daman, it is the lowest at 533, and in Leh of Ladakh, it is 583.
The three major States of Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar and Gujarat have shown a decline in the sex ratio compared with the figures of Census 2001, while 29 States and Union Territories have shown an increase.
