India’s Century-Long Decline: Sex Ratio in India Falls from 972 to 933

Sex Ratio measures the number of females per 1000 males. India has been suffering from a declining sex ratio in India for more than a century, from 972 females per 1000 males at the turn of the twentieth century, the sex ratio in India has declined to 933 at the turn of the twenty-first century.

Trend Analysis of Declining Sex Ratio in India: Progress and Concerns

• Alarming Trends in Past Decades: The trends of the last four decades have been particularly worrying – from 941 in 1961 the sex ratio in India had fallen to an all-time low of 927 in 1991.
• However, as per the National Family Health Survey 5  (NFHS 5 ) report, the sex ratio in India stands at 1020 which is a major improvement from the past.

Map of Child Sex Ratios (0-6 Years) Across States, 2011 (Source: Census Report of 2011)

• Child Sex Ratio: The state-level child sex ratios offer even greater cause for worry.
  • Haryana is the worst state with an incredibly low child sex ratio of 793 (the only state below 800), followed by Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. 
  • As Map shows, Uttar Pradesh, Daman & Diu, Himachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep and Madya Pradesh are all under 925.
  • West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka are above the national average of 919 but below the 970 mark. 
  • Even Kerala, the state with the better Human Development Indicators, does not do too well at 964.
  • The highest child-sex ratio of 972 is found in Arunachal Pradesh.

Reasons for the Decline in the Sex Ratio in India: Government Initiatives and Challenges

• High maternal mortality rate.
• Severe Neglect: Female babies  in infancy leads to higher death rates.
• Sex-specific Abortions: This prevents girl babies from being born.
• Female Infanticide(or the killing of girl babies due to religious or cultural beliefs).

Steps taken by the Government

• Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act: This act has been in force since 1996. and has been further strengthened in 2003.
• Government Scheme: Beti-Bachao, Beti-Padhao Scheme to address declining child sex ratio in the country.

Literacy level in India: Two-thirds Achieve Reading and Writing Skills

• Literacy Criteria in India: A Person aged seven and above, who can both read and write with understanding in any language, is treated as literate by the Government of India.
• Post-Independence Progress: Literacy levels have improved considerably after independence, and almost two-thirds of our population is now literate ( Refer to Table ).

Literacy Rate Among Various Sections of Indian Society: Gender, Social, and Regional Disparities

• Gender Disparities in Literacy Rates: According to the 2011 census, the literacy rate for women is 16.3% less than the literacy rate for men.
• Social Disparities in Literacy Rates: Literacy rates also vary by social group – historically disadvantaged communities like the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have lower rates of literacy.
  • Literacy Rates Among Scheduled Caste: 66 % of the scheduled caste population is literate, which is below the national average of 73.
  • Literacy Rates Among Scheduled Tribes: Similarly, the literacy rate of Scheduled Tribes (STs) is 59%.
• Regional Disparities in Educational Attainment: Regional variations are also visible, with states like Kerala approaching universal literacy, while states like Bihar are lagging far behind.
• Impact of Literacy Inequalities: Inequalities in the literacy rate are detrimental to egalitarian societies because they tend to reproduce inequality across generations.

Urbanization in India: Trends, Shifts, and Influencing Factors

• Urban-Rural Distribution: According to the Census of India 2011, 68.8% of the population lives in rural areas while 31.2% of people live in urban areas.
  • There are 5161 towns and cities in India, where 286 million people live.
• Urbanization Trends: The urban population has been increasing steadily, from about 11% at the beginning of the twentieth century to about 28% at the beginning of the twenty-first century ( Refer Table ).
• Driving Forces of Urbanization: Rapid urbanisation is happening due to various push and pull factors:
  • Push Factors: Rural distress, caste atrocities, lack of opportunities, inadequate health and educational facilities.
  • Pull Factors: More employment opportunities, higher wages, better living conditions, better education and health services.

Population Policy in India: Controversy to Reform

• Pioneering Population Policy: India was the first country to explicitly announce a population policy in 1952.
• National Family Planning Programme: On the basis of National population policy, the National Family Planning Programme was started.
  • Focus of this programme was on slowing down the rate of population growth through the promotion of various birth control methods, improving public health standards, and increasing public awareness.
• Controversial Measures: The Family Planning Programme earned a bad name during the years of the National Emergency (1975–76) as the government resorted to the coercive programme of mass sterilisation to bring down the growth rate of the population. 
  • Vast numbers of poor and powerless people were forcibly sterilised and there was massive pressure on lower-level government officials to bring people for sterilisation in the camps.
• Reform and Renaming of the Programme: The National Family Planning Programme was renamed the National Family Welfare Programme after the Emergency, and coercive methods were dropped for good.
  • The programme now has a broad-based set of socio-demographic objectives. 
• New Population and Health Policies in India: A new set of guidelines were formulated as part of the National Population Policy of the year 2000. 
  • In 2017, Government of India came out with National Health Policy 2017 in which most of these socio–demographic goals were incorporated with new targets

Conclusion

• Demographic data are important for the planning and implementation of state policies, especially those for economic development and general public welfare. 
• Further, these data are utilised to formulate suitable public health policies, policing and maintenance of law and order, economic policies relating to agriculture and industry, taxation and revenue generation and the governance of cities.