Sex ratio at birth
Also called: SRB · Topic: Population of India: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Sex ratio at birth (SRB) is the number of girls born for every 1,000 boys born. In nature, slightly more boys than girls are born, so the normal level is about 950. India's SRB is lower than this mainly because of sex-selective abortion, which means ending a pregnancy because the foetus is a girl. The PC-PNDT Act 1994 makes it illegal to find out the sex of a foetus, to stop this practice.
Example
In the north-west, in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi, SRB is among the worst in India (verify current). This is why Beti Bachao Beti Padhao was launched at Panipat, Haryana, on 22 January 2015.
Don't confuse with
- Sex ratio: this counts females per 1,000 males across the whole population (943 in India in 2011). SRB looks only at newborns.
- Child sex ratio: this counts girls per 1,000 boys aged 0-6 (918 in 2011, the lowest ever). SRB looks only at birth.