India Sees Rise In Girl Births In Areas Where Preference For Sons Was Highest

India's Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) programme has improved the odds of girls being born in the districts where it was first implemented, according to the report 'Policy Interventions and the Sex Ratio at Birth: Evidence from India'. The estimates suggest about 15 additional girls for every 1,000 births.

The rise is coming where it matters most: among families whose first child is a daughter, a group that has historically faced the strongest pressure to have a son. Little change was seen among first-born children, which the report suggests means parents are generally more accepting of either gender for their first child.

According to the report, the findings provide rare causal evidence that a large-scale social and behavioural intervention can influence birth outcomes in a country that has long grappled with gender imbalance at birth.

Where The Gains Were Biggest

The gains were most visible among second and later births, where son preference has traditionally been strongest. Among these births, the probability of a girl being born increased by 2.1 percentage points. This indicates that the programme had the greatest impact where the pressure to have a son is typically highest.

The study's most striking finding relates to families whose first child was a girl. In such households, the probability that the second child would also be a girl rose by 3.7 to 5.3 percentage points, which translates into 37 to 53 additional girls per 1,000 births. By contrast, researchers found virtually no change among families whose first child was a boy.

Little change was seen among first-born children. According to the report, this suggests that parents are generally more accepting of either gender for their first child.

India is seeing a gradual improvement in the sex ratio at birth, which has risen from 919 girls per 1,000 boys in 2015-16 to around 930, according to the latest data available on the BBBP dashboard.

The highest sex ratios at birth are recorded in Goa, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Kerala.

However, the sharpest improvements over the period have been observed in Sikkim, Ladakh, Puducherry, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.

India's Top Districts For Sex Ratio At Birth

Among the eight districts with the highest sex ratios at birth in India, three each are in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. The remaining two are Lahaul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh and Yanam in Puducherry.

Of India's 757 districts with reported sex ratios, 26 report more girls than boys at birth, with sex ratios above 1,000. Another 243 districts have sex ratios between 950 and 1,000. These include Rudraprayag, Kapurthala, Baramulla, Pulwama, North Goa, Jaisalmer and Udupi.

What The Study Suggests

The study suggests the change is concentrated where gender bias has historically been most entrenched. Its findings indicate that policy interventions, awareness campaigns and community outreach may be helping reduce the pressure on families to have a son, particularly after the birth of a daughter.