People living in rural parts of India favour birth of a girl child more than those living in urban centres. In other words, rural areas of the country (i.e. Bharat) is more girl child friendly than urban centres (i.e India).
This statement may appear surprising to some. It may also come across as militating against the general perception that urban India -- due to its higher literacy rate, greater awareness and better income levels -- is relatively safer and more welcoming towards girl child, when compared with rural India.
But the latest data on sex ratio at birth (number of girl child born per 1,000 boys) in India show that the first statement is correct and the general perception doesn't hold ground.
The Sample Registration Survey (SRS) 2017 that was recently released by the central government shows that in India, rural areas have a better track record when it comes to birth of girl child.
The survey shows that sex ratio at birth in rural India was 898 in 2015-17 while the figure for urban India was 890. Rural India also had a better record on birth of girl child than the all-India figure of 896.
In case you are thinking that rural India's performance in terms of child sex ratio in 2015-17 was a fluke, you are mistaken. SRS data show that rural India has been maintaining a better record than urban India, and even better than the national figure. This is true for all years between 2011 and 2017.
The findings of the Sample Registration Survey come two years before India undergoes the next census in 2021, which is the largest nation-wide survey.
GLARING RURAL-URBAN DIVIDE IN MOST STATES
The Sample Registration Survey (SRS) presents the all-India data and data for 22 large states. Among these 22 states, there are 18 states whose rural areas had a better sex ratio at birth than their urban counterparts.
Chhattisgarh has the biggest difference in sex ratio at birth between rural and urban areas. In 2015-17, sex ratio at birth in rural Chhattisgarh was 985 while the figure for urban parts of the state was just 862.
Chhattisgarh has the best sex ratio at birth but it also has the highest disparity in rural and urban areas.
What this means is 123 fewer girls were born (per 1,000 boys) in urban areas of Chhattisgarh as compared to rural areas of the state.
In terms of rural-urban divide in sex ratio at birth, Chhattisgarh is followed by Karnataka, Delhi and Odisha where the difference is 79, 78 and 65 respectively.
Uttarakhand has the lowest sex ratio at birth in urban areas (816), followed by Gujarat (838), Haryana (844) and Delhi (848).
Overall, Haryana has the lowest sex ratio at birth (833) while Chhattisgarh has the best (961).
IN 6 YRS, SEX RATIO FALLS BY 1.4%
SRS-2017 also rings alarm bells for central and state governments because the overall sex ratio at birth in India has shown a declining trend. Despite concerted efforts and public awareness campaigns by local, national and international agencies, fewer girls are being born in India.
SRS report shows that between 2011-13 and 2015-17, child sex ratio at birth in India has declined from 909 to 896, a decline of 1.4 per cent. In urban aSreas, child sex ratio at birth decreased by 1.7 per cent while the rural areas saw a decline of 1.3 per cent in this period.
Among states, the biggest decline is in Gujarat where sex ratio at birth was 911 in 2011-13 but plummeted to 855 in 2015-17, a decline of nearly 6 per cent. Delhi and Rajasthan suffered a decline of 4 per cent each, while in Haryana there was a 3.5 per cent decline.
Punjab, Jharkhand, and Jammu and Kashmir are the only states where sex ratio at birth has increased from that of 2011-13.
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