Lok Sabha Question No. 2446 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-13
Subject: Schemes/Programmes to Address the Imbalance in Sex Ratio
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Darshan Singh Choudhary

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2446

TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.02.2026

## SCHEMES/PROGRAMMES TO ADDRESS THE IMBALANCE IN SEX RATIO

## 2446.  SHRI DARSHAN SINGH CHOUDHARY:

Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  the  schemes/programmes  being  implemented  by  the  Government  to address the sex ratio imbalance in the country;
- (b) the current status of sex ratio in the country along with the changes reported therein compared to previous years;
- (c) the details of the reasons for the imbalance in sex ratio;
- (d) the  details  of  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  curb  female  foeticide,  gender discrimination and other social evils; and
- (e) the monitoring and evaluation mechanisms put in place by the Government to assess the impact of the said schemes?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)

(a) to (e): The Government gives utmost priority to the safety, security and empowerment of girls  in  the  country.  To  this  end,  the  Government  has  adopted  multi-pronged  approach  to address the educational, social and economic empowerment of girls.

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme was launched on 22nd January 2015 to help address Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and related issues of empowerment of girls and women over a life cycle continuum. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme has transformed from a policy initiative into a national movement by mobilizing various stakeholders, including government agencies, communities, media, civil society and the public at large. This movement aims not only to address immediate concerns related to sex ratio and gender-based discrimination but also to foster a cultural shift towards valuing the girl child and ensuring her rights and opportunities.

The scheme focuses on creating mindset and behavioural changes towards the girl child by informing, influencing, motivating, engaging, and empowering all stakeholders.

In order to enhance the ease of living for the girl child and women, particularly in the rural areas of the country, under the Swacch Bharat Mission more than 11.8 crore toilets have been constructed. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) is a small savings scheme designed to secure the future of girl children, offering a high interest rate. Samagra Shiksha is an integrated scheme for  school  education  from  pre-school  to  class  XII,  supporting  the  implementation  of  the National Education Policy 2020 and the Right to Education Act, 2009. It emphasizes early childhood care  and  education, foundational literacy and numeracy,  a holistic and inclusive curriculum, enhancing learning outcomes, bridging social and gender gaps, and ensuring equity and inclusion at all education levels.

Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) scheme seeks to bridge gender and social category gaps in school education by providing residential schooling facilities for girls up to Class XII. Under  the  scheme,  the  girls  in  the  age  group  of  10-18  years  from  Scheduled  Caste  (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Class (OBC), minority communities, and BPL families are covered.

The  Scheme  for  Adolescent  Girls  (SAG)  has  been  subsumed  under  Mission  Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 w.e.f. 01.04.2022. The targeted beneficiaries under this scheme are girls in the age group of 14 -18 years in the Aspirational Districts and all North Eastern States.

Vigyan Jyoti Programme encourages girls to pursue education and careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields to improve gender balance. It targets meritorious girls from Class IX to Class XII and includes student-parent counselling, career counselling, additional academic support classes, tinkering activities, special lectures, visits to scientific institutions, labs, industries, and science camps and workshops.

With the objective of ensuring economic independence for girls, including single girl children, the  Government  has  launched  the  Skill  India  Mission  to  provide  comprehensive  skill development and vocational training. Government has also set up the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana across the country. Under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna (PMKVY), skill and vocational training is provided to women.

Further, PMKVY 4.0 prioritizes and provides special focus to projects that emphasize women as primary beneficiaries. This inclusive approach ensures significant representation and benefit for women in skill training programs across the country.

Deendayal  Antyodaya  Yojna  -  National  Rural  Livelihoods  Mission  (DAY-NRLM),  under which women self-help  groups are  changing  the  rural  landscape  for  employment  and  selfemployment.  Similarly,  National  Urban  Livelihoods  Mission  (NULM)  is  for  urban  areas. Besides,  there  are  schemes  like  the  Stand-up  India,  Start-up  India,  Pradhan  Mantri  Street Vendors AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee  Scheme  (MGNREGS),  for  providing  employment/  self-employment  and  credit facilities. Majority of the beneficiaries under these schemes are women.

In  2017, the Maternity Benefit Act was amended to increase paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for the first two children. This Act also provides for paid maternity leave to women workers and crèche facility within prescribed distance in all establishments having fifty or more employees

Stand-Up India Scheme launched on 05.04.2016 with the objective to facilitate loans from Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) of value between Rs. 10 lakh and Rs. 1 crore to at least one Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) borrower and one Women borrower per bank branch for setting up greenfield enterprise in manufacturing, services or trading sector including activities allied to agriculture. The scheme has been extended up to the year 2025.

There  are  schemes  like  Pradhan  Mantri  Mudra  Yojana  and  Prime  Minister's  Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) which have been launched for helping women set up their own enterprises.

In  order  to  bring  women  in  the  mainstream  of  political  leadership  at  the  grass  root  level, Government has reserved at least 33% of the seats in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) for women through the 73rd amendment to the Constitution. As per available data, there are more than  12.06  lakh  Elected  Women  Representatives  (EWRs)  in  PRIs,  which  is  approximately 49.75% of the total elected representatives.

The greatest leap forward for women empowerment and representation of women in the highest political  offices  in  the  country  has  been  the  notification  by  Government  of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 (Constitution One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 on 28th September, 2023, for reservation of one-third of seats for women in the House of People (Lok Sabha) and in the State Legislative Assemblies including Legislative Assembly of NCT of Delhi.

Mission Shakti aims at strengthening interventions for women  safety, security and empowerment.

Mission Shakti comprises of two verticals  'Sambal' for  safety  and  security  of  women  and 'Samarthya' for empowerment of women. The 'Sambal' has components of One Stop Centre (OSC), Women Helpline (WHL), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) and Nari Adalat (Nari A dalat). The 'Samarthya' has components of Shakti Sadan, Sakhi Niwas, Padhan Mantri Matru Vandana  Yojana  (PMMVY),  Palna  and  SANKALP:  Hub  for  Empowerment  of  Women (SNKALP: HEW)

The Government of India has adopted a comprehensive and integrated approach to empower girls and women and to end gender discrimination through a wide spectrum of schemes and initiatives. These measures collectively aim to ensure safety and security, improve employability, promote entrepreneurship, and create an enabling environment for women.

As per the latest report of Health Management Information System (HMIS) of Ministry of Health  &  Family  Welfare  (MoHFW),  Sex  Ratio  at  Birth  (SRB)  at  the  national  level  has increased from 918 in 2014-15 to 929 in 2024-25.

Further, the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 is administered by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) to regulate the use of technologies with the potential for detection and disclosure of the sex of the foetus. This Act  was  enacted  for  the  prohibition  of  sex  selection  before  or  after  conception,  and  for regulation of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for the purposes of detecting genetic abnormalities  or  metabolic  disorders  or  chromosomal  abnormalities  or  certain  congenital malfunction or sex-linked disorders and for the prevention of their misuse for sex determination leading to female foeticide and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

The PC&PNDT Act is a central legislation implemented uniformly across all States and UTs to curb gender-biased sex-selective practices and promote a positive environment for the girl child through gender-sensitive policies, awareness generation, and legislative measures.

The measures taken by the Government to ensure effective enforcement of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PC&PNDT) are as below:

- Supporting the States/UTs for sensitization and capacity building on PC&PNDT Act.
- Under the National Health Mission (NHM), MoHFW provides financial support to the States/UTs to strengthen implementation of the PC&PNDT Act.
- Support is being extended for Information, Education and Communication (IEC) and advocacy activities aimed at fostering behavioural change and promoting gender equality.
- The MoHFW has constituted a 'Nodal Agency' as per the directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court to monitor and facilitate the removal of online advertisements violating the provisions of the Act
- Regular review and assessment through various institutional mechanisms like Common Review Mission visits, Inspection & Monitoring visits are carried out by Centre, States and Districts so as to further strengthen the ground level implementation of the PC&PNDT Act.

The detailed information related to PCPNDT is available in the Annual Report 2024-25 of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at the link mentioned below:

https://mohfw.gov.in/?q=en/publications-12

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