Haryana sex ratio at birth posts first gain since 2019, but there’s a big north-south gap

Gurgaon: Haryana's annual sex ratio at birth (SRB), the number of girls born per 1,000 boys, climbed to 923 in 2025, the first time it has showed a gain since 2019.Alarm bells rang after last year after it fell to 910, its lowest since 2016 when the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign was launched as a social campaign in a state with one of the lowest sex ratios in the country because of female infanticide.Health department officials attributed the improvement to a series of crackdowns through 2025 against sex-selective abortions and sale of illegal medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) kits. An SRB of 923 is still low compared to other states but the highest Haryana has achieved. Over the years, the annual average has fluctuated, rather than held steady. According to Civil Registration System (provisional) figures, the state registered 5,19,691 births last year, of which 2,70,281 were boys and 2,49,410 girls. Three districts reported an SRB of 950 or above, with Panchkula leading the state at 971, followed by Fatehabad (961) and Panipat (951). Karnal (944) and Yamunanagar (943) complete the top five. Sirsa (937), Nuh (935), Kurukshetra (927), Ambala (926), Hisar (926), Bhiwani (926) and Kaithal (924) were also above the state average.South Haryana districts around Delhi, including Gurgaon (901), showed significant lag. Faridabad (916), Rohtak (898) and Sonipat (894) were among the weakest performers. Rewari (882) was placed at the bottom.Panchkula saw the most notable long-term improvement, from 909 in 2015 to 971 in 2025, despite dips in between, including a fall to 915 in 2024. Fatehabad, which was at 893 in 2015, climbed steadily to 961 last year as did Panipat, which was at 892 in 2015. Gurgaon, despite its weaker performance compared to these districts, also saw an improvement from 858 in 2015.After the fall in SRB in 2024, a state-level task force was set up in March with officers from the health department, police, women and child development, AYUSH, National Health Mission (NHM) and the Food and Drug Administration reviewing SRB weekly."A total of 114 FIRs were registered under MTP Act and 16 under PCPNDT (Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques) Act in 2025. Ultrasound inspections nearly doubled from 3,072 in 2024 to 5,836 in 2025. Reverse tracking of abortions beyond 12 weeks among women with previous girl children was a key tool. From Oct 2024 to Dec 2025, 3,292 such abortions were reported through Asha workers, leading to 68 FIRs against clinics, chemists, peddlers and middlemen," said Dr Virender Yadav, director of NHM, Haryana.Crackdowns on abortion kit sales intensified. FDA sealed 44 chemist shops last year and registered 59 FIRs, including 17 for online sales. More than 6,000 kits were seized. The number of abortions carried out beyond 10 weeks fell from 21,498 in 2024 to 14,204 in 2025. A total of 495 of the state's 1,500 registered MTP centres were shut for violations.Urban-industrial belts and border districts remain areas of concern because of access to illegal sex-selection clinics that operate covertly. Haryana has been conducting joint raids with neighbouring states on clinics using portable ultrasound devices. "While the state average has improved, micro-level monitoring will continue in districts that are still below 900. We aim to improve SRB further in the coming months. Districts which border other states will be under tight scrutiny," said additional chief secretary (health) Sudhir Rajpal.