Odisha's Declining Sex Ratio at Birth

The sex ratio at birth (SRB) is the number of girls born for every 1,000 boys.

In a healthy society, this number is usually between 943 and 952.

However, in Odisha, India, this number has been decreasing.

In 2019-21, Odisha had only 894 girls born per 1,000 boys, which is lower than the natural range.

This is a problem because it shows that girls might not be valued as much as boys.

The Indian government has laws and programs to help, like the PCPNDT Act and the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme.

But in Odisha, these programs have not worked well.

Most of the money for BBBP was spent on advertisements, not on helping girls.

Another program, Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana (BKRY), was only started in a few districts and did not make a big difference.

To fix this, the government needs to do a better job of enforcing laws and making sure programs actually help girls.