Model Gujarat India's 'worst performer' in sex ratio at birth: Union home ministry report

By Rajiv Shah
In a surprise development, a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) report titled ‘Vital Statistics of India based on the Civil Registration System’ has revealed that Gujarat is the worst performer insofar as Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) is concerned, raising concern whether female foeticide is rampant in a state touted as model by India’s top rulers.
The just-released report, which says that “lowest SRB has been reported by Gujarat (901), Assam (903), Madhya Pradesh (905) followed by Jammu & Kashmir (909)”, ironically, has come close on the heels of a Niti Aayog report which claims that in health sector goals, Gujarat and Delhi are the top performers among all the states and the Union Territories (UTs).
The NITI Aayog’s SDG India Index 2020-21 report, which seeks to analyse how states and UTs have performed in achieving sustainable development goal (SDG), says that, in the indicator good health and well-being, compared to India’s average, Gujarat saw lower proportion of maternal deaths, and mortality in children under five years.
The Niti report also claims that Gujarat achieved better case notification rate of tuberculosis per one lakh population, lower death rate due to road traffic accidents per one lakh population, greater institutional deliveries, lower monthly out of pocket expenditure on health as a share of monthly per capita consumption rate, and higher number of health staff per 10,000 population.
Yet, the MHA report believes, the best performers in SRB are Arunachal Pradesh (1024), followed by Nagaland (1001) Mizoram (975) and A & N Islands (965). The report has been prepared by the MHA’s Vital Statistics Division.
Based on data on birth registration, the report also regrets the share of male registration at birth “is more than the female in almost all these major states, but “this gap is much wider for Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Assam.”
A glance through data in the report on the level of registration of births in Gujarat reveals that while in 2011, it was 98.9%, it progressively came down each year, reaching a low 87.3% in 2019. Ironically, Gujarat’s registration went down over the nine years for which data has been provided at a time when the national average of registration of births has been progressively going up – from 82.4% in 2011 to 92.7% in 2019.
The registration of births has been constantly going down in Gujarat despite the fact that, according to the report, the state government massively geared up its machinery for registering births and deaths. Thus, it says, “A web-based application namely ‘e-Olakh’ developed by State NIC is being used in the state for the purpose of registration of birth and death”, in order to have “computerized system of registration at village/taluka/district level.”
Not just this. According to the report, in Gujarat, there was also a huge effort to train cadres for registering births and deaths. Thus, during 2019, “taluka statistical assistants were trained on day to day functioning of the system in the monthly meetings organized at district HQ wherein approximately more than one thousand officials were imparted training.”

Also, in Gujarat, “at state level, training had been imparted using Sat-Com technology to the registrars, sub-registrars and statistical assistants etc. In addition to this, training had also been imparted to Statistical Assistants and Programme Assistants (CRS) in regular review meetings conducted at state level.”
At the same time, the report contends, the registrar of births and deaths in Gujarat have been “sensitized to improve registration to achieve cent percent implementation of online registration of births and deaths”, and publicity efforts have been made by the state and district authorities, through various meetings for improving registration of births and deaths.”
Ironically, despite these efforts, the report admits, in Gujarat “most of the posts of taluka/district statistical assistants are vacant out of total sanctioned posts. Registrars are not utilizing the powers vested under the section 15 of the Registration of Birth and Death (RBD), Act, 1969 regarding corrections and cancellation of entries in birth and death record.”

It underlines, in Gujarat, there is “lack of awareness about the need and importance of registration of births and deaths and lack of registration procedure knowledge among the public.”

Comments

Beyond India-China borders: Economic links expand, political gaps persist

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* Despite growing trade between India and China, a persistent trust deficit continues to shape their bilateral relationship. Expanding economic engagement has not fully resolved political differences, many of which stem from historical legacies as well as contemporary geopolitical concerns. Border disputes—often traced to colonial-era arrangements—remain a significant obstacle to deeper cooperation, while differing strategic alignments in global affairs add further complexity.

GreenTech Summit claims NCR as key green building hub, without pan-India comparison

By A Representative The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), under the Confederation of Indian Industry, held its GreenTech Summit 2026 in New Delhi, where industry representatives, policymakers and sustainability professionals discussed the adoption of climate technologies in India’s built environment.

Gujarat cadre to HDFC: When bureaucratic style hits corporate walls

By Rajiv Shah I was a little amused by the abrupt March 17, 2026 resignation of Atanu Chakraborty —a Gujarat cadre IAS officer of the 1985 batch who retired from the government in 2020—as chairman of HDFC Bank . Much of what may have led to his decision to quit this ostensibly high post—actually a non-executive, part-time role—is by now well known. I followed most of it online with considerable interest, partly because I had interacted with him umpteen times during my stint as The Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar from 1997 to 2012.

Operation Epic Fury: Making America great at the world’s expense?

By N.S. Venkataraman* The decades-long enmity between Iran and Israel is well-documented, but historically, their direct confrontations have been brief, constrained by the logistical and economic limitations of sustained warfare. The current conflict in the Middle East, however, marks a radical and dangerous departure from this pattern.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

India has been getting its economic growth wrong for two decades, say top economists

By Jag Jivan* India's official GDP figures have misrepresented the trajectory of the world's fifth-largest economy for the better part of two decades, according to a major new working paper published by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE). It finds that India overstated annual growth by up to two percentage points after 2011 — and understated it during the boom years of the 2000s.

'Tax the top': Nationwide protests demand action as 1% control 40% of India’s wealth

By A Representative Civil rights groups across the country observed the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh on March 23, as people from diverse backgrounds united to raise their voices against growing economic inequality. The mobilisations marked the launch of a nationwide campaign against inequality, running from March 23 to April 14 (Ambedkar Jayanti), under the banner of the “Tax The Top” campaign.

Beyond the election manifesto: Why climate is now a kitchen table issue

By Vikas Meshram* March has long been a month of gentle transition, the period when winter softly retreats and a mild warmth signals nature’s renewal. Yet, in recent years, this dependable rhythm has been disrupted. This year, since the beginning of March, temperatures across vast swathes of the country have shattered previous records, soaring to between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius in some regions. This is not a mere fluctuation in the weather; it is a serious and alarming indicator of climate change .

Search This Blog