Haryana’s sex ratio shows signs of recovery
Top Haryana health department officials say that if the trend sustains in the final two months, the eight points improvement so far (from 905 in 2024 till October to 913 in 2025) is a clear sign that the combined 12 months SRB of the state this year should be better than 2024 when the state recorded 910 female births, the lowest in eight years.
Haryana appears set for a turnaround in its fight against gender imbalance as the State’s Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) has improved to 913 girls per 1,000 boys between January and October 2025, compared to 905 during the same period last year, it is learnt.
Top Haryana health department officials say that if the trend sustains in the final two months, the eight points improvement so far (from 905 in 2024 till October to 913 in 2025) is a clear sign that the combined 12 months SRB of the state this year should be better than 2024 when the state recorded 910 female births, the lowest in eight years.
As Haryana’s annual SRB in 2024 (910) had dipped from 916 in 2023, it had set the alarm bells ringing in the Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government because the state had been registering a steady improvement under the flagship Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign.
As per official data, the annual SRB rose from 876 in 2015 to 900 in 2016, even as it improved to 914 in 2017 and 2018 with the highest SRB so far 923 in 2019. The annual gender ratio was recorded 922 in 2020, 914 in 2021, and 917 in 2022.
Officials say the uptrend clearly reflects the impact of a slew of sustained enforcement measures additional chief secretary (health) Sudhir Rajpal has been taking since February.
The turnaround is being credited to monitoring and strict enforcement. The reverse tracking system that is used to monitor women undergoing medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) after 12 weeks has been central to identifying and stopping illegal sex-selective abortions. A Special Task Force (STF) was constituted and meets every week to review progress and formulate strategies to crack down on diagnostic centres, touts, and cross-border abortion networks, particularly along the Haryana–Rajasthan and Haryana–Uttar Pradesh corridors. Massive seizures of MTP kits, used for illegal abortions, have also been reported this year. District administrations have been holding regular review meetings, led by deputy commissioners, to ensure continuous follow-up and coordination between the health, police, and women and child development departments, said officials.
“Now with eight points lead by improving SRB to 913 till October 2025 against 905 during the same period in 2024, we are anticipating SRB to hover around 920 in 2025. Clearly, Haryana seems to be turning the tide on its gender imbalance after major setbacks last year,” a senior health official associated with the programme said, adding that the latest SRB data will be officially released on Tuesday.
15 districts show improvement
Behind this modest eight-point rise in the SRB over the first 10 months of this year are 16 of the State’s 22 districts which have recorded improvements compared to the same period last year, with some showing remarkable gains. Panchkula has led the surge with a 45-points jump, followed by Panipat (41 points), Fatehabad (+22), Gurugram (+21), Rohtak (+19), Kaithal (+14), Kurukshetra (+13) and Jind (+9). Ambala, Bhiwani, Faridabad,, Karnal, Mahendragarh, Nuh, and Palwal have also registered upward trends.
However, five districts, Charkhi Dadri and Sirsa (-17), Yamunanagar (-13) Sonepat (-12), and Jhajjar (-9), have shown a decline, underlining the need for continued vigilance and targeted interventions in these lagging areas, said officials.
Hisar’s SRB which was 909 last year also stood at the same point this year too.
“The state average of 913 now places Haryana within striking distance of 2023 level when annual SRB was 916, indicating that corrective measures taken earlier this year are beginning to take effect.” said an official, attributing the improvement to intensified monitoring and enforcement.
According to senior officials, over 3,200 more births (4,22,429 against 4,19,213 last year) were registered across the state during the January–October 2025 period compared to last year, in what is another indication that tracking and registration systems have improved alongside the SRB.
Officials say an analysis of last decades data till October indicates that annual SRB increases by three to five points. For instance, since 2021 annual SRB has been increasing by five points after October.
“Despite this improvement, the real test lies in maintaining this momentum through the coming months,” said a senior official of the health department.
