The implications of a skewed sex ratio for India

News: According to the latest round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS 2019-21), India has 1,020 females per 1,000 males.

What are the concerns associated with the NFHS data?

1. Near-double rate of rising in the population of women against that of men in the last five years. If the sex ratio were to be 991, as estimated by NFHS 2015-16, the population of women would have comprised 643 million. But according to the recent NFHS, the population of women might comprise 688 million.

2. Consistently overestimated sex ratio, compared with population census. In 2005-06, NFHS estimated the sex ratio at 1:1, whereas census 2011 revealed it to be 943 females per 1,000 males.

What are the implications of NFHS’s data on sex ratio?

Sex ratio at birth (SRB) estimated by NFHS can be an imperfect proxy for Child Sex Ratio.

What does India need to focus on?

Over the last two decades, India has slipped on the labour force participation rate (LFPR) of females above 15 years, despite an improving sex ratio. This is true even after the NFHS-5 Survey.

According to World Bank data, from 38% in 2001, LFPR of females has fallen to 26% in 2020. The major reason for this is the higher participation rate for Indian women in unpaid domestic duties.

What the government should do?

To come out of the “Missing Women” tag, India must invest in policies to ensure women are not missing in the workforce.

Source: This post is based on the article “The implications of a skewed sex ratio for India” published in Livemint on 29th November 2021.