Declining child sex ratio in India: a systematic review

Census of India 2011 registers decline in child sex ratio to 914 compared to 927 in 2001 which is a cause for concern for the country. This paper is a systematic review of decline in child sex ratio in India within the period of last 16 years i.e. from 1995 to 2011 as it was found that post 1990’s the decline in the ratio was more pronounced .The review attempts to analyse the literature available so as to know which were the areas covered while studying the subject and what needs to be done to understand the reasons behind the declining ratio. The study finds that most of the studies were all India level studies based on secondary data despite the fact that this problem was more pronounced in certain regions. Special focus on child sex ratio was missing in most of the studies relating to sex ratio. It was also found that only a few studies based on primary data at village or district level have been conducted which leaves a research gap to be filled.It appears that there is a need to have more regional level expositions of this phenomenon. The regional variation in child sex ratio can be better captured through district level primary research as it has been found that in certain regions the ratio is more skewed.