“Not Girls, only Boys for us”- The (in)effectiveness of Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique (PC & PNDT) Act 1994 of Government in addressing the Declining Child Sex Ratio in India

Historically, the sex ratio in India shows a dis-favourable trend towards females. For last two decades, there is a slight upward gradient in the overall sex ratio of the population, but the persistently declining Child Sex ratio is a matter of concern, threatening a stable social set up in the country. The surprising element remains that decline is unabated despite the fact that there is no dearth of policy interventions at Central and State level, aimed to tackle the ‘son-preference-daughter aversion’ culture through (a) punitive measures against foeticide and infanticide and (b) conditional cash transfer schemes for upbringing and promoting girl child. Additionally, many policies aimed to end gender discrimination, women empowerment etc. have also been launched in the country. The most potent policy intervention at the level of Central Government is The Pre-conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique {PC & PNDT} Act (1994), which aims to regulate the use of Ultrasound technology and prohibit its misuse in sex determination, leading to sex selective abortions. This research paper critically examines the extent to which this flagship policy intervention by Government of India has succeeded to address the burning issue of declining child sex ratio. To investigate this, paper has assessed implementation & monitoring mechanism and the capacity issues of the Act. The role of centuries old socio-cultural norms in whatever results the Act has produced, is also analysed. This paper has shown that it is a case of ‘double whammy’ where the ineffective implementation, near absent monitoring and visible capacity gaps in all dimensions further exacerbated by overall socio-cultural (& gender) norms have rendered in partial success of the intervention.