Sex Determination Tests

Press Information Bureau

Government of India
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
10-December-2013 15:55 IST

Sex Determination Tests

As per Census 2011, the Child Sex Ratio (0-6 years) has dipped further to 919 against 927 girls per thousand boys recorded in 2001 Census. This indicates prevalence of pre-natal sex determination and consequent termination of female fetus. The Government of India has been exhorting State/UT Governments for strict implementation of the PC&PNDT Act. Due to concerted efforts made in this direction, a total number of 527 cases are filed so far in different courts in the state of Maharashtra. 52 persons are convicted, medical licences of 37 doctors were cancelled and a total of 662 ultrasound machines were sealed in Maharashtra.

State/UT-wise details of court cases filed, convictions secured, medical licences suspended and ultrasound machines sealed/seized for violations of PC & PNDT Act, 1994, are as follows:

S.No.	State/ UT	No. of ongoing Court Cases	No. of persons convicted	No. of suspension/ cancellation of medical licenses	No. of Machines Seized / Sealed
1	Andhra Pradesh	61	0	0	15
2	Arunachal Pradesh	0	0	0	0
3	Assam	5	0	0	0
4	Bihar	6	0	0	6
5	Chhattisgarh	7	0	0	0
6	Goa	18	0	0	1
7	Gujarat	114	4	0	3
8	Haryana	90	30	4	0
9	Himachal Pradesh	0	0	0	0
10	Jammu & Kashmir	5	0	0	65
11	Jharkhand	19	0	0	0
12	Karnataka	45	0	0	0
13	Kerala	0	0	0	0
14	Madhya Pradesh	24	6	2	0
15	Maharashtra	527	52	37	662
16	Manipur	0	0	0	1
17	Meghalaya	0	0	0	0
18	Mizoram	0	0	0	0
19	Nagaland	0	0	0	0
20	Odisha	24	3	0	6
21	Punjab	124	26	1	0
22	Rajasthan	562	22	21	371
23	Sikkim	0	0	0	0
24	Tamil Nadu	77	0	0	72
25	Tripura	0	0	0	0
26	Uttarakhand	10	0	0	1
27	Uttar Pradesh	42	0	0	33
28	West Bengal	8	0	0	4
29	A. & N. Island	0	0	0	0
30	Chandigarh	3	0	0	2
31	D. & N. Haveli	0	0	0	0
32	Daman & Diu	0	0	0	0
33	Delhi	62	0	0	0
34	Lakshadweep	0	0	0	0
35	Puducherry	0	0	0	0
TOTAL		1833	143	65	1242

Government of India, in order to make the law more stringent, has amended various provisions of PC&PNDT Rules, 1996 pertaining to sealing, seizure and confiscation of unregistered ultra-sound machines and punishment against unregistered clinics, regulation of use of portable ultrasound machine only within the registered premises besides restricting medical practitioners to conduct ultrasonography at maximum of two ultrasound clinics within a district.

This was stated by Sh Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today.

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MV