A study examining the impact of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao finds an increase of up to 53 additional girl births per 1,000 second births in families whose first child was a daughter, offering evidence of changing patterns in a country long affected by son preference.
India may be witnessing a change in one of its most persistent gender inequalities: the preference for sons at birth.
A new study examining the impact of the government’s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) programme has found that the likelihood of a girl being born increased in districts where the initiative was implemented early.
The improvement was particularly visible among families that already had a daughter, a group historically more likely to face pressure to have a boy.
The study, titled Policy Interventions and the Sex Ratio at Birth: Evidence from India, estimates that the intervention was associated with approximately 15 additional female births per 1,000 births over a five-year period in early-implementing administrative units.
Its findings, reported by NDTV on October 8, 2026, offer an important insight into how public policy and social interventions may influence family attitudes towards the girl child.
The most striking finding concerns second and subsequent births. Among these births, the probability of a girl being born increased by 2.1 percentage points.
In households where the first child was a girl, the probability that the second child would also be a girl increased by 3.7 to 5.3 percentage points — equivalent to 37 to 53 additional girls per 1,000 births.
Researchers found virtually no comparable change among families whose first child was a boy. There was also little change in the sex composition of first births.
This distinction matters because son preference has historically been particularly visible in families that already have daughters and continue having children in the hope of having a son.
SSRN+1
What the study found about India’s changing birth patterns
The research examines whether the rollout of a government intervention designed to address gender discrimination contributed to improvements in India’s sex ratio at birth.
Authored by Chinmay N. Korgaonkar of the University of Kentucky, the paper uses the phased implementation of the intervention across administrative units to estimate its impact.
According to the study, early-implementing units recorded a 1.5 percentage-point increase in the probability of a female birth, translating into approximately 15 additional female births per 1,000 births over five years.
The estimated improvement was larger among second and higher-order births, where the probability of a girl being born increased by 2.1 percentage points.
The results suggest that the intervention’s impact was not evenly distributed across all birth orders. It was more pronounced in family situations where the preference for a male child has traditionally been stronger.
For families with a first-born daughter, the increase in the likelihood of a second daughter was particularly notable.
This is significant because the decision to have another child can be influenced by the sex of the children already born. In societies where sons are considered essential for carrying forward the family name, inheritance or providing support in old age, daughters may face unequal acceptance.
The study suggests that interventions aimed at changing these attitudes can have measurable effects on birth outcomes.
SSRN+1
Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao: Can a campaign change attitudes towards daughters?
Launched on January 22, 2015, Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao was designed to address the declining Child Sex Ratio and promote the survival, protection and education of girls.
The programme brings together the Ministries of Women and Child Development, Health and Family Welfare, and Education, along with state governments, local administrations and community institutions.
Its objectives include preventing gender-biased sex-selective elimination, improving the sex ratio at birth, increasing girls’ participation in education and reducing school dropout rates.
Unlike a cash-transfer programme, BBBP is primarily a behavioural and social-change initiative. It does not provide direct benefit transfers to families for having daughters.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development describes it as a programme intended to generate awareness about valuing the girl child through coordinated action and community engagement.
The new research adds an important dimension to the assessment of the programme: rather than examining awareness alone, it attempts to measure whether the intervention influenced the likelihood of girls being born.
However, the findings should not be interpreted as proof that the programme alone has eliminated son preference or gender discrimination. They indicate a measurable contribution in the areas and populations examined by the study.
Ministry of Women and Child Development+1
India’s sex ratio at birth has improved, but the gap remains
Government figures also indicate an improvement in India’s sex ratio at birth over the past decade.
According to the Ministry of Women and Child Development, data from the Health Management Information System (HMIS) show that the national sex ratio at birth increased from 918 girls per 1,000 boys in 2014–15 to 929 in 2024–25.
The ministry reported this improvement in a February 6, 2026, statement to the Lok Sabha.
The ministry’s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao dashboard currently displays a national figure of 930, although the dashboard figure should not be treated as directly interchangeable with the study’s estimates.
The distinction between these numbers is important. The government figures describe the broader recorded sex ratio at birth, while the research estimates the effect of a particular policy intervention in early-implementing areas.
An improvement in the ratio does not mean that the gender imbalance has disappeared.
The naturally observed sex ratio at birth is approximately 105 boys for every 100 girls, equivalent to about 952 girls for every 1,000 boys. India’s reported ratio therefore remains below that level.
The progress is meaningful, but the country still has considerable ground to cover in ensuring that the birth of a daughter is accepted on equal terms.
Press Information Bureau+3
Where does India stand across states?
The improvement is not uniform across the country. The Ministry of Women and Child Development’s dashboard shows considerable differences in the reported sex ratio at birth among states and Union Territories.
Some of the figures displayed on the dashboard include:
State/UT
Girls per 1,000 boys
Goa 977
Tripura 973
Arunachal Pradesh 971
Chhattisgarh 965
Mizoram 964
Kerala 962
Punjab 924
Haryana 917
Bihar 882
These figures highlight the continuing regional differences in the sex ratio at birth. Punjab and Haryana, in particular, remain important regions to watch because of their historical experience with gender imbalance and son preference.
The dashboard figures are administrative indicators and should be interpreted in the context of their underlying reporting periods and data coverage.
Ministry of Women and Child Development
Why the findings matter beyond the birth statistics
The importance of the study lies in what it reveals about the relationship between family attitudes and gender equality.
For decades, India’s gender imbalance at birth has been associated with son preference, gender discrimination and the misuse of prenatal diagnostic technologies for sex selection.
The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994, prohibits sex selection and regulates the use of prenatal diagnostic techniques to prevent their misuse.
However, legal restrictions alone cannot address the social expectations that contribute to discrimination against daughters.
A family may comply with the law while continuing to believe that having a son is more desirable. Changing this attitude requires sustained engagement with parents, communities, healthcare workers, educational institutions and local authorities.
The new study’s findings are particularly relevant because they point towards a change in the birth patterns of families that have traditionally experienced stronger pressure to have sons.
At the same time, the absence of a comparable change among first births suggests that the challenge is not simply whether parents accept the birth of a girl, but whether that acceptance continues when a family already has a daughter.
A girl child’s birth is only the beginning
An improvement in the sex ratio at birth is an important indicator, but it cannot independently establish that girls are experiencing equal treatment throughout their lives.
Survival, healthcare, nutrition, education, freedom from violence, economic opportunities and participation in decision-making are equally important measures of gender equality.
The government’s own Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao programme recognises this broader continuum by including girls’ education and development among its objectives.
The Ministry’s February 2026 statement also reported that the gross enrolment ratio of girls at the secondary school level increased from 75.51 per cent in 2014–15 to 80.2 per cent in 2024–25.
These indicators provide a wider context for assessing the progress made in improving opportunities for girls, although they do not establish that improvements in birth ratios automatically translate into equality in other areas.
The latest research offers evidence that public interventions can influence an aspect of family behaviour that has been difficult to change. But the larger test for India will be whether the growing acceptance of daughters at birth is matched by equal investment in their lives, education, health and independence.
For a country that has struggled with the consequences of son preference for generations, the possibility of changing attitudes within families is significant. The findings suggest progress, while also showing why sustained efforts remain necessary.
More Girls Are Being Born in India’s Most Son-Preference-Driven Families: What a New Study Reveals
A study examining the impact of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao finds an increase of up to 53 additional girl births per 1,000 second births in families whose first child was a daughter, offering evidence of changing patterns in a country long affected by son preference.
India may be witnessing a change in one of its most persistent gender inequalities: the preference for sons at birth.
A new study examining the impact of the government’s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) programme has found that the likelihood of a girl being born increased in districts where the initiative was implemented early.
The improvement was particularly visible among families that already had a daughter, a group historically more likely to face pressure to have a boy.
The study, titled Policy Interventions and the Sex Ratio at Birth: Evidence from India, estimates that the intervention was associated with approximately 15 additional female births per 1,000 births over a five-year period in early-implementing administrative units.
Its findings, reported by NDTV on October 8, 2026, offer an important insight into how public policy and social interventions may influence family attitudes towards the girl child.
The most striking finding concerns second and subsequent births. Among these births, the probability of a girl being born increased by 2.1 percentage points.
In households where the first child was a girl, the probability that the second child would also be a girl increased by 3.7 to 5.3 percentage points — equivalent to 37 to 53 additional girls per 1,000 births.
Researchers found virtually no comparable change among families whose first child was a boy. There was also little change in the sex composition of first births.
This distinction matters because son preference has historically been particularly visible in families that already have daughters and continue having children in the hope of having a son.
SSRN+1
What the study found about India’s changing birth patterns
The research examines whether the rollout of a government intervention designed to address gender discrimination contributed to improvements in India’s sex ratio at birth.
Authored by Chinmay N. Korgaonkar of the University of Kentucky, the paper uses the phased implementation of the intervention across administrative units to estimate its impact.
According to the study, early-implementing units recorded a 1.5 percentage-point increase in the probability of a female birth, translating into approximately 15 additional female births per 1,000 births over five years.
The estimated improvement was larger among second and higher-order births, where the probability of a girl being born increased by 2.1 percentage points.
The results suggest that the intervention’s impact was not evenly distributed across all birth orders. It was more pronounced in family situations where the preference for a male child has traditionally been stronger.
For families with a first-born daughter, the increase in the likelihood of a second daughter was particularly notable.
This is significant because the decision to have another child can be influenced by the sex of the children already born. In societies where sons are considered essential for carrying forward the family name, inheritance or providing support in old age, daughters may face unequal acceptance.
The study suggests that interventions aimed at changing these attitudes can have measurable effects on birth outcomes.
SSRN+1
Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao: Can a campaign change attitudes towards daughters?
Launched on January 22, 2015, Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao was designed to address the declining Child Sex Ratio and promote the survival, protection and education of girls.
The programme brings together the Ministries of Women and Child Development, Health and Family Welfare, and Education, along with state governments, local administrations and community institutions.
Its objectives include preventing gender-biased sex-selective elimination, improving the sex ratio at birth, increasing girls’ participation in education and reducing school dropout rates.
Unlike a cash-transfer programme, BBBP is primarily a behavioural and social-change initiative. It does not provide direct benefit transfers to families for having daughters.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development describes it as a programme intended to generate awareness about valuing the girl child through coordinated action and community engagement.
The new research adds an important dimension to the assessment of the programme: rather than examining awareness alone, it attempts to measure whether the intervention influenced the likelihood of girls being born.
However, the findings should not be interpreted as proof that the programme alone has eliminated son preference or gender discrimination. They indicate a measurable contribution in the areas and populations examined by the study.
Ministry of Women and Child Development+1
India’s sex ratio at birth has improved, but the gap remains
Government figures also indicate an improvement in India’s sex ratio at birth over the past decade.
According to the Ministry of Women and Child Development, data from the Health Management Information System (HMIS) show that the national sex ratio at birth increased from 918 girls per 1,000 boys in 2014–15 to 929 in 2024–25.
The ministry reported this improvement in a February 6, 2026, statement to the Lok Sabha.
The ministry’s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao dashboard currently displays a national figure of 930, although the dashboard figure should not be treated as directly interchangeable with the study’s estimates.
The distinction between these numbers is important. The government figures describe the broader recorded sex ratio at birth, while the research estimates the effect of a particular policy intervention in early-implementing areas.
An improvement in the ratio does not mean that the gender imbalance has disappeared.
The naturally observed sex ratio at birth is approximately 105 boys for every 100 girls, equivalent to about 952 girls for every 1,000 boys. India’s reported ratio therefore remains below that level.
The progress is meaningful, but the country still has considerable ground to cover in ensuring that the birth of a daughter is accepted on equal terms.
Press Information Bureau+3
Where does India stand across states?
The improvement is not uniform across the country. The Ministry of Women and Child Development’s dashboard shows considerable differences in the reported sex ratio at birth among states and Union Territories.
Some of the figures displayed on the dashboard include:
State/UT
Girls per 1,000 boys
Goa 977
Tripura 973
Arunachal Pradesh 971
Chhattisgarh 965
Mizoram 964
Kerala 962
Punjab 924
Haryana 917
Bihar 882
These figures highlight the continuing regional differences in the sex ratio at birth. Punjab and Haryana, in particular, remain important regions to watch because of their historical experience with gender imbalance and son preference.
The dashboard figures are administrative indicators and should be interpreted in the context of their underlying reporting periods and data coverage.
Ministry of Women and Child Development
Why the findings matter beyond the birth statistics
The importance of the study lies in what it reveals about the relationship between family attitudes and gender equality.
For decades, India’s gender imbalance at birth has been associated with son preference, gender discrimination and the misuse of prenatal diagnostic technologies for sex selection.
The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994, prohibits sex selection and regulates the use of prenatal diagnostic techniques to prevent their misuse.
However, legal restrictions alone cannot address the social expectations that contribute to discrimination against daughters.
A family may comply with the law while continuing to believe that having a son is more desirable. Changing this attitude requires sustained engagement with parents, communities, healthcare workers, educational institutions and local authorities.
The new study’s findings are particularly relevant because they point towards a change in the birth patterns of families that have traditionally experienced stronger pressure to have sons.
At the same time, the absence of a comparable change among first births suggests that the challenge is not simply whether parents accept the birth of a girl, but whether that acceptance continues when a family already has a daughter.
A girl child’s birth is only the beginning
An improvement in the sex ratio at birth is an important indicator, but it cannot independently establish that girls are experiencing equal treatment throughout their lives.
Survival, healthcare, nutrition, education, freedom from violence, economic opportunities and participation in decision-making are equally important measures of gender equality.
The government’s own Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao programme recognises this broader continuum by including girls’ education and development among its objectives.
The Ministry’s February 2026 statement also reported that the gross enrolment ratio of girls at the secondary school level increased from 75.51 per cent in 2014–15 to 80.2 per cent in 2024–25.
These indicators provide a wider context for assessing the progress made in improving opportunities for girls, although they do not establish that improvements in birth ratios automatically translate into equality in other areas.
The latest research offers evidence that public interventions can influence an aspect of family behaviour that has been difficult to change. But the larger test for India will be whether the growing acceptance of daughters at birth is matched by equal investment in their lives, education, health and independence.
For a country that has struggled with the consequences of son preference for generations, the possibility of changing attitudes within families is significant. The findings suggest progress, while also showing why sustained efforts remain necessary.
