Jammu and Kashmir to boost girl child ratio

The Jammu and Kashmir government, led by Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed of the PDP-BJP coalition, announced a bold financial incentive for the girl child: the state would contribute ₹1,000 per month for every girl born after April 2015 until she turns 14, with the accumulated amount — about ₹6.5 lakh — paid out when she reaches 21.

The urgency was real. J&K's child sex ratio had fallen from 941 girls per 1,000 boys in 2001 to 862 in 2011, one of the steepest declines in the country, while the overall sex ratio stood at 889 against a national child sex ratio of 919.

"Financial security of the girl child holds paramount, as it creates a positive disposition towards the girl child," said finance minister Haseeb Drabu, presenting his maiden budget. "Among a host of interventions," he noted, the declining child sex ratio was alarming and demanded action.

In a nation that worships goddesses like Durga, Saraswati, and Lakshmi daily, the gap between reverence and reality remains stark. A scheme like this is a step in the right direction — but as the budget speech itself implied, lasting change needs an overhaul of attitudes: respect, education, and kindness toward women taught in every home.

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Based on reporting by DNA, March 2015.