The fifth edition of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) confirmed signs of a demographic shift in India. For the first time since the NFHS began in 1992, the proportion of women exceeded men: there were 1,020 women for 1,000 men. In the last edition of the survey in 2015-16, there were 991 women for every 1,000 men.
In Jharkhand the sex ratio is even better than national average. In Jharkhand the number of females per thousand males has gone up to 1050. In the last survey, this figure was 1002. In rural areas, the situation is much better. There, the number of women per thousand men has increased to 1070, while in urban areas this figure is 989.
However, only the decadal census is considered the official marker of population trends in India and has a wider surveillance programme. The NFHS surveys are smaller but are conducted at the district level and are a pointer to the future.
Most States and Union Territories (UTs) had more women than men, the NFHS-5 shows. States that had fewer women than men included Gujarat, Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Union territories such as Jammu & Kashmir, Chandigarh, Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, and Ladakh.
The survey has also shown the effect of Beti Bachao- Beti Padhao campaign in Jharkhand. The survey pointed out indicators showing improvements in the health and social sector of women as well. Marriage of girls under the age of 18 has declined. Earlier 37.9 per cent of girls were married before the age of 18. Now this percentage has come down to 32.2. Although this is also much more than many states of the country, there has also been a decrease in the number of men married before the age of 21. It was 30.5 per cent in the last survey, which has now come down to 22.7 per cent.
The survey also pointed out that family planning measures is gaining momentum in Jharkhand. The survey pointed out that in 2020-21, 61.70 per cent of couples adopted family planning, compared to 40.4 per cent earlier.
The survey also pointed out various indictors in which state have shown improvement. As per the survey, 64.50 per cent of girls (above six years of age) went to school 94.30 per cent of the population was getting electricity 86.6 per cent of the clean water 75.80 per cent of women preferring delivery of child in hospitals 79.2 per cent of children were fully vaccinated among others.
