CSR: The IAS Officer Who Improved Child Sex Ratio in Rajasthan
India has one of the highest female foeticide incidents in the world. The female child population in the age group of 0-6 years declined from 78.83 million in 2001 to 75.84 million in 2011. During the period 1991-2011, the child sex ratio (0-6 years) declined from 945 to 914. According to a study on female infanticide by Asian Centre for Human Rights, a Delhi-based NGO dedicated to the protection of human rights, it has been revealed that preference of son over a daughter is a major reason for female infanticide.
IAS Naveen Jain has dedicated his life to working against this ill practice. The bureaucrat has miraculously managed to raise the child sex ratio in the traditionally girl-child starved state, Rajasthan. Over four years he has tirelessly fought against the odds, took various stringent measures and started various initiatives. One among them is the Beti Bachao initiative under which the campaign ‘Daughters are precious’ is running successfully.
‘Daughters are precious’ campaign has managed to bring a major change by significantly increasing the sex ratio in nine districts in Rajasthan. These are the same districts which were once identified as the worst in child sex ratio as per 2011 census.
In order to make this initiative a success, IAS Naveen Jain introduced Mukhabir Yojana, which is the Rajasthan government’s informer scheme, in 2012. This scheme has helped a great deal to curb the illegal practice of female foeticide. Under this, the informant gets paid on informing about any person or clinic involved in the determination of sex.
In 2015, IAS Naveen Jain altered the norms of the Yojana by awarding the pregnant woman as well as the person accompanying her. The informant, the pregnant lady, and the chaperone are rewarded with the prize money in the ratio 40:40:20. Under his supervision, till now PCPNDT team has successfully completed 75 decoy operations in the state.
The officer and his team use an IMPACT (Integrated System for Monitoring of PCPNDT Act) software in order to improve the monitoring of the sonography clinics. The software works as a connecting source between the sonography machines and the tracking devices.
The officer on mission is doing everything in his power and more to ensure that the female children are born and empowered to lead dignified lives.
This piece is part of a series for celebrating the applaud-worthy contributions by the bureaucrats and civil servants of India.
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The CSR Journal Team
