Over 99% of births, deaths registered in 2024: report, Pg12

Key Highlights:

• India's Civil Registration System (CRS) 2024 data indicates that over 99% of births and deaths were registered, showing significant improvement in coverage.
• The national Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) stands at 917 females per 1,000 males.
• States and Union Territories like Arunachal Pradesh (1,050), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (984), Meghalaya (974), and Mizoram (972) are top performers in SRB.
• Nagaland and Lakshadweep recorded the weakest SRB figures at 865, followed by Jharkhand at 890.
• Registered births increased from 2.52 crore in 2023 to 2.54 crore in 2024, and registered deaths rose from 86.6 lakh to 89.4 lakh.

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Detailed Insights:

• The improved registration rates provide a clearer picture of India's demographic transition.
• A Sex Ratio at Birth close to or slightly above the biological norm suggests a reduction in sex-selective abortions.
• India has historically faced challenges with a masculine skew at birth due to son preference.
• Haryana and Punjab, which recorded low child sex ratios in the 2011 Census (834 and 846 respectively), have been engaged in long-term policy efforts to correct this imbalance.
• In 2024, 81,117 stillbirths were recorded, with a significant urban concentration (69%).
• The expansion of the Civil Registration System coverage is crucial for generating vital statistics that inform policy and implementation across various sectors.
• The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, makes the recording of these vital events compulsory.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Civil Registration System (CRS): A unified process for continuous, permanent, and compulsory recording of vital events like births, deaths, and stillbirths.
• Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB): The number of female births per 1,000 male births, indicating gender balance at the time of birth.
• Demographic Transition: The shift from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as a society develops economically.
• Son Preference: A societal bias favoring male children, often leading to practices that skew the sex ratio.