Kriti Foundation | Page 2

Dear Friends, Some advanced medical technology today stands in doldrums because of its misuse in pre-natal sex determination and sex selection. The popularity of sex determination tests in India has its roots in the strong son-preference which, to a large extent, has the sanction of religion, tradition and culture. India has a legacy of biases against the girl child, as illustrated by continuing discrimination in receiving health and nutrition and also education. Today, advanced technology provides sophisticated methods of sex selection which has led to a drastic fall in the child sex ratio through sex-selective elimination of the girl child before birth. In order to address the rampant practice of sex selection, the Government of India enacted the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act in 1994, which prohibits sex selection and sex determination for non-medical reasons. However, despite this legislation and incessant efforts by civil society organisations to foster mind-set change, the 2001 Census had revealed the CSR (child sex ratio) to have substantially worsened. This was followed by an amendment of the PNDT Act in 2004 to become Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act in order to provide for the prohibition of sex-selection before or after conception and for the regulation of pre-natal diagnostic techniques. Nevertheless, the 2011 Census has revealed glaring gaps in the implementation of this Act, as CSR figures continue to decline at an unnerving rate. Kriti Foundation (KF) is one such national-level organisation which has taken the issue of pre-natal sex selection with utmost priority. KF has been working on effectively to address issues relating to sex selection through a synergistic approach since 2008. We are glad to inform you that our organisation has released its first edition on the issue of female foeticide to motivate various stakeholders of the society to come together and generate awareness against this burning social cause, and thereby, help reduce the number of sex-selective elimination of baby girls in the wombs of their mothers. Aparna Singh Anchor Person DD & AIR