DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS OF MAHARASHTRA

Transcription

1 CHAPTER - 5 DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS OF MAHARASHTRA INDEX : 5.1 Introduction 5.2 State Profile and its Administrative Set up 5.3 Position of State in India s Population 5.4 Decadal change in Population since Density of Population in Maharashtra State 5.6 Sex Composition of Maharashtra 5.7 Reasons for Imbalanced Sex Ratio 5.8 Literacy Rate 5.9 Public Health 5.10 Birth Rate 5.11 Death Rate 5.12 Infant Mortality Rate 5.13 Urbanization in Maharashtra 5.14 Sex Ratio by Social Groups 5.15 Strong Son Preference 5.16 Gender Selection 5.17 Conclusion References 91

2 CHAPTER - 5 DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS OF MAHARASHTRA 5.1 Introduction Maharashtra is the third largest state in India geographically and second most populous state with 11,23,72,972 populations next to Uttar Pradesh followed by Bihar. As per 2011 census, the growth rate of Maharashtra during is 15.99% which is less than national growth rate of 17.64%. Maharashtra ranks 21 st in terms of growth rate. The density of population is 365 persons per sq. km in Maharashtra State while the density of population of India is 382. In terms of literacy, the state ranks 12 th in the country with 82.9% literacy rate against the national average of 74%. However, in terms of gender ratio, the rank of Maharashtra is 22 nd with sex ratio of 925 against 940 at national level as per 2011 census. There have been many ups and downs in sex ratio of Maharashtra since the day of formation of the state i.e. since This chapter highlights the data about sex ratio, its composition and its aspect related to Maharashtra state. 5.2 State Profile and its Administrative Set up Maharashtra covers the central and western part of India with a long coastline along the Arabian Sea. The state is surrounded by Gujarat to the North West, Madhya Pradesh to the North, Chhattisgarh to the east, Andhra Pradesh to the south east, Karnataka to the south and Goa to the south west. The geographical area of Maharashtra is 3,07,713 sq. km. Table No. 5.1 Administrative Set up of Maharashtra State Items Geographical Area ( 000 sq. km.) 308 Revenue Divisions 6 Districts 35 Tehsils / Talukas 355 Inhabited Villages 43,663 Uninhabited Villages

3 Towns 535 Zilla Parishads 33 Gram Panchayats 27,913 Panchayat samitis 351 Municipal Councils 222 Municipal Corporations 23 Nagar Panchayat 07 The rate of urbanization in Maharashtra is high with 45.2 per cent of population residing in urban areas. Maharashtrais divided into 35 districts. These are further divided into 6 divisions - Pune, Konkan, Nashik, Amravati, Aurangabad and Nagpur for administrative purposes. The state has a long tradition of having statutory bodies for planning at the district level. For local self-government in rural areas, there are 33 Zilla parishads, 351 Panchayat Simitis and 27,906 Gram Panchayat. The urban areas are governed through 26 municipal councils, 7 Nagar Panchayats and 7 Cantonment Boards. 1 The capital of Maharashtra is Mumbai. Also it s the financial capital of India where India s main stock exchange and capital market are located lack s hectares land of Maharashtra State is under cultivation and Lack s hectares land area is under forest. Maharashtra is industrialized state. It is pioneer in small scale industries. Maharashtra has become leading automobile hub and major IT growth Centre. Also, the state has higher installed capacity and generation of electricity in the country. All this has made this state the most favorite destination for investment. Even though, Maharashtra is a highly industrialized state of India, the main occupation of people here is agriculture. 61% of the people here is directly or indirectly depend on agriculture. 5.3 Position of State in India s Population India has witnessed a huge growth in its population in the last 5 decades. It is estimated that India will become most populated country in the world by 2030 leaving behind China. Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar is more than many countries around the world. Population growth has been 5% to 18% in a decade in many states. Such a huge growth rate is an alarming sign for the whole nation. Almost 50 per cent of the India s population resides in 5 states Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Utter Pradesh tops the chart with more than 200 million people, Maharashtra with a growth rate of 9.42%, is second most populous state in India. 93

4 Figure 5.1 Position of State in India West Bengal 7.50% 7% Bihar 8.60% 9% Andhra Pradesh 7% 7% Madhya Pradesh 6% 6% Tamil Nadu 6% 6% Maharashtra 9.30% 9% Rajastan 5.70% 6% karnataka 5% 5% Uttar Pradesh 16.50% 17% Jammu & Kashmir Haryana 1% Chhattisgarh 2% 1% 2.10% 2% Punjab 2% 2.30% Assam 2% 2.60% Jharkhand 3% 2.70% Kerla 3% 2.80% Orrisa 3% Other States 3.50% 4.40% 4% Gujarat 4% 5% 5% Source: Census of India, 2011, Director of Census Operations, Maharashtra From the above chart, it can be seen that, 1. Growth rate of Uttar Pradesh is highest (16.5%) followed by Maharashtra (9.3%) 2. Growth of Jammu and Kashmir has been 1% followed by Haryana and Chhattisgarh with 2.1% growth rate 5.4 Decadal change in Population since 1961 The population growth of any region is mainly associated with birth rate, death rate as well as migration. Such growth can be either positive or negative. As per Census 2011, the total population of the state was 11,23,74,333 against 9,68,78,627 in 2001 which shows 15.99% growth rate during The following table highlights a decadal change in population of Maharashtra since

5 Table No. 5.2 Decadal Change in Population of Maharashtra Year Population Growth Rate ,95,53, % ,04,12, % ,27,82, % ,89,37, % ,68,78, % ,23,74, % Source: Census 1961 to 2011 From the above table, it can be seen that: 1. Population growth in Maharashtra has shown a mixed trend since its formation i.e. since The highest decadal growth in population has been recorded during i.e % 3. During , the growth rate was lowest 15.99% which has shown 6% decrease as compared to growth rate of last decade i.e This shows a remarkable control over the population growth of Maharashtra. 5.5 Density of Population in Maharashtra State It is experienced that a highly populated city cannot be well governed. Hence, density of an area must be limited. Density of population can be defined as the number of persons per square kilometer. It indicates concentration of population in a particular area. 2.4% of the World s total surface area is covered by India while it holds 17.5% of the world s total population. The population density of India was 382 persons per sq. km in Maharashtra Contributes 9.28% to India s Population. The density of population of Maharashtra was 365 persons per sq. km in 2011 which was lower than national average of 382 per sq. km. The following table shows a density of population of Maharashtra and India since

6 Year Table No. 5.3 Density of State ( ) Maharashtra India Value % Change Value % Change % % % % % % % % % % % % Sources: 1. A Report of National Comm. on Pop., Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi 2. India, Key Regional Socio-Economic Indicator, 2012 From the above table, it can be seen that- 1. Density of population has gone up at a higher pace as both national as well as state level, but the rate of increase has reduced 2. Highest density is recorded in India has disproportionate share of the World s population as 2.4% World s land of India supports 17.5% of world s population. On the other hand Maharashtra has fairly balanced man land ratio as Maharashtra covers 9.6% of country s land and support 9.28% population 5.6 Sex Composition of Maharashtra The sex ratio is an important area of interest to anthropologists and demographers. Sex ratio is the number of females per thousand males. The sex ratio changes from one area to another, from one age group to another depending upon the age-specific mortality rates. It mainly depends on birth rate, death rate and marriages. As per Registrar General of India (RGI), few big countries across the globe have reported sharp decline in sex ratio. China s sex ratio in 2001 was 944 but in 2011 it fell to 926. Nigeria s sex ratio fell to 987 in 2011 which was 1016 in Whereas sex ratio in India has gone up from 933 in 2001 to 940 in The following table shows the trends of sex ratio in Maharashtra. 96

7 Table No. 5.4 Maharashtra Sex ratio ( ) Year Sex Ratio Variation Source: Collated from Government of Maharashtra, Census ( ) From the above table it can be seen that: 1. A mixed trend in sex ratio it can be seen in Maharashtra during study period 2. In 1981, state witnessed a marginal increase of seven points and then there was a sharpest decline of twelve points in In 2011, sex ratio of Maharashtra improved by 3 females as compared to 2001, still is remains a matter of concern. 4. Sex differentials in childhood mortality, less literacy amongst women, excess female mortality, son preference, socio-cultural practices like dowry and violence against women etc., are responsible for lower sex ratio. 5.7 Reasons for Imbalanced Sex Ratio The sex ratio of Maharashtra has shown a declining trend except in 1981 when there was a rise in sex ratio by 7 females. Gender inequality has been a prevalent problem in the state since its formation; these differences are primarily due to geographic location, Cultural Legacies, Level of Income, Religious norms, Migration, Urbanization and so on 5.8 Literacy Rate Improvement in female literacy has a direct effect on reducing fertility. In districts where a high proportion of women could read and write, the average number of children per women was considerably lower than in districts where literacy levels were low 2 Literacy rate, according to Indian census is defined as the percentage of literate people to the total population falling in the age group of seven years and above. Women s education leads to lower infant mortality, lower fertility and higher productivity. Generally, it is assumed that returns from men s education 97

8 are much higher than women s education, but in actual sense, though the return on investment in women s education is lower compared to those of men, the social benefits in terms of health and fertility is much more than the benefits from men s education. Educated women will have fewer children than the uneducated women. The level of literacy reduces the family size due to following reasons: - 1. Literate women can freely express their disapproval to the burden of multiple pregnancies and can take necessary actions to overcome such burden. 2. Literate women are highly ambitious about their children and do not consider their children as labour service providers. 3. Literate Women are more independent and do not expect any support from their sons for social status and or security during old age. If the Dependence on sons is reduced, the SRB can be automatically equalized. Population of India has now become aware about the importance of literacy, hence according to Nag and Sengupta, 1992, after 1961 it is observed that in each state the rate of growth literacy has been noticeably high for females as compared to males.similar trend is seen in case of Maharashtra as well. The following table shows the literacy rate of Maharashtra since its formation. Table No. 5.5 Literacy rate of Maharashtra Year Persons Males Females Source: Census 1961 to 2011 From the above it can be seen that: 1. There has been an increasing trend in the literacy rate in Maharashtra since The rate of growth of female literacy is higher than literacy growth rate of males. 98

9 5.9 Public Health With special focus on disadvantaged population, vast health infrastructure has been built in India and in Maharashtra to provide accessible and affordable, preventive health care services. State Government has implemented various state level health schemes in Maharashtra. The state has a three-tier public health infrastructure - 1. Primary tier 2. Secondary tier 3. Tertiary Tier functional: Under the primary tier, three types of health care institutions are 1. Sub Centre 2. Primary Health Centre (PHC) and 3. Community Health Centre (CHC) Under Secondary Tier there are 1. Sub district level hospitals 2. District level hospitals Tertiary health care is provided by hospitals in urban areas. Availability of such infrastructure and medical services has helped to improve health indicators in Maharashtra. As on Feb. 2013, there are 23 district Hospitals (DH), 553 Sub District Hospitals (SDH), 1811 Primary Health Centre) PHC) and sub centers in Maharashtra State. Government has also introduced various schemes such as, - 1. National Rural Health Mission 2. Reproductive and Child Health Programme 3. Family Welfare Programme 4. Janani Suraksha Yojana 5. Universal Immunisation Programme 6. Jeevandayi Arogya Yojana 7. Epidemic Control Programme Government has adopted above schemes at state level in order to improve the health and to stabilize the growth rate of population. The following four major health indicators to study the public health of Maharashtra are studied in this research: - 1. Child Birth Rate 2. Child Death Rate 3. Infant Mortality Rate 4. Total Fertility Rate 99

10 5.10 Birth Rate Birth Rate is the factor that affects population growth. It is defined as a number of births in a country as compared to the existing population. It is calculated as number of births per every 1000 persons in the country. Birth Rate = Total number of Females Total number of Males Birth rate depends on number of factors like existing age-sex structure, availability of family planning services, female employment, economic prosperity, poverty levels, infant mortality rate, age of marriage, etc.- Population growth in turn depends on birth rate. Birth rates can vary to a greater extent by region and can have drastic effects on the overall human population. According to 2011 census, there is a fall in the birth rate in India both in rural as well as urban areas. Similar trend is seen in Maharashtra State as well. The Following table shows birth rates of Maharashtra since Table No. 5.6 Birth Rate of Maharashtra State ( ) Year Birth Rate Total Rural Urban (38.90) (30.10) (36.90) (35.60) (27.00) (33.90) (30.90) (24.30) (29.50) (27.10) (20.30) (25.40) (23.30) (17.60) (21.80) Source: Sample Registration Scheme Bulletin, Registrar General of India, New Delhi From the above table it can be seen that: 1. There has been a continuous fall in overall population of Maharashtra state since 1961 but at a decreasing rate. 2. Fall in the rural population s birth rate is higher than the fall in urban population 3. It can be concluded that the awareness among the population about birth rate control has aroused both in urban as well as in rural areas of Maharashtra 100

11 5.11 Death Rate Death rate can be defined as the number of people who die each year compared to every 1000 people in the population. Death rate depends on factors such as medical facilities and health care, nutrition levels, living standards hygiene levels, level of infectious diseases, availability of clean drinking water. It also depends on conflicts and levels of violent crime prevailing in society. Rate of population is affected by death rate of the region. During the preindustrial stage, both death rates and birth rates were high which led to high population growth. During industrial revolution there was a drop in death rate due to improved food production and improved health and sanitation, medical progress, availability of transport facility, etc-. As death rate declined, birth rate remained the same, there was a population explosion. During post-industrial stage, birth rates fell eventually balancing the fall in death rates which now has resulted in stable population growth up to some extent. Death rate in Maharashtra has also fallen. The following table shows the death rate of Maharashtra. Table No. 5.7 Death rate of Maharashtra (as per 1000 population) Year Death Rate Rural Urban Total 1971 Maharashtra India (16.40) (9.70) (14.90) 1981 Maharashtra India (13.70) (7.80) (12.50) 1991 Maharashtra India (10.60) (7.10) (9.80) 2001 Maharashtra India (9.10) (6.30) (8.40) 2011 Maharashtra India (7.60) (5.70) (7.10) Source: Sample Registration Scheme Bulletin, Registrar General of India, New Delhi. 1. Since its Formation Maharashtra has seen a continuous decline in death rate 2. Death rate in Urban Maharashtra is less than in rural Maharashtra. This is due to availability of medical facilities, infrastructure and level of sanitation and hygiene. 101

12 3. Fall in both birth rate and in Death rate has resulted in stabilization of population growth in Maharashtra up to greater extent Infant Mortality Rate The infant mortality rate (IMR) is the number of deaths of infants under one-year-old per 1000 live births. Thus, in short it can be said that the IMR of any area is the ratio of the number of children dying below 1 year of age to the number of live births in the same year multiplied by The causes of infant mortality are numerous few of the noticeable causes are medical reasons such as low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome, malnutrition and infectious diseases. Also there are some environmental reasons such as organic water pollution, burning of inefficient fuels leading to acute respiratory tract infections among children below 5 years of age, air pollution which leads to increased IMR. Air pollution creates adverse respiratory effects and sudden infant death syndrome. Infant Mortality Rate affects the level of population in any region. The following table shows Infant Mortality Rate of Maharashtra since Table No. 5.8 Infant Mortality Rate ( 1971 to 2011 ) Year Infant Mortality Rate Rural Urban Total 1971 Maharashtra India (138) (82) (129) 1981 Maharashtra India (119) (62) (110) 1991 Maharashtra India (87) (53) (80) 2001 Maharashtra India (72) (42) (66) 2011 Maharashtra India (62) (39) (57) Source: Sample Registration Scheme Bulletin, Registrar General of India, New Delhi 1. In can be observed that IMR in urban areas is lower than that in rural areas. This may be due to availability of proper and timely medical facilities in urban areas. 2. The IMR in Maharashtra shows a declining trend since 1961, IMR of Maharashtra has been less than INR in India in each year 102

13 3. IMR has declined due to improved knowledge of diseases, nutrition, vaccination and public health centres. Wide Urban-Rural Differential: - The overall sex ratio of Maharashtra has been declining but in Maharashtra there exists a wide urban rural differential. The IMR of Maharashtra, in 1991, was 45 per 1000 live births placing it on the second position among the major states. Whereas, during that period the IMR has been only 14 in Kerala. The IMR in rural Maharashtra was 42 and in urban Maharashtra it was 26. In 1961, the rural IMR was 88 i.e., Rural IMR was higher than urban IMR by 26 percent but has now almost doubled than urban IMR in (Refer Table No. 5.8) According to Human Development Report Maharashtra, 2002, the IMR of educated mothers was 63 per 1000 live births, whereas the IMR of uneducad mothers or the women who had at least high school education was 27. A similar trend is found among the mothers with different standard of livings. Women with lower standard of living had IMR of 69 per 1000 live birth while women with higher standard had IMR of Urbanization in Maharashtra:- Maharashtra is the second most urbanized state in India with percent of the population living in urban areas during This huge population accounts for percent of India s urban population in Till 1991 Maharashtra was on the first position. It was the most urbanized state of India; which privilege has now gone to Tamil Nadu whose percent population is urban. Urban lifestyle and attitudes have a modernizing influence on demography of the region that can result in fast decline in fertility and mortality. In developing nations like India, though urbanization generally is not characterized by strong industrialization, its modernizing influence is found to be strong. The ratio of urban population isan important developmental indicator that influences the demography of the region. The following table shows level of urbanization in Maharashtra State. 103

14 Year Table No. 5.9 Level of Urbanization in Maharashtra State Urban Units Urban Population (Million) Urban Pop as % of total Population Decadal growth rate of urban population Source: Biswas S.K., 2001, Provisional Population Totals for Maharashtra, Census of India, 2001, series 28, Paper No. 1. From the above table, it can be seen that, - 1. There has been a constant rise in urban units and urban population since Urbanization has been increasing each year but at a decreasing rate. Decadal growth rate of population has shown a mixed trend since It can be concluded that Urbanization in Maharashtra has been increasing and this is having an effect on demographic behaviour of the region Division wise Urbanization: - As seen in the above table, across Maharashtra, there has been a sharp variation in the levels of urbanization, in terms of both numbers of cities and towns as well as population. The following table shows Division wise percentage of urban population in Maharashtra state. Table No Division wise Urbanization Divisions Konkan Nashik Pune Aurangabad Nagpur Amravati Conclusion: 1. Above table shows division wise urbanisation in Maharashtra state. 104

15 2. Konkan division is the most urbanized division. More than 70% of population of Konkan lives in urban areas. 3. Aurangabad division is least urbanized division of Maharashtra where around one- fourth population lives in uran area while threefourth population live in rural areas Total Fertility Rate Total Fertility rate (TFR), sometimes also called the fertility rate is the average number of children that a woman would give birth to over her lifetime if: 1. She was to experience the exact current age specific fertility rates through her lifetime, and 2. She was to survive from birth through the end of her reproductive life 3 The TFR is not based on the fertility of any real group of women nor is it based on counting up the total number of children actually born during their lifetime. The TFR is a measure of fertility of a women imagined to be passing through her reproductive life subject to all the age specific fertility rates for recorded for a given population in a given year. TFR is a more direct measure of the level of fertility than the crude birth rate, since it refers to births per women. 4 The Following table shows TFR of Maharashtra since 1961 Table No Total Fertility Rate ( 1961 to 2011 ) Year Total Fertility Rate Rural Urban Total Maharashtra India (5.40) (4.10) (5.20) Maharashtra India (4.80) (3.30) (4.50) Maharashtra India (3.90) (2.70) (3.60) Maharashtra India (3.40) (2.30) (3.10) Maharashtra India (3.10) (2.00) (2.80) Source: Sample Registration Scheme Bulletin, Registrar General of India, New Delhi 105

16 Sex Ratio of Urban and Rural Population Sex ratio variation has been always prevalent between rural and urban sub groups of population. In Maharashtra there has been a continuous rise in the process of urbanization. The urban population was 42.40% in 2001 which rose to 45.20% in During there was an increase of 57,78,427 in population of rural area and 97,17,279 in population of urban area. Along with rise in urbanization, sex differential in growth rate has been a main feature in both urban and rural areas. The following table shows rural-urban sex ratio of Maharashtra since Table No Sex Ratio Rural Urban Population in Maharashtra (1961 to 2011) Year Population (in crore) Sex Ratio Rural Urban Rural Urban Source: Economic Survey of Maharashtra Figure 5.2 Population of Maharashtra ( ) (in Crores) Rural Urban Source: Table No

17 Figure 5.3 Sex Ratio of Maharashtra ( ) (in Crores) Rural Urban Source: Table No From the above table it can be seen that, - 1. Female deficiency is commonly shared through the years under study period. In none of the years urban ratio was greater that rural ratio. 2. There has been a fall in the gender ratio of rural area appears to have been more continuous since This disproportion can be reduced if the cause of this imbalance in rural-urban migration can be treated. These causes are interwoven with our entire economy and remedial action has to be applied over a very wide field Impact of Migration As observed in table No. 5.12, the sex ratio of urban areas is poor as compared to sex ratio in rural areas. To derive a conclusion that rural areas has better sex ratio that urban areas would be inappropriate as there are migrants from rural to urban areas who changes the sex ratio of urban areas to a greater extent. Most of the migration to urban areas of Maharashtra State is sex selective. Male migrants move to urban areas leaving their families have a depressing effect on sex ratio of urban areas as the number of males increases while number of females remain constant. Migration has an impact on fertility as people migrating from rural areas bring their social norms with them. Such migrants also bring a trend of marriages at an early age, motherhood in teenage and a preference for sons. This has an overriding effect on sex ratio of urban areas. 107

18 Table No Contribution of Net Migration to Population growth in Maharashtra State Year Annual Natural Increase Rate % Annual Net Migration Rate % Net Migration as % of growth Estimated Net Migrants per Yr.(Mn.) Source: Office of the Registrar General, GOI, Sample Registration System. It can be seen from the above table, - 1. Net migration rate has increased in each decade 2. The population growth of urban area is caused due to major share of net migration 3. It can be concluded that migration of male members from rural areas to urban areas improves the sex ratio of rural areas and affect the sex ratio of urban areas up to some extent Sex Ratio by Social Groups Maharashtra is characterized by diversity in religions. Maharashtra is home to five of the world s major religion viz:, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Christianity, Jewish, Zoroastrianism are the other religions followed by the people of Maharashtra. It presents cultural diversity in true terms. Hinduism is the major religion in Maharashtra consisting of 79.83% followers. The second most popular religion in state is Islam with 11.54% followers. 0.96% follow Christianity, 1.25% follow Jainism, 0.20% follow Sikhism while 0.20% follow Buddhism. Among many reasons associated with the differentiation of gender is religion. Some religious norms and traditions can contribute to the formation of gender inequalities. The role of religion is complex and it varies from place to place. The following table shows the sex ratio of Maharashtra by social groups as per 2011 census. 108

19 Table No Sex Ratio by Social Groups (2011 Census) Religious Communities Population Sex Ratio Hindu 77,859, Muslim 10,270, Christian 1,058, Sikh 215, Buddhist 5,838, Jain 1,301, Other Religious Communities 236, From the above table it can be observed that,- 1. All religions maintain male social dominance. 2. Sex ratio is worst amongst Sikhs and Muslims, 829 and 889 respectively. 3. Sex ratio is highest amongst Christians. 4. It can be concluded that religion significantly affects the status of women and leads to gender inequality Strong Son Preference: - Everyone has a desire for son. If a person is Hindu, he needs a son for his father s salvation. Sons are equally desired by almost all other communities. Daughters, on the other h considered as financial burden in many parts of the country. Due to this assumption about daughters abortions are reported if the child in womb is said to be a girl. Similar trend of son preference is prevalent in Maharashtra as well. A comparison of Maharashtra with select states has been done by the International Institute for Population Sciences and MEASURE DHS+ORC-MACRO (2000) and National Family Health Survey 2 (NFHS 2), India The following table shows details of these studies. 109

20 Table No Comparison of Maharashtra State with select states- Factors Leading to Fertility Decline Indicators Maharashtra Kerala Tamil Nadu West Bengal Andhra Pradesh Per cent of women age married by age Median age at marriage (years) Per cent of contribution of age of TFR Contraceptive use Any Method (per cent) Per cent sterilized Per cent exposed to Family Planning message Per cent wanting more sons than daughters Per cent wanting at least one son Per cent received all recommended antenatal care Per cent of deliveries attended by health professional Source: International Institute for Population Sciences and MEASURE DHS+ORC-MACRO (2000) and National Family Health Survey 2 (NFHS 2), India

21 From the above table, it can be seen that per cent of women aspire more sons as compared to daughters while 84 per cent want at least one son (in Maharashtra State). Both the statistics are higher as compared to the other status in comparison 2. Contraception is used by only 35 per cent of women with two children. If a woman has a son and a daughter, contraception is resorted to by 63 per cent of women. 3. This son preference has distorted the sex ratio of Maharashtra Gender Selection Gender selection by clinical prenatal methods is also a reason for the poor overall sex ratio in Maharashtra. Despite of the implementation of the amended pre-conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (2003), there has been a continuous decline in India s sex ratio. Number of states in India has reached the category of worst sex ratio (below 900). According to Population Research Centre (PRC), Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics Pune, As on September 2004, Maharashtra State had 4,345 ultrasound Sonography Centre s unevenly distributed in it 35 districts. As per the report on A Study of Ultrasound, Sonography Centres in Maharashtra, Maharashtra s sex ratio has been declining each decade whereas the Sonography centres have spread all over the state. The study proves that there exists a correlation between the number of Sonography centres and gender ratio. Such correlation is found to be positive and statistically significant the higher the number of Sonography centres in the districts, the higher the decline in sex ratio in the districts. Maharashtra has the highest Sonography centres in India. 78% of Sonography clinics are registered in the rich districts of Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Sangli and Kolhapur. These are the districts that witnessed a decline in sex ratio. The study also showed that districts with more than 100 Sonography centres had a lower sex ratio, while the districts with less than 100 Sonography centres had medium or higher sex ratio the following table shows the number of Sonography centres in Maharashtra as on

22 Table No Ultrasound, Sonography Centres in Maharashtra S.N. District No. of Machines 1 Buldhana Akola Washim Amravati Yavatmal Nanded Hingoli Parbhani Jalna Aurangabad Beed Latur Osmanabad Nandurbar Dhule Jalgaon Nashik Ahmednagar Thane Mumbai Mumbai (Suburb) Raigarh Ratnagiri Sindhudurg Wardha Nagpur Bhandara Gondiya Gadchiroli Chandrapur Pune Solapur Satara Kolhapur Sangli Source: Report on A Study of Ultrasound, Sonography Centres in Maharashtra, PRC, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune

23 Form the above table it can be seen that,- 1. In 2004, Maharashtra had 4345 ultrasound Sonography clinics unevenly distributed in its 35 districts. 2. The rich Western Maharashtra districts of Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Sangli and Kolhapur have higher number of Sonography centers and these are the regions that witnessed a decline in female sex ratio 3. Thus, we can say that there exist some link between higher availability of Sonography centers and a decline in Child Sex Ratio 5.17 Conclusion: Sex ratio of Maharashtra state has shown a large variation since its formation i.e. since Proportion of females per thousand males is not equal in Maharashtra State. In fact there has been a continuous decline in sex ratio year after year. Attitude of son preference and neglecting female child results in such type of imbalance. This chapter examined the spatial trends and social economic of variations in sex ratio in Maharashtra State. Thus a very unique feature of population of Maharashtra State is sex ratio with significant shortage of females and this is a continuous trend in the state. In urban areas, this disproportion is even greater. This imbalance can be reduced if the causes are identified and adequately treated. The existence of male-female discrimination practices which start even before birth requires an urgent attention of policy makers a micro view of sex ratio in Maharashtra at district level and an attempt has been made to empirically find out various reasons and their probable effects on the sex ratio. 113

24 References 1. A report on Maharashtra, National Disaster Risk Reduction Portal published by District Disaster Management Authority, Maharashtra. http//nidam.gov.in/pdf/dp/maharashtra.pdf, pp. 2 and 3 2. How Female Literacy Affects Fertility: The case of India, population Institute East West Center, Hawaii, Dec., 1990, Vol Total fertility rate definition from CIA World fact book, cia.gov retrieved on Report on A Study of Ultrasound, Sonography Centres in Maharashtra, PRC, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune