CHANDIGARH, Aug. 10 -- Haryana's battle against gender imbalance has hit a worrying roadblock in six districts-Ambala, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Karnal, Palwal and Sirsa-where the sex ratio at birth (SRB) has plunged by 18 to 35 points in the first seven months of 2025 compared to same period last year, it has emerged.

The drop in the SRB comes despite a slew of aggressive steps by the health department at multiple levels to improve the SRB, raising fears that the state's annual SRB may take a hit if the free fall in six districts continues over the next five months.

The SRB is a critical indicator of gender equality and a better SRB leads to an improvement in the child sex ratio (CSR).

Haryana has been waging a war against gender determ...