CHANDIGARH, Jan. 2 -- The Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government on Thursday said Haryana has registered a 13-point improvement in sex ratio at birth (SRB) in 2025, increasing the birth sex ratio to 923 from 910 in 2024, in what signals a turnaround in the state's fight against sex-selective abortions. This is the highest in the last five years. Haryana had recorded the cumulative SRB of 923 for the first time in 2019 and the 13 points jump registered in 2025 is a third highest single-year gain in a decade. The bounce back in SRB is being seen as a psychological boost to those involved in the state's "save the girl child" fight. According to Civil Registration System (CRS) data (excluding delayed registrations) till December 31, 2025, the improvement came despite a slight rise in total births from 5,16,402 in 2024 to 5,19,691 in 2025. The state recorded 3,289 more births in 2025 than 2024, including the birth of 3,362 more girls while birth of boys were 73 less in 2025 in comparison to 2024. Haryana had suffered a setback in 2024 as the state's SRB slipped to 910 females births per 1,000 males. This was a dip of six points from 2023's 916 after which Haryana went all out to arrest the slide. As the rise in SRB of 2025 was driven by an increase in female births, it is a testament to the raft of steps additional chief secretary (ACS-Health) Sudhir Rajpal took during the year, who did not desist from wielding the stick and kept the entire health department machinery on its toes. Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the nationwide flagship programme Beti Bachao Beti Padhao from Panipat on January 22, 2015, the SRB of Haryana rose from 876 in 2015 to 900 in 2016, registering the highest 24 points improvement in a year. The SRB further improved to 914 in 2017 and 2018, which was the second highest improvement of 14 points in a year. The SRB of Haryana rose to 923 in 2019 and came down to 922 in 2020. It registered an eight point dip and stood at 914 in 2021, 917 in 2022, 916 in 2023 and 910 in 2024. According to ACS (Health) Sudhir Rajpal, the magic wand was that the save the girl child drive was taken to every nook and corner of the state and clearly an element of fear prevailed in the field for being caught while opting for termination of pregnancy illegally. "We have achieved a record figure of 923 SRB. This has become possible as we shifted our strategy," said Rajpal, explaining that crackdown on availability of MTP Kits, including via online suppliers, was a first major blow to those involved in illegal abortions. "Our 'reverse tracking' policy was a game changer under which ASHA workers were linked with pregnant women, already having one girl child, to track their pregnancy. Such pregnant women were the most vulnerable and susceptible to family pressures. Now we have a clear template to deal with this issue and further improve SRB." The turnaround was driven by every district with sharp improvements. For instance, three districts---Fatehabad, Panchkula and Panipat---crossed the 950 mark in 2025, something no district managed in 2024 when Yamunanagar's 939 was the highest SRB. However, Gurugram, despite economic growth, showed only a marginal two-point improvement and remained below the state average with 901 SRB, up from 899 in 2024. Barring Sonepat and Jind, the SRB of other 20 districts improved. The SRB of Sonepat district slipped by seven points (from 901 in 2024 to 894 in 2025) and SRB of Jind district came down to 918 from 919 in 2024. The other districts identified as trouble spots-Charkhi Dadri, Faridabad, Panipat, Rewari, and Rohtak --which were among the lowest in the 2024 SRB also showed recovery. Panchkula emerged as the top performer, recording an SRB of 971, after a dramatic 56-point jump from 915 in 2024. Fatehabad followed closely with 961, improving by 36 points, while Panipat surged to 951, registering a 51-point rise. Several other districts also posted solid gains, including Karnal (up 18 points to 944), Kaithal and Faridabad (17 points each), Ambala (up 13), Kurukshetra (14), Jhajjar (11) and Hisar (10). Charkhi Dadri recorded a notable 44-point improvement, underlining the size of the recovery as the SRB of this district rose from 869 in 2024 to 913 in 2025. The ACS (Health) Rajpal attributed the sharp improvement to an aggressive, year-long crackdown on sex-selective abortions, tighter monitoring of ultrasound clinics, squeezing the supply chain of illegal MTP kits and intensified field surveillance. A State Task Force, constituted in March 2025 and led by ACS (Health) Rajpal, conducted weekly reviews of SRB, which were often stormy. The coordinated action across health, women and child development, police, prosecution, food and drug administration and deputy commissioners was another layer of the strategy to curb the practice of gender determination and illegal abortions. Innovative interventions such as reverse tracking (of 12 weeks of pregnant women with previous girl child) of unlawful abortions, the SAHELI project, deputing DSP-rank officers as district PNDT/MTP nodal officers, and close monitoring of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao implementation were key contributors. Dr GL Singal, an expert hand-picked for save the girl child programme in Haryana, credits the STF for improving sex ratio by "remarkable 13 points in a year." "By tightening the noose around sex selective abortions and squeezing availability of illegal MTP kits, the efforts spearheaded by the STF to save unborn girl child bore fruit. It was a herculean task. It is the result of coordinated efforts that Haryana's SRB reached 923 after saving an estimated over 7,000 girls from being killed in 2025," Dr Singal said....