Patiala, Oct. 20 -- Punjab's sex ratio at birth (SRB) has seen a steady decline, slipping from 925 girls per 1,000 boys in 2020 to 922 in 2023. This figure remains worryingly lower than the national average of 928 females per 1,000 males. The sex ratio at birth refers to the number of girls born for every 1,000 boys. The 2023 annual report on Vital Statistics of India, which is based on the annual reports of the states/UT, ranked Punjab 20th among 28 states. The report was released last week by the office of the Registrar General of India, containing key information of events pertaining to the 12-month period - January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023. The highest SRB in the country has been recorded in Arunachal Pradesh (1,085), followed by Nagaland (1,007) and Goa (973). Punjab was among several states and union territories - including Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Ladakh, Lakshadweep and Puducherry - which reported a fall in their sex ratio at birth between 2022 and 2023. Punjab's SRB is worse than the neighbouring Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, which have 935 and 945, respectively. Meanwhile, neighbouring Haryana's SRB is 911. The report highlighted that Punjab's SRB has been declining since 2020. In 2021, the state's SRB dropped to 924 from 925 in 2020. Then it again decreased for the consecutive years as the state registered 923 SRB in 2022. In 2024, Punjab's SRB was 918, according to the data compiled by the state. The national average for 2024 is yet to be released by the Registrar General of India. In 2025 (until August), Punjab's SRB declined further and stood at 902. The Punjab health department has issued a letter to those districts where SRB dropped below 906. As per state's findings, at 865, Sangrur is the worst performer this year so far. It is followed by Mansa (868). Officials wishing not to be named say that despite being declared illegal under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC-PNDT) Act, 1994, female foeticide continues. When asked about the declining figures, Dr Aditi Salari, director (family welfare), Punjab, said, "We are concerned over the decline in the SRB. We are regularly conducting meetings to improve the SRB. We have issued letters to poor-performing districts to improve it."...