Punjab, which is known for its skewed sex ratio, has registered an increase in the number of girls per 1,000 boys as per the provisional population totals released here.
In 2011, Punjab's sex ratio stood at 893 whereas in 2001, it was only 876. Hoshiarpur district has the highest sex ratio of 962 whereas Bathinda has the minimum sex ratio at 865 - down from 870 in 2001. "Many initiatives have been taken to improve the sex ratio in the state and results are visible in the provisional data. Our overall literacy rate has also increased from 69.7 to 76.7 per cent," Chief Secretary S.C. Agrawal told reporters after releasing the report.
About the reasons behind the minimum sex ratio of Bathinda district, Agrawal said: "Bathinda's sex ratio declined because of many reasons. There is a refinery, where around 25,000 to 30,000 male workers, who have migrated from other places, work. So they have increased the number of males in the district." Meanwhile, the child sex ratio (between 0-6 years of age) in Punjab has seen a good increase. It was recorded at 846 whereas in 2001 it was only 798. As per the provisional totals, Punjab's total population stands at 27,704,236 and the state has seen a decadal growth of nearly 14 per cent.
