Delhi's sex ratio at birth increased from 920 to 933 in 2020, says Sisodia

Delhi's sex ratio at birth has increased from 920 females per thousand males in 2019 to 933 in 2020, and the infant mortality rate declined from 24.19 to 20.37 percent during the same period, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said citing a city government report on Thursday.

The increase in sex ratio is the result of social awareness and it is a matter of great pride that the society is being educated and is understanding the importance of girls, Sisodia said in a statement.

"In Delhi, public awareness efforts have also yielded beneficial effects. The birth rate fell from 18.35 per thousand in 2019 to 14.85 per thousand in 2020. In 2020, a number of 3,01,645 births were registered, compared to 3,65,868 in 2019," the statement said.

"The reduction in infant mortality is the result of great changes in health infrastructure and better access to health facilities to all citizens," he said.

According to the annual report of the Directorate of Economics and Statistics of the Delhi government, the sex ratio rate in the national capital increased to 933 females per thousand males in 2020 as compared to 920 in 2019.

The infant mortality rate in Delhi has also decreased in comparison to 2019. The infant mortality rate per thousand in 2019 was 24.19, whereas it was 20.37 in 2020, the report showed.

Sisodia also pointed out that the maternal mortality rate in Delhi has also decreased. The maternal mortality rate was 0.55 per 1,000 births in 2019 which fell to 0.54 per 1,000 births in 2020.

The death rate in Delhi has decreased as a result of dramatic changes in the city's health infrastructure and universal access to better health care for all inhabitants.

According to the data, the death rate has decreased from 7.29 per thousand in 2019 to 7.03 per thousand in 2020, it added.