Sex Ratio

The Sex Ratio in the country has shown an improvement. As per the Census, sex ratio has increased from 933 females per thousand males in 2001 to 943 females per thousand males in 2011. State/UT-wise details of sex ratio are annexed.

The Government has been exhorting the States and UTs to pay utmost attention for effective implementation of theprovisions of the Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994. Recently, on 18.05.2013, the Union Health Minister requested all the Chief Ministers of States and Lt. Governors/ Administrators of UTs, to ensure effective implementation of the provisions of the Act. The Union Health Secretary has also urged the Chief Secretaries and Secretaries (Health & FW) of all States/ UTs, to establish mechanism for monitoring and to take deterrent follow up action for effective implementation of the PC & PNDT Act. In response to these initiatives, State/UT Governments while reaffirming commitment towards strict compliance of the provisions of the Act, have taken a number of initiatives in this direction.

Government has provided funds to the States & UTs for implementation of the Act. Setting up of PNDT cells to monitor implementation of the Act, is one of the activities for which funds are provided to the States/UTs. Details of funds allocated/released and utilized for PNDT activities during each of the last three years are as under:-

Rs. in Lakh

Financial year	Allocation	Utilisation
2010-11	11417.44*	733.98
2011-12	1411.20	597.58
2012-13	1984.97	1078.84

* Allocation includes Innovations/Public Private Partnership/Non-Governmental Organisation of PC & PNDT.

Government has adopted a multi-pronged strategy devising schemes, programmes and awareness generation/advocacy measures to build a positive environment for the girl child through gender sensitive policies, provisions and legislation.

The measures include the following:-

·   The Government has intensified effective implementation of the said Act and amended various provisions of the Rules relating to sealing, seizure and confiscation of unregistered machines and punishment against unregistered clinics. Regulation of use of portable ultrasound equipment only within the registered premises has been notified. Restriction on medical practitioners to conduct ultrasonography at maximum of two ultrasound facilities within a district has been placed. Registration fees have been enhanced. Rules have been amended to provide for advance intimation in change in employees, place, address or equipment.

·  The Central Supervisory Board (CSB) under the PNDT Act has been reconstituted and regular meetings are being held. The 21^st meeting of the CSB has recently been held on 23.07.2013.

·  The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology has been requested to block sex selection advertisements on websites.

·  The National Inspection and Monitoring Committee (NIMC) has been reconstituted and inspections of ultrasound diagnostic facilities have been intensified. Inspections have been carried out in many States including Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka.

·  The Government is rendering financial support to the States and UTs for operationalisation of PNDT Cells, Capacity Building, Orientation & Sensitisation Workshop, Information, Education and Communication campaigns and for strengthening structures for the implementation of the Act under the National Rural Health Mission(NRHM).

·   States have been advised to focus on Districts/Blocks/Villages with low Child Sex Ratio to ascertain the causes, plan appropriate behaviour change communication campaigns and effectively implement provisions of the PC & PNDT Act.

·  Religious leaders, women achievers etc. are also being involved in the campaign against skewed child sex ratio and discrimination of the girl child.

  

Annexure

State/UT-wise details of sex ratio

Sl. No.	State/UTs	2001	2011
	India	933	943
1	Jammu & Kashmir	892	889
2	Himachal Pradesh	968	972
3	Punjab	876	895
4	Chandigarh	777	818
5	Uttarakhand	962	963
6	Haryana	861	879
7	Delhi	821	868
8	Rajasthan	921	928
9	Uttar Pradesh	898	912
10	Bihar	919	918
11	Sikkim	875	890
12	Arunachal Pradesh	893	938
13	Nagaland	900	931
14	Manipur	978	992
15	Mizoram	935	976
16	Tripura	948	960
17	Meghalaya	972	989
18	Assam	935	958
19	West Bengal	934	950
20	Jharkhand	941	949
21	Odisha	972	979
22	Chhattisgarh	989	991
23	Madhya Pradesh	919	931
24	Gujarat	920	919
25	Daman & Diu	710	618
26	Dadra & Nagar Haveli	812	774
27	Maharashtra	922	929
28	Andhra Pradesh	978	993
29	Karnataka	965	973
30	Goa	961	973
31	Lakshadweep	948	947
32	Kerala	1059	1084
33	Tamil Nadu	987	996
34	Puducherry	1001	1037
35	Andaman & Nicobar Islands	846	876

Aadhar e-KYC : Fast, Secure & Cost Effective

The Unique Identification Authority of India, UIDAI has developed the e-KYC (Electronic – Know Your Customer) service, which promises to substantially improve customer services in the near future.  The new offering,  e-KYC allows an Aadhar number-holder to authorize UIDAI to release his personal details to any service provider to allow instant activation of services like bank account, mobile connection etc. 

Towards paperless transaction

Know Your Customer or KYC is a mandatory process that most financial institutions and mobile companies need to complete in regards to all their customers. Aadhar card is already a valid KYC instrument, still the KYC process takes much longer time and involves documentation.   The e-KYC service being offered by UIDAI will  enable to electronically verify identity and address proof of the residents, which will cut down time required on many things like getting a new mobile connection, opening a Bank account or a trading account etc.

“Not only will this service streamline the process of on-boarding new customers but it will also simplify the process of linking existing customer accounts to their respective Aadhaar numbers in an easy, yet secure manner. The eKYC service will extend the power and convenience of Aadhaar KYC to paperless transactions. Using the eKYC service, residents can authorise the UIDAI to release their KYC data to a service provider,” says UIDAI Chairperson Nandan Nilekani.

The authorization for release of personal data can either be done in person – through biometric authentication or it can be done online using OTP (One Time Password).  Upon successful authentication and consent of the resident, the UIDAI will provide the resident’s name, address, date of birth, gender, photograph, mobile number (if available), and email address (if available) to the service provider electronically.

As the service is paperless and fully electronic, document management can be eliminated. Also, the KYC data being consent based, it can only be provided upon authorisation by the resident through Aadhaar authentication, thus protecting resident’s privacy.

This process will eliminate the requirement of lengthy paperwork and facilitate quicker transactions. It is expected that the e-KYC will enhance customer convenience and greatly increase business efficiency across sectors. That apart, e-KYC  will also eliminate document forgery and reduces the risk of identity misuse.

Both end-points of the data transfer are secured through the use of encryption and digital signature as per the Information Technology Act, 2000 making e-KYC document legally equivalent to paper documents. In addition, the use of encryption and digital signature ensures that no unauthorized parties in the middle can tamper or steal the data. The Ministry of Finance, has already recognized e-KYC as a valid document for all financial services under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PML) Rules.

e-KYC is not only beneficial to consumers, but also to service providers because they do not have to store any kind of photo copies. Everything is centralized and stored digitally helping them save on paper costs. Since the entire data is machine readable, it is possible for the service provider to directly store it as the customer record in their database for purposes of service, audit, etc. without human intervention making the process low cost and error free. Additionally, e-KYC is instantaneous so service providers can start consumer service immediately, which will go a long way in enhancing customer satisfaction.

e-KYC impact on Aadhar enrolment

As per the latest figures put out by the UIDAI, 40.36 crore Aadhar cards have been generated and issued till the middle of August 2013. The progress has not been even across the country.  While Andhra Pradesh (6.74 crores) and Maharashtra (6.43 crores) lead in absolute numbers, the states of  Goa (88.7%) Delhi (87.5 %), Himachal Pradesh (86.4%)  Sikkim (85.9%) and  Kerala (81.94%) have achieved better coverage.

Though, the  process of issuing Aadhar cards began in September 2010, a large number of city dwellers are still fence sitters, not being able to see much of the perceived benefits accruing to them. The launch of e-KYC which promises to remove KYC hassles is expected to work as a motivator for large number of people to enrol for Aadhar in the near future. UIDAI Chairperson Nandan Nilekani expects to issue 60 crore Aadhar cards by 2014.  To facilitate issue of Aadhar cards, the UIDAI has announced setting up of permanent enrolment centres in various states.

Top 10 states by absolute numbers :

Rank	State	Population (2011 Census)	AADHAARs Issued	% of Population
	INDIA	121,05,93,422	40,36,50,286	33.34%
1	Andhra Pradesh	8,46,65,533	6,74,56,581	79.67%
2	Maharashtra	11,23,72,972	6,43,15,705	57.23%
3	Madhya Pradesh	7,25,97,565	2,83,08,980	38.99%
4	Kerala	3,33,87,677	2,73,58,063	81.94%
5	Karnataka	6,11,30,704	2,68,96,649	44.00%
6	Rajasthan	6,86,21,012	2,62,89,295	38.31%
7	Tamil Nadu	7,21,38,958	2,52,25,569	34.97%
8	West Bengal	9,13,47,736	2,01,74,821	22.09%
9	Jharkhand	3,29,66,238	1,93,20,345	58.61%
10	Punjab	2,77,04,236	1,86,11,732	67.18%

Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojana

Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojana (RGUMY), launched in 2008, is aimed at providing financial assistance to the selected lead agencies i.e. Udyami Mitras for rendering assistance and handholding support to the potential first generation entrepreneurs. Till date 650 Udyami Mitras have been empanelled in 28 States and 3 Union Territories. The Udyami Mitras have so far registered 35154 beneficiaries for rendering handholding support. Through ‘UdyamiHelpline’ (a Toll free Call Centre for MSMEs on 1800-180-6763), support, guidance and assistance to first generation entrepreneurs as well as other existing entrepreneurs is also provided to guide them regarding various promotional schemes of the Government, procedural formalities required for setting up and running of the enterprise and help them in accessing Bank credit etc.

The Ministry of MSME does not provide any financial assistance to entrepreneurs under Rajiv Gandhi UdyamiMitra Yojana.  However, organizations empanelled as Udyami Mitra by the Ministry provide handholding support to first generation entrepreneurs and in return are paid handholding charges under the scheme.