21st Meeting of the Central Supervisory Board Held on PC & PNDT Act in New Delhi

The 21st meeting of the Central Supervisory Board (CSB) was held on 23 July 2013 in New Delhi. The meeting was held on PC & PNDT Act, i.e., on Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act. The meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare.

The Ministry, in the meanwhile, is also taking the initiatives for increasing engagement with States in order to address challenges for the implementation of PC & PNDT Act. According to the Annual Health Survey 2011, Sex Ratio at Birth in urban areas is lower than the rural areas except in the state of Rajasthan. In India, there is still the preference of a male child and discrimination against the girl child.

In order to deal with the challenges of socio-cultural attitudes, a comprehensive and innovative and Information, Education and Communication (IEC) strategy has been started in order to promote the positive attitude for ensuring protection as well as survival of a girl child. Under the PC&PNDT Act, out of 288 cases filed in the year 2012, 116 convictions were secured. Also, the licenses of 53 doctors were suspended by the State Medical Councils.

It is important to note that 30 crore Rupees have already been provided to States under the National Rural Health Mission for PNDT related activities during the 2013-14 financial year.