It is striking that the lowest child sex ratios are found in the most prosperous regions of India. According to the Economic Survey for a recent year, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi are having high per capita income and the child sex ratio of these states is still low. … Recently, the Government of India has introduced the programme, 'Beti-Bachao, Beti-Padhao'. It can prove to be an important policy to increase the child sex ratio in the country.
The passage leaves out a line just before the sentence on the new programme. What does that line say about solving bias against girl children in the long run?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → The solution depends more on how social attitudes evolve, even though laws and rules can also help.
Option (1) The solution depends more on better medical and communication facilities, even though laws and rules can also help. — Incorrect. Better medical and communication facilities are what help bring down maternal mortality. The line on bias against girl children does not rest the solution on facilities.
Option (2) The solution depends more on how laws and rules evolve, even though social attitudes can also help. — Incorrect. The feature is reversed here. Laws and rules are only a help; the long-run solution depends more on how social attitudes evolve.
Option (3) The solution depends more on spreading literacy and education, even though laws and rules can also help. — Incorrect. Literacy and education matter for empowerment, but this line does not tie the solution to them. It puts the main weight on how attitudes change.
Option (4) The solution depends more on how social attitudes evolve, even though laws and rules can also help. — Correct. In the long run, bias against girl children ends only when social attitudes evolve. Laws such as the Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques Act can also help, but they come second.
NCERT (2026-27): “2.4 The Declining Sex-ratio in India … |