AHMEDABAD: Gujarat accounted for 28 cases involving communication of the sex of a foetus during 2023-25, with registrations jumping from four in 2023 to 19 in 2024 before falling to five in 2025, according to state reported data.
The figure accounts for 15.2% of the 184 such cases recorded across India during the three years, highlighting a significant enforcement challenge around illegal sex determination.
Gujarat reported only five girl child victims under foeticide during 2022-24, according to data placed before the Rajya Sabha.
But a separate set of state reported data reveals a more disturbing enforcement signal: 28 cases of communicating the sex of a foetus were registered in Gujarat during 2023-25, with cases jumping from four in 2023 to 19 in 2024 before falling to five in 2025.
The data points to a sharp enforcement challenge around illegal sex determination even as officially recorded foeticide cases remain relatively low.
Gujarat’s official data presents a striking contradiction in the fight against female foeticide. The number of recorded girl child victims under foeticide remains small, while cases involving illegal communication of foetal sex have risen sharply. The figures were disclosed by the Union Health Ministry in a Rajya Sabha reply on August 11, 2026.
According to NCRB data, Gujarat recorded two girl child victims under foeticide in 2022, one in 2023 and two in 2024, taking the three year total to five. Nationally, the corresponding figures were 61, 37 and 98, respectively.
On the face of it, Gujarat accounted for just five of the 196 girl child victims recorded nationally during 2022-24, or around 2.6%.
However, the low number of recorded victims should not automatically be read as proof that the underlying problem is negligible, because the data measures reported and recorded cases, not the total incidence of sex selection or foeticide.
The more revealing trend emerges from the data on cases registered for communication or disclosure of foetal sex. Gujarat recorded four cases in 2023, a dramatic 19 cases in 2024 and five cases in 2025, adding up to 28 cases over the three year period.
The jump in 2024 is particularly significant. Cases increased from four to 19 in a single year, meaning Gujarat recorded 15 more cases and nearly five times the previous year’s figure. Although registrations fell to five in 2025, the number remained higher than the 2023 level.
Gujarat’s trajectory also stands out in comparison with the national data. Across India, cases involving communication of foetal sex stood at 53 in 2023, 48 in 2024 and 83 in 2025, totalling 184 cases.
Gujarat’s 28 cases therefore represented about 15.2% of the national total during 2023-25, despite the state accounting for only a small share of recorded foeticide victims in the separate NCRB dataset.
The distinction between the two datasets is crucial. The foeticide figures are NCRB data for 2022-24, while the foetal sex communication figures are based on Quarterly Progress Reports submitted by State and Union Territory governments for 2023-25. They therefore should not be combined as if they measured the same offence or the same period.
The Union government said inspections of ultrasound centres are conducted by State and District Appropriate Authorities under Section 17 of the PC&PNDT Act, 1994, which prohibits sex selection and regulates pre natal diagnostic techniques.
The government also cited stronger implementation of the Act and awareness initiatives among measures aimed at improving the sex ratio at birth.
At the national level, the Sample Registration System recorded an improvement in the sex ratio at birth from 898 females per 1,000 males in 2014-16 to 918 in 2022-24.
For Gujarat, however, the latest data sends a more nuanced message: recorded foeticide victims are few, but illegal communication of foetal sex remains a visible enforcement concern, with a pronounced spike in 2024.
The numbers underline the need to judge progress not merely by foeticide cases reaching police records, but also by how effectively the state detects and prevents the sex selection network at the ultrasound and diagnostic stage.