19TH Meeting of Central Supervisory Board

The 19th meeting of the Central Supervisory Board (CSB) was held in New Delhi on July 21. The meeting was held for the confirmation of the minutes of 18th meeting held on 14th January, 2012.

Addressing the meeting, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare said that the issue of low Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) in our country have been scaled up at national, state, district and sub-district levels. We have been successful in securing the commitment of all the state governments to effectively address the issue of low child sex ratio. Now we need to focus on turning these commitments into reality so that we have a secure nation for women and girls – across all class, regional and cultural divides. We have stepped up action in districts that have revealed a low child sex ratio based on 2011 Census data to discourage the process of sex determination. Inspections by the National Inspection and Monitoring Committee have been scaled up. In the past one year, inspections have been undertaken in 10 States leading to sealing of 22 clinics and 62 machines. 13 cases have already been filed in court.

Shri Azad said that various measures ranging from sudden inspections of diagnostic clinics to medical audit of Form-F have been undertaken to strengthen enforcement of the law. Since the last CSB meeting, a total of 110 cases have been filed, 20 convictions secured and licenses of 15 doctors have been suspended. We are working to put in place a comprehensive and innovative and Information, Education and Communication (IEC) strategy to promote positive attitudes for ensuring survival and protection of the girl child. Capacity building of the Appropriate Authorities has gained momentum in States, while efforts to galvanize the Judiciary into pro-active action have also been undertaken. Under the National Rural Health Mission, 270 crores were given to the States for PNDT related activities during the year 2011-12. Under the National Rural Health Mission, States have included a range of PNDT related activities to build dedicated capacity for effective implementation of the PNDT Act.