As many as 7,439 girls were adopted in India in the last three years, compared to 5,167 boys, PTI reported. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has also received positive feedback from adoption agencies and other stakeholders regarding the new guidelines it implemented recently, primarily those on the procedures, roles and responsibilities of various agencies, and authorities and timelines involved in the adoption process.

According to figures provided by the ministry, 2,846 girls were adopted in 2012-13, against 1,848 boys; 2,293 girls were adopted in 2013-14, against 1,631 boys; and 2,300 girls were adopted in 2014-15, compared to 1,688 boys. “It is very encouraging to know that more and more people are coming to adopt girls,” a senior official of the Central Adoption Resource Authority said.

Although girls are emerging as the preferred choice for adoption, the government is still struggling to improve the country’s worsening child sex ratio, the report said. According to data from the latest census, the child sex ratio in India in 2011 stood at 918, lower than the national average of 927 recorded in 2001. The government has launched initiatives such as ‘Beti Bacho Beti Padhao’ in 100 districts with the worst records. Officials claim the campaigns have seen positive results.