Even as the efficacy and validity of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC&PNDT) Act, 1994, is under cloud with doctors, radiologists demanding an amendment, the number of cases registered under this Act and subsequent convictions provide a slight ray of hope towards saving the girl child.

As per the latest statistics (up to September 2016), 386 persons have been convicted and the medical licenses of 108 doctors have been suspended by various state medical councils, following convictions under the PC&PNDT Act.

Incidentally, Rajasthan, saw the highest impact in terms of implementation, with 634 court cases reported under the act. A total of 137 convictions have taken place in the desert state till now with 21 medical licences being suspended on account of pre natal sex determination in the state. Maharashtra stood second with a total of 567 court cases, 84 convictions and 68 suspensions. Haryana state currently has 182 ongoing cases under the act, with 66 convictions having taken place till now with a total of 14 medical licenses having been suspended for the violations of the said act.

Statistics reveal that Maharashtra topped the number of inspections conducted by the authorities with 1,45,918 facilities inspected till now. This was followed by Punjab with 36,549 facilities inspected and then Haryana where 24,626 inspections had taken place.

Kerala which maintains above the national average sex ratio, continues its run with zero cases under the Act. Also sharing the feat with Kerala are the Northeastern states including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Sikkim, Tripura and Nagaland which too have zero cases under the said Act.

The national capital New Delhi has 93 ongoing cases under the Act and has also seen 17 convictions. However, so far not a single medical license has been suspended.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a health worker from Haryana working with an NGO said, "The efficacy of the Act gets compromised when in majority of reported cases, the guilty doctors who violate the Act are let off by the police with a fine of a few thousand rupees which is not a strong deterrent. More importantly, it is the thought process of the people that needs to be changed in order to save the girl child. Awareness is needed to be created at the family level so that young couples can speak their mind when it comes to the gender of the child", she added.

As per UNICEF, more than 7000 cases of female foeticide occur on a daily average in India. However, the number of convictions vis-a-vis number of cases registered under the Act is abysmally low. Officials say that the responsibility of implementation of the Act lies with state, UT Governments and that includes taking action against medical professionals for the offences under the PC&PNDTs Act.