Impact Assessment of Apki Beti Hamari Beti Programme on Sex Ratio at Birth in the Haryana State of India: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis

Haryana has long struggled with significant gender disparity, particularly evident in its Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB). As of 2020, the SRB stood at 922 females per 1000 males, underscoring entrenched socio-cultural preferences for sons. While multiple schemes were introduced to address this, weak enforcement has often diluted their impact. This study assesses the medium-term impact of the Apki Beti Hamari Beti (ABHB) scheme—launched in 2015—as a conditional cash transfer intervention to improve the child sex ratio and support girls’ education and health. Employing an Interrupted Time Series (ITS) analysis using ARIMA (2,1,1), we modelled SRB trends between 1998 and 2023⁽¹⁾. The results suggest a statistically significant upward trend in SRB post-implementation. However, attributing these gains solely to ABHB may oversimplify the complexity of change, warranting further investigation into socio-political and structural contributors to gender equity⁽²⁾.