“Every year, around 4 lakh girls are killed before they are born.”
““Every year, around 4 lakh girls are killed before they are born.””Rahul Gandhi, Chhatron Ki Goonj rally, Pune, 22 August 2026
Rated Misleading
The facts
First, the figure Rahul Gandhi cited is not a current annual count. The frequently cited 4.6 lakh figure comes from a UNFPA estimate based on 2013–2017 data, not on a recent one.120
Second, the problem clearly predates the Modi Government, and the Congress/UPA-era record on this issue was not an achievement.
In fact, UNFPA's earlier work estimated around 570,000 girls were missing annually due to gender-biased sex selection during 2001–2008, further establishing that this was not a problem that emerged after 2014.121
So, presenting the 4.6 lakh estimate as though it represents girls being killed every year under the present government ignores both the age of the data and the fact that gender-biased sex selection is a longstanding problem that predates 2014.
The more relevant question is what has happened to the trend since 2014.
HMIS data shows that India’s SRB increased from 918 girls per 1,000 boys in 2014–15 to 929 in 2024–25, an improvement of 11 points. This is a key indicator of progress in addressing gender-biased sex selection and improving the value and survival prospects of the girl child.
So, compared with the situation inherited in 2014, the record under the BJP government shows a clear positive movement rather than deterioration.122