(a) whether the Government has set up Central Supervisory Board to oversee
implementation of Pre-conception and Pre- Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) (PC & PNDT) Act, 1994 in the country;
(b) if so, the number of meetings the Board has held in the last two years;
(c) the number of meetings the Advisory Committees set up in the States have held in each of the last two years; and
(d) the further steps taken to make PC & PNDT Act, 1994 more penetrative?
MINISTER OF THE STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI SUDIP BANDYOPADHYAY )
(a): Yes. The Central Supervisory Board (CSB) has been constituted under Section 7 of the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic
Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 to oversee effective implementation of the PC & PNDT Act in the country.
(b): Meeting of the reconstituted Central Supervisory Board was held on 4th June, 2011.
(c): Advisory Committee meetings are held at State and district level, with intervening period between any two meetings not exceeding
sixty days. Meetings of the Advisory Committees therefore are a continuous process, information regarding which is not maintained centrally.
(d): The Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, was enacted by the Government of
India, and further amended in 2003, with the objective of prohibiting sex selection before or after conception, regulation of Pre-natal
Diagnostic Techniques and prevention of their misuse for sex determination leading to female foeticide.
The recent initiatives undertaken by Government of India to strengthen effective implementation of the Act include the following:
# Rule 11 (2) of the PC & PNDT Rules, 1996 has been amended to provide for confiscation of unregistered machines and further
punishment of organizations which fail to register themselves under the Act.
# The National Inspection and monitoring Committee has been reconstituted and apart from inspections, further empowered
to oversee follow-up action by Appropriate Authorities against organizations found guilty of violations under the Act during inspections.
# Operational guidelines for PNDT-NGO Grant in Aid Scheme have been revised to ensure targeted use of resources for
creating awareness.
# States have been asked to take advantage of funding available under NRHM for strengthening infrastructure and augmentation
of human resources required for effective implementation of the PC & PNDT Act.