Very good news on India’s birth ratio

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

Very good news on India’s birth ratio

A new study by health researchers at Johns Hopkins University has some good news for India’s lopsided sex ratio—between men and women. The percentage of newborns who are boys has dropped from 54% in 1981 to 51.2% in 2020. The gap is finally closing after decades of policy efforts to reverse the ratio since the 1980s—including banning sex determination tests for foetuses.

FYI: A 2022 Pew report estimated India’s sex at birth ratio as 110 boys to 100 girls—comparable to those of China (115), Armenia (114), or Vietnam (111). So that’s the good news. Here’s the bad:

North India blues: It isn’t exactly surprising that the North continues to record the highest number of male births—especially Punjab and Haryana.

The wealth gap: Contrary to popular stereotypes, sex at birth ratio is most imbalanced among the richest households—where the share of newborn boys was 52.8% between 2012 and 2021. In comparison, the number for middle class households was 52.1%—and 51.1% for the poorest families. As lead researcher Diwakar Mohan says: “When the ban came into effect, prenatal sex disclosure practices probably went underground. In such circumstances, access is easier for those with money, those with contacts, or those with motivation.”

The big picture: The research offers this interesting insight into why the gap has improved in the lower half of the pyramid:

It is possible that some of the progressive policy actions to promote the value of the girl child were effectively implemented or received enough publicity in some regions to influence some subgroups… It is unlikely that government-induced incentives or punitive actions were effective with the wealthiest groups who were at the forefront of high rates of sex selection; these groups wield significant power to act as they wish and do not need financial inducements.

The Telegraph has the story, and you can access the full study on Nature.

The New Orleans attack: The latest update

The context: In the early hours of January 1, an Army veteran, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, drove a pickup truck into a crowd celebrating New Year's Day, killing 15 people before being shot dead by police. The truck bore an Islamic State flag, and Jabbar had posted social media videos pledging loyalty to IS prior to the attack. Authorities immediately claimed that Jabbar was most likely not acting alone—and this could, in fact, be a terrorist attack.

What happened now: Law enforcement has now reversed its initial assessment—and declared it a ‘lone wolf’ attack: “We’re confident, at this point, that there are no accomplices.” But Jabbar was definitely inspired by the Islamic State—and first considered killing his own family—“but was concerned the news headlines wouldn’t focus on what he described as ‘the war between the believers and the disbelievers.’”

Point to note: There is no connection between Jabbar and a separate incident in Las Vegas—where the driver blew himself up in a cybertruck in front of a Trump hotel. (Wall Street Journal)

Sticking with Islamic State: There are growing fears that the terrorist network will make a comeback in Syria—which is once again in chaos after Bashar al-Assad’s ouster. IS members were also held in check by the Kurds—who have been abandoned by the ever-reliable ally—the United States. Washington left them in the lurch in its eagerness to topple Assad—who supports Iran. The result: The US is now bombing Syria on a regular basis—in the name of battling IS. That’s not good news for anyone… except terrorist recruiters. (Wall Street Journal)

Palestinian Authority bans Al Jazeera

The PA—which administers the occupied West Bank—has temporarily suspended local operations of the TV network. The reason: “It accused the network of broadcasting ‘inciting materials’ and ‘misleading reports’ that ‘provoke strife and interfere in Palestinian internal affairs.’” Reminder: Al Jazeera was recently kicked out of Israel—which has long criticised it as a “mouthpiece for Hamas.” The network calls the decision a conspiracy to hide the reality on the ground in the West Bank—where PA authorities are battling Hamas sympathisers. (CNN)

Speaking of bans: Israel is planning to ban the UN agency UNRWA from Gaza—where it is the sole source of providing food, water and medicine. Israel claims the agency shelters Hamas militants—an accusation that has since been disproved. Reminder: Gaza is on the brink of a famine. Quote to note:

“It would be a massive impact on an already catastrophic situation,” said Jamie McGoldrick, who oversaw the UN humanitarian operation across Gaza and the West Bank until April. “If that is what the Israeli intention is — to remove any ability for us to save lives — you have to question what is the thinking and what is the end goal?”

New York Times (login required) has more on this story.

Union Carbide: Still hazardous after all these years

The context: Back in 1984, toxic emissions from a Union Carbide factory killed an estimated 15,000 people and left more than half a million seriously ill in Bhopal. A 2019 UN report found that 30 tonnes of the poisonous gas affected more than 600,000 workers and nearby inhabitants—calling it one of the worst industrial accidents in the post-WWI era. Also: the toxic emissions have caused lasting damage to the surrounding area in the years following the accident. The reason: the site contains ‘forever chemicals’ that indefinitely retain toxic properties—they pollute the groundwater and continue to create health hazards for people who still live near the factory.

What happened now: After 40 years, the Madhya Pradesh government has finally started removing the toxic waste from the abandoned factory:

On Wednesday, around 337 tonnes of toxic waste was taken from the Union Carbide plant to an incinerator facility around 230 km (143 miles) away after a court last month set a four-week deadline for it to be disposed of. Officials say it will take between three and nine months to treat and destroy the waste.

But, but, but: The government may be just moving the poison from one location to another. The plan is to burn the waste in an industrial area called Pithampura, located outside Indore—which is a terrible idea, according to activists:

They said that a small amount of waste from the Union Carbide factory was destroyed at the plant on a trial basis in 2015... It ended up polluting the soil, underground water as well as fresh water bodies in the nearby villages, they said…Rachna Dhingra, from the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, told BBC World Service that the transfer of waste would "create a slow-motion Bhopal" in the new location.

Perils in transit? Aside from the dangers of disposal, there is the risk of spillage from the trucks traveling between Bhopal and Pithampura. In 2023 for instance, a train derailment “spilled more than a million pounds of hazardous chemicals into the soil, water and air in Ohio.” BBC News has lots more on the Union Carbide story.

A space junk disaster in Kenya

Space debris weighing over 1,000 pounds (500 kg-ish) crashed into a village on December 30. The "metallic ring”—which sounds misleadingly innocuous—measured 8 feet in diameter:

[The Kenyan Space Agency] said "preliminary assessments indicate that the fallen object is a separation ring from a launch vehicle," which are designed to either burn up upon re-entry to Earth's atmosphere or fall over uninhabited areas.

The debris mercifully didn’t land on any person or home–and the agency called the incident an “isolated case.” But that's hardly true. Example:

Last February, the European Space Agency said a satellite—weighing as much as an adult male rhinoceros—made an uncontrolled return to Earth, re-entering the atmosphere over the north Pacific Ocean between Alaska and Hawaii.

Why this matters: Since the 1950s, humanity has launched thousands of satellites into orbit—which eventually fall back to Earth, burning up in the atmosphere. Many, however, remain up in the air—creating ever increasing piles of space junk. To give you a sense of the problem:

While there are about 2,000 active satellites orbiting Earth at the moment, there are also 3,000 dead ones littering space. What's more, there are around 34,000 pieces of space junk bigger than 10 centimetres in size and millions of smaller pieces that could nonetheless prove disastrous if they hit something else.

Reminder: SpaceX plans to launch 42,000 Starlink satellites—which is making experts nervous:

[They] now see Starlink as the number one source of collision hazard in Earth's orbit. In addition to that, some scientists worry that the amount of metal that will be burning up in Earth's atmosphere as old satellites are deorbited could trigger unpredictable changes to the planet's climate.

CBS News has more on the Kenya story.

Kim Jong-un’s war on divorced couples

According to a new law, any couple seeking a divorce will be sent to labour camps. The reason: “The North Korean leader has declared that ending a marriage demonstrates anti-socialist sympathies and warrants punishment.” Until now, only the party seeking divorce was punished. The rules apply to all divorces—including those that involve physical abuse. Btw, women routinely receive longer sentences than men in these cases. Point to note: Even labour camps have not deterred the Koreans—who are seeking divorces in ever greater numbers. (Standard UK)

what caught our eye

business & tech

Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae is banned from international travel as police raid airlines’ offices to probe negligence in the fatal Boeing 737-800 crash.
Blinkit launches a 10-minute ambulance service in Gurgaon—is there anything left that isn’t getting delivered in under 10 minutes now?

sports & entertainment

Rohit Sharma “opts to rest” for the final Test clash with Australia, handing over the captaincy to Jasprit Bumrah, as speculation grows over his Test future.
Manu Bhaker, D Gukesh, Harmanpreet Singh, and Praveen Kumar will receive the Khel Ratna for their high-conquering sporting feats which include Olympic medals, world titles, and Paralympic glory.
Variety has a good read on how Jimmy Carter's lifelong love for music, rooted in gospel and spanning genres like rock, jazz, and country, shaped his presidency.
Malayalam cinema heavyweights Chidambaram and Jithu Madhavan are joining forces for a new project (currently unnamed) with high expectations.

as for the rest

NCP reunion buzz grows as Ajit Pawar's camp pushes for a BJP-backed merger, while Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule stay silent.
The Print has a good read on how India's tourism woes highlight missed economic opportunities.
A Bangladesh sessions court has denied bail to the jailed Hindu monk Chinmor Krishna Das, infamously arrested in November on sedition charges.
India's soaring demand for US travel led to over 1 million non-immigrant visas issued in 2024, marking a record year for visitor, student, and H-1B visa approvals.
Antarctica’s melting ice and harsher storms are making scientific research a race against time, threatening fragile ecosystems and groundbreaking studies.
New research reveals that, like bowhead whales, right and fin whales too can live longer than previously thought—up to 200 years—if left undisturbed by human activities.
Pets are increasingly consuming cocaine for non-specific reasons. There’s been a 52% increase in cats and 39% in dogs exposed to the drug between 2019 and 2023.
Norway leads the electric car revolution, with nearly 90% of new cars sold in 2024 being fully electric.
Rolex watches are getting more expensive due to surging gold prices.

Four things to see

One: Bulgaria and Romania have officially joined the Schengen Area. The celebration at the Romania-Hungary border had an unexpected chief guest: a stray dog who became the first to cross the line, so to speak. (Mashable)

Two: This is tigress Zeenat who was wandering on the border of three states—Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha—for 21 days. She has now finally been nabbed—and taken back to Odisha’s Similipal Tiger Reserve—where she and fellow tigress Jamuna will help battle the grave problem of inbreeding. (The Hindu)

Three: Check out the trailer for the most anticipated romcom of 2025—‘Love Me’—featuring the love affair between an AI buoy and a satellite. Their human avatars: Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun. It releases on January 31. (Gizmodo)

Four: Mel Gibson’s new film ‘Flight Risk’ stars a psycho Mark Wahlberg who plays a hitman on a mission to shoot a government witness. Yes, everyone seems to have forgotten Gibson’s own psychotic past. It is slated to hit the theatres on January 24. (Variety)