The southern state of Andhra Pradesh, India is offering to pay families $2,300 when their daughter turns 20 years old as an incentive to encourage families to keep their female babies. The sex ratio of females to males in India is 927 to 1,000, making it one of the lowest female-to-male ratios in the world, reports Reuters.
In an attempt to increase the number of female babies born, the government of India has also outlawed sex-determination tests as a result of the increase in couples aborting female fetuses. In addition, Andhra Pradesh government is implementing a monthly scholarship of $29 for schoolgirls studying in grades 9 to 12 as a way to encourage poor parents to send their daughters to school, reports the Associated Press.
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