When India’s annual economic survey donned a controversial pink cover as a hat tip to women empowerment, it riled more than a few people who took it for petty symbolism. But the cover wasn’t the only thing that got people talking. The survey also revealed some disheartening stats about women.

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Despite all the economic progress, preference for sons over daughters has skewed the sex-ratio in India even more.

A story in the Washington Post about the survey reveals that more than 63 million women are “missing” from its population. Of these 2 million girls go missing every year because they are either aborted or die due to disease, neglect and malnutrition. The government also said there were 21 million “unwanted girls” in the country.

The news did not go down well with some.

The want for beta is meta

Studies show that Indians’ meta preference for sons means families keep on having kids until they finally rear a boy. This reduces the quality of life for girls who get neglected in nourishment and education.

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You might think that only rural families would act this way in this age. But urban middle and upper-middle class families too want to have sons so they can pass on their family business to them.

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A country with more men than women

All of this, researchers argue, has created a “bubble of excess males” which could have long term repercussions like human trafficking and the inability for men to find brides, the report suggests.