India’s population has tripled in size in the last 50 years, hitting a record 1.2 billion in 2010. India is set to outpace China by 2030, even though the population growth is slowing. But the data has a disturbing side, the ratio of boys to girls has dropped again. For every 1,000 boys only 914 girls are born. The gender imbalance is a result of sex selection, and may have far-reaching adverse effects for the country. Mara Hvistendahl, author of the book “Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls and the Consequences of a World Full of Men”, says even as literacy rates among females increase, the gender imbalance will led to women in poorer regions becoming “commodity” items, in danger of kidnapping or trafficking.