Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994

The Pre-Conception Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994
Parliament of India
  • An Act to provide for the prohibition of sex selection, after conception, and for regulation of prenatal diagnostic techniques for the purposes of detecting genetic abnormalities or metabolic disorders or chromosomal abnormalities or certain congenital malformations or sex-linked disorders and for the prevention of their misuse for sex determination leading to female foeticide; and, for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Citation[1]
Enacted byParliament of India
Assented to20 September 1994
Commenced1 January 1996
Amended by
The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition Of Sex Selection) Act. 2003
Status: In force

Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to stop female foeticides and arrest the declining sex ratio in India. The act banned prenatal sex determination. Every genetic counselling centre, genetic laboratory or genetic clinic engaged in counselling or conducting pre-natal diagnostics techniques, like in vitro fertilisation (IVF) with the potential of sex selection (Preimplantation genetic diagnosis) before and after conception, comes under purview of the PCPNDT Act and is banned.[1][2][3]

  1. ^ "Health ministry receives complaints against web giants for sex determination violations". 5 January 2018.
  2. ^ "To ensure prized baby boy, Indians flock to Bangkok". The Times of India. 27 December 2010.
  3. ^ "Chandigarh IVF expert helps police arrest Delhi resident seeking sex selection". The Times of India. 26 June 2016.