A PROJECT REPORT ON

“CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA:

ISSUES AND CHALLENGES”

Submitted to the Department of Economics

B.J.B (Autonomous) College, Bhubaneswar

In Partial fulfilment of the Bachelor’s Degree in Arts.

SUBMITTED BY
ANUSKA ROY
+3 3rd Year Economics Honours
Exam Roll No. – 12002425

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

Dr. Mousumi Das
Assistant Professor of Economics
1
 Certificate

This is to certify that the project “CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA: ISSUES AND

CHALLEGES” is submitted by Anuska Roy to the department of Economics,

BJB Autonomous College, Bhubaneswar for the partial fulfilment of the degree

of bachelor of Arts in Economic bearing the Roll No.: 12002425 under my

supervision is the result of her original contribution. No part of her project has

been submitted to any other degree.

SIGNATURE OF THE HOD SIGNATURE OF THE GUIDE

Dr. Madhubrata Satpathy Dr. Mousumi Das
Vice-Principal Assistant Professor of Economics
Department of Economics Department of Economics
B.J.B Autonomous College B.J.B Autonomous College

2
 DECLARATION

I Anuska Roy do hereby declare that this piece of work has been genuinely

crafted by me and it is free from any kind of plagiarism. This project report

“CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES’’ submitted to

B.J.B. Autonomous College is in potential fulfilment of +3 3rd Year Degree

Arts (Economics Honours) exam 2023; is a result of my own work and it was

not submitted previously to any other at any time before.

Anuska Roy
+3 3rd Year Economics Honours
Exam Roll No. – 12002425
B.J.B. (Autonomous) College
Bhubaneswar

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I deeply express my gratitude to my guide Dr. Mousumi Das Professor in

Economics for suggesting this topic as my project work. I am thankful to her

excellent guidance. I also thank other teachers for their help, their suggestion, and

comments for this project. I am thankful to them for their co-operation and

encouragement. Lastly, I wish to acknowledge my friends who have extended

their help for completion of project.

Anuska Roy
+3 3rd Year Economics Honours
Exam Roll No. – 12002425
B.J.B. (Autonomous) College
Bhubaneswar

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 Contents

CHAPTER PAGE NUMBER

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION--------------------------------------------(8 – 11)
1.1 Background
1.2 Statement of the Problem
1.3 Objective
1.4 Methodology
1.5 Chapterisation Scheme

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE -----------------------------(12- 14)

CHAPTER 3: CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILD LABOUR----------(15-26)
3.1 Definition

3.2 Who are consider as child labour

3.3 Characteristics of child labour

3.4 Types of child labour

3.5 Child labour trends in different countries

3.6 Magnitude of child labour in India

CHAPTER 4: CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR----------------------------(27-30)

CHAPTER 5: CONSEQUENCES OF CHILD LABOUR---------------(31-35)

5.1 Impact of child labour
5.2 Effects of child labour

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CHAPTER 6: GOVERNMENT POLICIES, SUGGESTIONS TO
ERADICATE CHILD LABOUR AND
CONCLUSION------------------------------------------------(36-49)
6.1 Legislative Policy
6.2 Convergence Strategy of Ministry of Labour
6.3 National Child Labour Project (NCLP)
6.4 Convergence with other Programmes
6.5 Suggestions to Eradicate Child Labour
6.6 Strategies
6.7 Conclusion
BIBLIOGRAPHY -------------------------------------------------------------------(50)

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 Abstract

Children in Indian society has always been a topic less spoken or discussed. The

reasons can be traced back to the socio – cultural background of a country. In the

world children are taken as the greatest gift to humanity. Childhood is an

important stage of human development as it holds the potential to the future of

any society. Children who are brought up in an environment which is helpful to

their intellectual, physical, and social development will go on to be responsible

and productive part of the society. Thus, every society links its future to the

present status of its children. Today child has been defined differently by different

agencies as per their view and there is a very large gap and contradiction in these

definitions. This paper attempts to summaries the different meaning to the word

‘child’ and give a brief overview of the magnitude of the issue from an Indian

perspective. An attempt has been made to study the government policy

documents and list down the actions as proposed and implemented by Indian

Government in the 12th 5-year plan which has just ended in 2017. Some

suggestions collected by the author, from academicians and from the policy and

plan documents about the way of eradicating the problems are summarized in the

paper. In the end the outline of the plan and strategies as identifies that a lot of

policy plans have been worked but there is an urgent need for a social movement

for this issue to really get addressed and resolved.

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 CHAPTER:1 introduction

1.1 - BACKGROUND
Children are the greatest gift to humanity and childhood is an important and
impressionable stage of human development as it holds the potential to future
development of any society. Children who are brought up in an environment,
which is conducive to their intellectual, physical, and social health, helps to grow
up as a responsible and productive member of society. Every nation is correlated
to its future with the present status of its children. By performing work when they
are too young for the task, children unduly reduce their present welfare or their
future income earning capacities, either by shrinking their future external choice
sets or by reducing their own future individual productive capabilities.

Generally, due to poor economic conditions children are forced to forego

educational and other development opportunities and take up jobs which mostly
exploit them as they are usually underpaid and engaged in hazardous conditions.
Parents decide to send their child for engaging in a job as a desperate measure
due to poor economic conditions. It is therefore no wonder that the poor
households predominantly send their children to work in early ages of their life.
One of the disconcerting aspects of child labour is that children are send to work
at the expense of education. There is a strong effect of child labour on school
attendance rate and the length of a child’s work day is negatively associated with
his or her capacity to attend school. Child labour restricts the right of children to
access and benefit from education and denies the fundamental opportunity to
attend the school. Child labour thus, prejudices children’s education and
adversely affects their health and safety. Economic hardships exact a toll on
millions of families worldwide and in some places, it comes at the price of a
child’s safety and its education. Roughly 160 million children were subjected to

8
child labour at the beginning of 2020, with 9 million additional children at risk
due to the impact of COVID-19. This accounts for nearly 1 in 10 children
worldwide.

Almost half of them are in hazardous work that directly endangers their health
and moral development. Children may be driven into work for various reasons.
Most often, child labour occurs when family faces financial challenges or
uncertainty – whether due to poverty, sudden illness of the earning person, job
loss of a primary wage earner, lack of quality education, conflict, remoteness, and
tradition. Most child labour in agriculture is on family farms, with children
working alongside their parents. If farmers are not able to send their children to
school or hire adult workers, they often have their children work with them.
Farmers may not be aware of the risks that child labour poses to their children,
leading to negative consequences on their health and futures. The consequences
are staggering. Child labour can result in extreme bodily and mental harm, and
even death. It can lead to slavery and sexual or economic exploitation. Slavery,
child trafficking, debt bondage, forced labour, children in armed conflict and
children working in illegal activities are some of the worst forms of child labour.
Child labour which is considered hazardous “is work that performed by children
in dangerous and unhealthy conditions” (ILO). This means that the work is unsafe
by nature, and inappropriate for children under 18 years old regardless of the
conditions or the safety equipment. Some examples of work that is hazardous by
nature include handling dangerous chemicals or operating heavy machinery and
some industries that are very dangerous for the children to work which may harm
their physical and mental health and leads to deadly diseases. The International
Labour Organization estimates that 215 million children between the ages of 5 to
17 currently work under conditions that are considered as illegal, hazardous, or
extremely exploitative in nature.

9
 Child labour in India is addressed by the Child Labour Act 1986 and National
Child Labour. According to 2011 census, the population in India is 121.05 crore.
The data from 2011 census, shows the number of child labourers in India is 10.1
million of which 5.6 million are the boys and 4.5 million are girls. A total of 152
million children – 64 million girls and 88 million boys are estimated to be in child
labour globally, accounting for almost one in ten of all children worldwide. The
Government of India has undertaken multiple steps to focus on the elimination
and prevention of child labour. The implementation of Child Labour (Prohibition
& Regulation) Amendment Act, of 2016. Right to Education Act of 2009 and the
National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme were all done in the direction to
prevent and eliminate the issue of child labour. The government has also
partnered with various agencies for creating awareness among the people. If
parents and communities are aware and alert, disruption in children’s education
can be prevented and many of them will not get pushed into child labour. There
should be powerful and effective implementation of laws against child labour.

1.2 – STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Due to poor economic standard of living children are forced to forego educational
opportunities and forced to work in hazardous places, which are mostly
exploitative in nature as they are underpaid. Parents send their children to work
in the early age of their life because of poor economic conditions. Here we try to
find out the magnitude of child labour in Indian context. The causes of child
labour, it’s impact on society and suggest some policy measures so that child
labour can be eradicated.

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1.3 – OBJECTIVE

The main objective of the paper “CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA: ISSUES AND
CHALLENGES” is to know the effects and causes of child labour in the context
of economic growth in India. The specific objective of this paper is:-

➢ To analyse the extent of child labour in India.

➢ To understand the causes responsible for child labour.
➢ To identify various issues and problems related to child labour.
➢ To prevent and eradicate child labour in India.

1.4 – METHODOLOGY

Secondary data has been collected through available literature materials,

academic books, articles, newspaper, and research reports on child labour. Peer
reviewed online resources, simple statistical tools and academic articles written
by different sources have also been used in this paper to analyse the problems,
challenges, policy interventions regarding child labour

1.5 – CHAPTERIZATION SCHEME

In this project “CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES”

there are 6 chapters including the introduction and conclusion. In the 1 st chapter
there is a brief introduction of child labour, statement of the problem, objective,
and research methodology. The 2nd chapter contains the review of literature by
some scholars and intellectuals. After that we will study the extent of child labour,
causes responsible for child labour and the consequences of child labour in India
in chapter 3, 4, 5 respectively. In chapter 6 we will study that, what are the
government policies on child labour and there are some suggestions for the
eradication and prevention of child labour with the conclusion part.

11
 CHAPTER:2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
i. Lana Osment (1998) (Lund University, Sweden) “Child labour; the Effect
on Child, Causes and Remedies to the Revolving Menace” – This Research
Paper has illustrated how both India and Nigeria have adopted laws and
regulations to eliminate Child Labour. However, despite all these efforts,
the child labour and the factors that influence the incidence of Child Labour
continues to be prevalent.
ii. Zutshi, Bupinder (2002) “In the Name of Child Labour: Eradication and
Evaluation programme” cites evidence that magnitude of child labour in
India is under – estimated due to inadequate and unreliable data.
iii. International Labour Organisation, (“World Day against Child Labour”
New ILO Report, M2 Press wire, London, June11, 2004), brought out the
fact that the prevalence of child labour was strongly co-related with the
average level of income in a society. Mere survival sometimes made it
necessary for parents of poverty-stricken families to send their children to
work, and the survival strategy is the ‘push’ factor for child labour. Most
children started work by helping their families, before they went out to
work.
iv. M. C. Naidu and K. D. Ramaih (2006) “Child Labour in India: An
Overview” observed that the prevalence of child labour is one of the
important problems confronting the world at large, especially developing
countries such as India. They expressed the view that child labour is mainly
necessitated by economic compulsions of the parents. The main reason
which gives rise to child labour is wide spread unemployment and
underemployment among the adult poor strata of the population. They also
observed that large families with low income are illiterate and ignorant

12
 about the importance of education as well as about the impact of labour on
the health of their children.
v. Niti Mehta (2007) “Child labour in India: Extent and some Dimensions”
(National Workshop on Socio-Economic issues in Child labour:
conference Proceeding, Mahatma Gandhi Labour Institute, Ahmedabad) –
found that illiteracy and deprivation were strongly associated with the
problem of child labour. She suggested that proper implementation of
poverty alleviation programmes, creating avenues for productive
employment, educating parents, improving literacy, and framing a realistic
policy on the part of Government is required to tackle the problem of child
labour.
vi. Kdevi and Gautam Roy. (2008) “Study of Child Labour among School
children in Urban and Rural Areas of Pondicherry”. This article deals with
very specific case studies on child labour.
vii. Shakti Kumar (Assistant Professor, Department of Economics and Rural
Development) (Dec.2012) “Law to Combat Child Labour in India”
Through this paper the Author has attempted to draw attention of the
society to combat child labour in India; and its object to know laws
pertaining to combat child labour in India.
viii. Reddy (2012) “Child labour in Hotel Industry: A Case Study of Tirupati
and Tirumala” found that the children working in hotels because its first
and foremost reason is poverty and other reasons are the lack of protective
child labour legislation and the evasion of existing laws for the protection
of child labour, keeping the child labour going and getting protected.
ix. Mr. Samsuddin Khan (Aligarh Muslim University) (Dec.2014) “The
Overcoming of Child Labour in India: In Perspective of Constitutional and
Legislative Framework” Journal of Business Management and Social
Sciences Research. In this Paper the Author intend to give scenario in
which Child Labour gets increased and various challenges that have

13
 emerged due to this particular problem, like violence, child trafficking, etc.
are also elaborated. The required efforts to overcome these problems are
proposed.
x. Gupta Naresh (2015) – Child labour is a global phenomenon. In almost all
societies, children work in some way, though the type of work they do and
the forms of their involvement vary. But millions of children work under
abusive and exploitative conditions that are clearly dangerous to them.
xi. Chandan Roy (2018) has indicated working children are objects of extreme
exploitation in terms toiling in hours of minimal pay and generally these
labours work in hazardous factories.
xii. Upadhaya Manjulata (2019) has claimed child labour in India is a critical
socio-economic problem that needs special attention to policy makers. In
order to make effective policies.

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CHAPTER:3 CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILD
LABOUR

3.1 – DEFINITION OF CHILD LABOUR

Children are always considered close to God. They are considered as bringer of
happiness, joy and hope, no matter where they go. The future of the nation
depends on the children as they are undoubtedly the stepping stone in shaping the
future of any nation. If a nation retreats its children properly and provides them
with the basic facilities then it would get reflected in the future performance of
the nation. The moral duty of the nation is to ensure that the childhood of every
child is protected.

The term “Child labour” is often defined as work that deprives children from their
childhood, their potential, and their dignity and that is harmful to their physical
and mental development. It refers to the work that:

• is mentally, physically, socially, or morally dangerous and harmful to

children; and/or
• interferes with a child’s ability to attend and participate in school fully by
obliging them to leave school prematurely: or requiring them to attempt to
combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.

Child labour is a global phenomenon, it is not restricted to only one country.

“Child labour” is defined as the employment of children in any manual work.
According to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, a “child”
is a person who has not yet attained the age of 14 years. In this tender age where
a child is expected to grow, enjoy his or her childhood to the fullest, seek
education, gain a strong value system, he/she is forced to work and earn a living
for himself/herself and his/her family. It not only affects his/ her physical and

15
mental development but it also puts a very heavy burden of responsibility on the
child to support his/her family. It is frequently observed that the children are
forced to become labour due to some hardships like lack of strong financial
support, lack of proper food, clothing, shelter, livelihood etc.

International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines child labour as a work not only
affects their childhood but also doesn’t let the children attend the school regularly,
or have a proper education. Child labour also deprives children of their dignity,
potential and childhood. Children working below the age of 14 years are not able
to develop mentally, socially, physically, or morally.

3.2 – WHO ARE CONSIDERED AS CHILD LABOUR

Not all the work done by children should be classified as child labour that is to
be targeted for elimination. The participation of children or adolescents above the
minimum age for admission to employment in work that does not affect their
health and personal development or interfere with their schooling, is generally
regarded as being something positive. This includes activities such as assisting in
a family business or earning pocket money outside school hours and during
school holidays. These kinds of activities contribute to children’s development
and to the welfare of their families; they provide them with skills and experience,
and help to prepare them to be productive members of society during their adult
life.

According to Article 24 of the Constitution, no child below the age of 14 years

shall be employed in work in any factory, mine, or any hazardous employment.
If below this age any child is working at any hazardous place would be considered
as a child labourer.

International Labour Organisation (ILO) states, the term child labour is best
defined as work that deprives children (below the age of 18) of their childhood,

16
their potential, and their dignity, and that is harmful to their physical and mental
development. It refers to the work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally
dangerous and harmful to children, or work whose schedule interferes with their
ability to attend regular school, or work that affects in any manner their ability to
focus during school or experience healthy childhood.

A different definition of child labour is given by the United Nations International

Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). According to it, a child is considered as
labour when: his/her age is between 5 to 11 years, and at least 1 hour of economic
activity is performed by him/her or he/she is doing at least 28 hours of domestic
work in a week. If the children are between 12 to 14 years of age, then either they
should be doing at least 14 hours of economic activity or at least 42 hours of
domestic work per week to be considered as child labour.

3.3 – CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILD LABOUR

Child labour involves at least one of the following characteristics:

• Violates a nation’s minimum age laws

• Threatens children’s physical, mental, or emotional well being
• Involves intolerable abuse, such as child slavery, child trafficking, debt
bondage, forced labour, or illicit activities
• Prevents children from going to school
• Uses children to undermine labour standard
• Long working hours
• Hampers access to education
• Exploited and underpaid

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3.4 – TYPES OF CHILD LABOUR

There is an increasing involvement of children in home-based work and in the

informal sector. Children are involved in the domestic, manual, agriculture sector,
in hazardous factories, rag-picking, beedi-rolling, matchbox, brick kilns etc.

According to ILO, the worst types of child labour are:

1. Slavery – Slavery is when one person works for another person. Slaves do
not have the power to demand anything. They have to work according to
the commands of their master. Slaves are held against their will from the
time of their capture, purchase, or birth, and are not allowed to leave or to
refuse to work.
2. Child Trafficking – Child trafficking is the illegal trading (buying and
selling) of children either for labour or for sexual exploitation. Children are
trafficked for many reasons, including forced labour, prostitution and
recruitment as child soldiers and beggars.
3. Debt Bondage – Debt bondage is forced labour, where work is exchanged
to pay off loans that people cannot pay off with money or goods. For
example, a poor family may hand over their child to someone to pay their
debt, and that child will have to work for years until the debt is cleared.
4. Forced Labour – When a child works against his/her will then it is termed
as forced labour. For example, Children in armed conflict are forced to
fight or to work as cooks, porters, and messengers. These children are
abused and exploited, often being forced to kill other human beings.
5. Beggary – When poor parents do not have any other way to earn a living
they often beg on roads. They also cut their child’s body part in order to
gain sympathy and to get more money. Small children are seen on red lights
asking for money for their treatments.

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 6. Serfdom – Serfdom is when a person is forced to live and work on a land
that belongs to another person, it is known as serfdom. The labour will
either be provided with some pay or no pay will be given.
7. Sexual Exploitation – Sexual exploitation is the mistreating, abusing and/or
taking advantage of someone for personal gain and profit, by involving
them in prostitution or commercial sexual activity. Prostitution is the
exchange of sexual activities for money.
8. Illicit Activity – Producing and trafficking drug is an illicit activity that
often involves children. Trafficking is illegal trading (buying and selling).
Children might do this against their will or with the belief that this will give
them status and money. Children who produce or traffic drugs are at great
risk of abuse and many also become addicted to drugs at a very young age.
Children involved in illicit activities are often exposed to violence, which
can severely affect their mental and physical development.
9. Migrant Children – Those who are migrated from other locations with
family are usually forced to drop out of schools and get involved in child
labour.
[Link] Specific – Child labour is gender-specific. For example, girls are
being engaged in domestic and home-based work, and on the other hand,
boys are working as wage labourer.

3.5 – CHILD LABOUR TRENDS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

The International year for elimination of child labour is said to be 2021. As per
statistics given by ILO, 152 million children are still in child labour globally.
Also, almost half of child labour happens in Africa (72 million children),
followed by Asia and Pacific (62 million). Though different programmes have
been initiated and are in process globally still there is a lot to do in the field.

19
Different countries are having different situations and statistics in Child labour
which are needed to be analysed properly;

• China - It is seen that a developed country like China even has not been
able to swipe the social evil of child labour properly. The Chinese standard
for a person to work is 16 years of age. But it is estimated that 7.74% of
children aged from 10 to 15 were working in 2010. Most of the school drop
outs are indulged in work at smaller age than prescribed. Mostly child
workers vary between 13 to 15 years of age. China has several laws into
effect to prevent child labour like Chinese Labour Law, Law on protection
of minors, Prohibition of Child Labour etc.
• Nepal – The incidence of child labour in Nepal is relatively high compared
with other countries in South Asia. According to Nepal Labour Force
Survey Act in 2008, 86.2% of children were working were also studying
and 13.8% of the children working only. The country also prohibits
children below 14 years to work and ILO has reported a decrease of 100000
every year, Nepal still accounts for 1.1 million children between (5-17
years) in child labour. Of these 222493 are estimated to be engaged in
hazardous work. Agriculture sector accounts for more than 85% of the total
child labour in Nepal.
• United States of America – Different forms of child labour including
indentured servitude and child slavery have existed throughout the
American history. Industrialization was seen as the main cause of child
labour in factory work. In the early 20th century, the numbers of child
labours peaked in U.S. which led to introduction of various reforms. In
1900, National Child Labour Committee came into force with a view to
eradicate Child Labour. Various laws as Fair Labour Standards Act
(FLSA) were introduced in 1938. This statute was amended periodically

20
 but remains the primary federal law dealing with the employment of
children. The U.S. has seen a lot of decline in the child labour rates.
• United Kingdom – In United Kingdom, Children can fully start full time
work once they have reached the minimum school leaving age, they can
work up to a maximum of 40 hours a week. Once someone reaches 16, they
get salary through PAYE and after reaching 18 years of age, adult
employment rights and rules are applied. Laws relating to Child labour in
UK are Health and Morals Act 1802, Mines Act 1842, Education Act, 1870
and many more.
• Kenya – According to Kenya National Bureau of statistics (KNBS) shows
that 8.5% of children or in figure 1.3 million are engaged in child labour.
Here, many boys are sent out to herd livestock or harvest sand, while girls
are married early or engaged in domestic work as per report by UNICEF
and ILO. Covid – 19 also has shown great impact on the situation by
worsening it. In April 2020, KNBS reported that around 1.72 million
people in Kenya lost their jobs in pandemic. Loss of income has induced
child labour. Different policies have been made to make a progress in the
following concept like National Plan of Action for Children in Kenya
(2015-22), National Policy on the elimination of child labour, National
Employment Policy, 2017 etc.
• Germany – In Germany, Youth Labour Protection Laws apply to teenagers
between 15-18 years, and the children younger than 14 years are not
allowed to work are required to attend the school five days per week. Child
labour eradication laws in Germany are The Minimum wage Act, The
Labour Court Act, the Hours of employment Act etc. which specifies
various provisions. Germany had banned child labour on March 9, 1839.
But till date there are a lot of children working as child labour. Even in
2019, the capital of Germany had witnessed strikes and procession for
safety of children and eradicating child labour.
21
 • Russia – Children in Russia are found in the worst forms of child labour,
including in work on the street and in commercial sexual exploitation. The
government has recognized children working on the streets as a worst form
of child labour in the country. Because of economic pressures, the children
below the age of 16 years i.e., of 14 and 15 only if they completed their
basic education. Child labour was formally banned in 1922 in USSR. Even
the laws are written like Criminal Code of the Russian Federation Article
240-242.2, 150-151, Labour Code (19,21,22) etc.
• Ukraine – It is estimated that close of 8% of Ukraine children are indulged
in work. The worst forms of work are prohibited by national legislation;
still, the number of children present in illegal commerce is quite high. The
main occupation is working in coal mines that is worrisome and extremely
dangerous in every aspect. Innocent lives are also included in crimes like
sex trades which has developed to prostitution etc. The main problem has
been found with street children who are living in misery and are prone to
abuse and labour. Article 188 of the Labour Code, 150 of Criminal Codes
and even Article 21 of the law on the Protection of Childhood (25-27)
defines the minimum age for work i.e., 16 and prohibits to work under the
age. But there is a huge gap between the laws and the practical application
of them.

2020 GLOBAL ESTIMATES OF CHILD LABOUR

In the world, 160 million children are in child labour accounting for almost 1 in
10 of all children worldwide. The report was published for the first time jointly
by the ILO and UNICEF, as co-custodians of target 8.7 of the Sustainable
Development Goals, the report Child labour: 2020 global estimates, trends and
the road forward take stock of where we stand in the global efforts to end child
labour.
22
 86.6

48.7

38.6

22.2

2.4 1.9 8.3 7.9 8.2 5.5

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA ARAB STATES ASIA AND THE PACIFIC EUROPE AND CENTRAL LATIN AMERICA AND
ASIA THE CARIBEAN

In Child Labour In hazardous work

Source – ILO child labour, 2020

From the above table we find out that the extent of child labour is more in Africa
and Pacific Asian Countries who are generally underdeveloped and their
technique of production is basically labour intensive whereas countries like
Europe and Latin America the percentage of child labour is very low.

3.6 – MAGNITUDE OF CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA

India accounts for the second highest number where child labour is concerned.
The conditions of the children here are pathetic. It is a serious and extensive
problem with many children under the age of 14 years are working in hazardous
factories. According to the from census 2011, the number of child labourer in
India is 10.1 million of which 5.6 million are boys and 4.5 million are girls. The
situation of child labour in India is miserable roughly 160 million children were

23
subjected to child labour at the beginning of 2020 and India contributes a large
number in it. It is implying that nearly one-third of India population is below the
mark of 18 years which states risk is high. Indian children are facing major issues
such as gender inequality, child marriage, malnutrition, child trafficking etc. But
the main problem is non-awareness of the cause and legal remedy available.

According to 2001 Census there was 12.26 million working children in the age
group of 5-14 years as compared to 11.3 million in 1991 it shows an increasing
trend of child labour. Evidence drawn from the National Sample Survey estimates
suggests that the child labour in the country is around 8.9 million in 2004/2005
with a workforce participation rate of 3.4 percent. Census data shows that there
is a decline in the absolute number as well the percentage of main workers of
children 5-14 to total population in the age group, from 4.3 percent in 1991 to 2.3
percent in 2001. But there was a substantial increase in marginal workers in every
category of workers irrespective of sex and residence. As a result, despite the
number of main workers declining from 9.08 million in 1991 to 5.78 million in
2001, the total number of children in the work force increased. A large part of the
increase was accounted for by the increase in marginal workers, which increased
from 2.2 million in 1991 to 6.89 million in 2001. Main and marginal workers put
together, the work participation rate of children in the age group of 5-14 has
declined from 5.4 percent during 1991 to 5 percent in 2001. The trends between
1991 and 2001 of declining main child workers along with increasing marginal
workers may indicate the changing nature of work done by children.

As per Census 2011, the total child population in India in the age group95-14)
years is 259.6 million. Of these, 10.1 million (3.9% of total child population) are
working either as ‘main worker’ or as ‘marginal worker’. In addition, more than
42.7 million children in India are out of school. However, he good news is that
the incidence of child labour has decreased in India by 2.6 million between 2001
and 2011. However, the decline was more visible in rural areas, while the number

24
of child workers has increased in urban areas, indicating the growing demand for
child workers in menial jobs. Child labour has different ramifications in both rural
and urban India.

Year Percentage of working Total number of working

children (5-14) children (5-14) in million
Rural Urban Total Rural Urban Total
2001 5.9 2.1 5.0 11.4 1.3 12.7
2011 4.3 2.9 3.9 8.1 2.0 10.1
*Source – Census 2001 and 2011

Distribution of working children by type of work in 2011

Areas of work Percentage Number (in million)

Cultivation 26.0 2.63
Agricultural labourers 32.9 3.33
Household industry workers 5.2 0.52
Other workers 35.8 3.62
*Source – Census 2011

25
 Major sectors for working in india(%)
120

100
22 23.9
80 35.8
6.4 4.7

60 5.2
83.4
37.8 39.9
40 32.9

20
33.8 31.5
26 7.2
4.9
0 4.4
Total 2001 Total Rural 2011 Urban

Cultivators Agricultural laborers HHI worker Other workers

STATES WITH HIGH INCIDENCES OF CHILD LABOUR

Together, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh

constitute nearly 55% of total working children in India.

States Percentage Numbers (In million)

Uttar Pradesh 21.5 2.18

Bihar 10.7 1.09
Rajasthan 8.4 0.85
Maharashtra 7.2 0.73
Madhya Pradesh 6.9 0.70
*Source - Census 2011

26
 CHAPTER:4 CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR

Children are most often involved in child labour because their parents or
guardians consider it ‘normal’ for children to work, and sometimes for children’s
own survival and that of their families. When talking about child labour, it is
important to understand it from the perspective of the children, families, and
communities themselves. Poverty, illiteracy of parents, social and economic
circumstances of the family are the main cause of child labour. Lack of awareness
related to the harmful effects of child labour and lack of access to basic and
quality education, cultural values of the family and the surroundings of the society
in which one is living, also increase the rate of child labour. High rates of
unemployment and under-employment also play a vital role in child labour.

Below are some of the root causes which make children particularly vulnerable
to child labour.

1. Poverty: ‘Poverty is certainly the greatest single force driving children

into the workplace.’ When families cannot afford to meet their basic needs
like food, water, education, or health care, they have no choice but to send
their children to work to supplement the household income. Poverty is
considered as one of the most important causes of child labour as it is
linked to other driving factors including: low literacy and numeracy rates,
lack of decent work opportunities, natural disasters and climate change,
conflicts, and mass displacement. Poverty and child labour form a vicious
cycle, without tackling one, we cannot eradicate the other. Children are
considered helping hands of their family. In developing countries, it is
almost impossible to control child labour as children not only have to
support themselves but their families also and provide them with a living.

27
 Due to poverty, the rate of unemployment is also very high and so the
parents must send their children to work on low wages.
2. Lack of access to quality education: ‘The availability and quality of
schooling is among the most important factors.’ School needs to be a
welcoming environment, with appropriate class sizes, a curriculum
designed for the local context, and affordable for rural communities.
Getting children into school and out of harmful work is one thing but
keeping them there a means creating quality accessible for all. The lack
of funding to sponsor the educational projects supported by organizations
puts the educational process in remission in many regions. Going to
schools is no longer an option in-hands for millions of children worldwide,
especially in conflict regions. With millions of displaced and poor families,
finding a school to enrol their children has become like a dream.
3. Natural disasters and climate change: In rural areas, farmers who see
their crops destroyed on account of climate changes have no other choice
but to send their children out to work. The effects of natural disasters and
climate change is one which is becoming of increasing concern. Rural
families who depend on reliable seasons for farming are particularly
vulnerable to altered patterns of rainfall, soil erosion, or extreme weather.
When crops are destroyed or farming land is ruined, families struggle to
make a living and are more likely to send their children to work in
neighbouring farms.
4. Conflict and mass migration: There is a strong correlation between child
labour and situations of conflict and disaster. According to the ILO
children make up more than half of the total number of people displaced
by war. These children are particularly vulnerable to forms of exploitation,
including child labour, due to an increase in economic shocks, a breakdown
of social support, education and basic services, and disruption of child
protection services. The incidence of child labour in countries affected by

28
 conflict is almost twice as high as the global average. Children are also
vulnerable to becoming involved in armed conflict, this is considered one
of the Worst Forms of Child Labour.
5. Poor access to decent work: Children who were involved in child labour
often lack the basic educational grounding which would enable them to
acquire skills and to improve their prospects for a decent adult working
life. If young people cannot access work which is safe, with social
protection, fair pay, equality for men and women and which provides a
space for works to express their opinions, they often have no choice but to
do work which is hazardous. When children above the minimum working
age are doing hazardous work, this is also considered child labour.
6. Crises: Through the last decade; many crises took place worldwide;
Economic crises, natural disasters, armed conflicts in many countries in the
world, along with the mass migration caused by it, comes COVID-19 at
the top of it all, making millions of people around the world fall victims to
all these crises.
7. Previous debts: Due to their poor economic condition people take loans.
But they don’t have sufficient money to pay back te loans so they not only
work day and night to pay off the loans ut they also drag their children to
work so that the loan could be paid off before time and easily.
8. Inequality in terms of social and economic development: Increased
child labour in India is primarily due to India’s social and economic
backwardness. Parents that are socially backward do not send their children
to school because they do not see the value in studying and believe that it
is better to work outside the home. As a result, this is the most important
factor that keeps children locked in child labour. Because of their illiteracy,
many parents are unaware of the many information and plans for child
education that the government has made available to them, and hence are
unable to take use of them.

29
9. Addiction, disease, or disability: There is no working because of
alcoholism, disease, or disability, and the wages of children are the only
source of income for families. Increased unemployment is a result of
population increase, which has had an impact on the prevention of child
labour. As a result, rather than sending their children to school, parents are
willing to send them to work in order to supplement the family’s income.
[Link] in the family: It is a stunning but tragic truth it is quite easy to
commit suicide in our culture. It is relatively easy for many families to
justify under the cover of tradition or customs, legitimise child labour
values of culture and tradition in the family contribute to the problem of
child labour in India, which is mostly voluntary. Most of the families do
not believe that there is a way out of poverty trap and focus on maintaining
their family labour expertise. Small business people also waste their
children’s lives to perpetuate their traditional family business.
[Link] between boys and girls: We always consider that girls
are weaker and there is no equal comparison between boys and girls. Even
today, in our society we will find examples where girls are deprived of
studies. Considering girls weaker than boys deprives them of school and
education. In labourer families, girls are found to be engaged in labour
along with their parents.

30
 CHAPTER:5 CONSEQUENCES OF CHILD
LABOUR

5.1 – IMPACT OF CHILD LABOUR

The presence of a large number of child labourers is regarded as a serious issue

in terms of economic welfare. Children who work fail to get necessary education.
They do not get the opportunity to develop physically, intellectually, emotionally,
and psychologically. In terms of the physical condition of children, children are
not ready for long monotonous work because they become exhausted more
quickly than adults. This reduces their physical conditions and makes the children
more vulnerable to disease. Children in hazardous working conditions are even
in worse condition. Children who work, instead of going to school, will remain
illiterate which limits their ability to contribute to their own wellbeing as well as
to community they live in. Child labour has term adverse effects on the society.

Child labour includes working children under a certain minimum age. This
practice has been going on for a long time and is the worst form of child
exploitation. Consequences of child labour are not only limited to harm a child’s
physical and mental health but also it deprives him of basic rights as guaranteed
by our constitution such as right to education, development, and freedom.

There are dangerous impacts of Child labour such as,

• Physical Risk – The children are exposed to many physical risks in various
work sectors. As they work for long hours without having a proper diet can
lead to a lack of physical and mental development.
• Affect Childhood – Child labour takes away childhood from the children.
It does not allow the child to get her/his right to education and leisure.

31
• Impact On Adult Life – Child labour does not allow the child to develop
skills that are important to have good opportunities foe decent work when
they grow up.
• Affect Country – The increment of child labourers has a bad impact on the
overall economy of a country, and it is a serious obstacle to the socio-
economic welfare of the country.
• Negative Impact on Health – Children are working in hazardous export-
oriented industries such as brassware, lock making, glass blowing, lead
mining and stone excavation fireworks, match works, electroplating, beedi
rolling etc. These are places that have a serious negative impact on the
health of the child working there as long as they start touching their
adolescence, they are already suffering from many life-threatening
diseases.
• Impact On Studies – child labour not only negatively affects a child’s
health but it also negatively affects her ability to receive schooling and
perform academically. When children are forced to work by their families,
they now have no time to attend school. While there are a significant
number of children going to school and working, work can have a negative
impact on their studies.
• Permanent Disabilities and Premature Death - As per the data provided by
UNICEF, it is estimated that about 250 million children in the age group
of 5-14 years are working in child labour worldwide and this figure is
steadily increasing. The ILO has awarded that about 165 million children
between the age of 5 and 14 years are involved in child labour. Many of
these children work for long hours, and often have poverty- related health
problems n dangerous conditions, malnutrition, fatigue; Anemia increases
the risk and consequences of work-related hazards and can lead to
permanent disability and premature death.

32
 • Deficiency of Nutrients – Deficiency of Vitamin B-complex, Iron and
protein in child labourers is in very large scale and there is a negative
impact on physical development, mental and intellectual development,
causing disorders in biochemical functions and irregular secretion of
hormones (adrenals, corticoids, sex hormones, and growth hormone). Most
of the child labour suffers from handicapped, malnutrition emotional
imbalance, behavioural problems, night blindness, weak yellow form,
stunted growth, cracked lip and mouth corners, malnutrition and failure of
child growth etc.

5.2 – EFFECTS OF CHILD LABOUR

Child labour is not something that needs recognition, in fact if there is an increase
in child labour then it shows that the country has failed in providing basic
necessities to its citizens, especially children. In such cases, the effects of
childhood are only negative. It not only deprives a child of a proper childhood
but also make them the victim of physical or mental torture. The child becomes
emotionally and mentally mature at an early age which is not a good sign. It does
not create but also extends poverty as the child is not able to get basic education
and he earns very less amount of money due to this, for his/her family. The child
is also paid less. Other effects of child labour are:

1. Children might suffer from malnutrition, drug dependency and depression.

2. It might endanger children dignity and morals.
3. Children may be employed forcefully and they may be sexually exploited.
4. They might become victims of sexual and physical violence.
5. In agriculture, children are often exposed to working with hazardous toxic
fertilizers and pesticides, as well as heavy and dangerous tools or blades.

33
 6. In domestic work, children face the risk of being abused by their
employers, working excessively long hours, or being isolated from their
friends and family.
7. In construction, children face the risk of injury from working with
dangerous and heavy loads and lack adequate personal protective
equipment.
8. In mining, children are exposed to working with explosives, poisonous
chemicals and face the risk of being placed in dangerous environments
such as mines which are regularly the source of collapses that can lead to
serious injury or death.
9. In manufacturing, children are exposed to unhealthy toxins, hazardous
chemicals and poor health and safety working regulations.

EFFECT OF CHILD LABOUR ON SOCIETY

Victims of child labour usually suffers from depression and anxiety, pushing
them to destructive habits like smoking, alcoholism, or drug abuse. Abusive
abuse environments also trigger a lifetime of low self-esteem, depression, and
relationship difficulties.

Walking over child labour, like it’s nothing, we will be destroying our future
communities because those children are part of our community today, as much as
tomorrow. So instead of making our society vulnerable with such a generation to
lead, let us handle this matter now and prepare these children to participate
positively in our community in the future.

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EFFECT OF HAZARDOUS CHILD LABOUR
There is no simple way to classify the deleterious effects of child labour on the
health of children or on their communities. Hazards are often considered in terms
of their specific chemical, biological and physical effects, or on their general
impact on psychological and physical health. Hazardous child labour constitutes
the most harmful activity, with an estimated 73 million children, aged 5-17 years,
working in dangerous conditions in a wide range of sectors, including agriculture,
mining, construction, and manufacturing, as well as in hotels, bars, restaurants,
markets and domestic service. Hazardous child labour refers specially to work in
dangerous or unhealthy conditions that could result in a child being killed, or
injured or made ill as a consequence of poor safety and health standards and
working arrangements. It can easily result in permanent disability, ill health, and
psychological damage. Health problems caused by working in hazardous
environments may not develop or manifest until the child is an adult. Globally,
the ILO estimates that some 22,000 children are killed at work every year. The
numbers of those injured or made ill because of their work are not known.

35
 CHAPTER:6 GOVERNMENT POLICIES,
SUGGESTIONS TO ERADICATE CHILD
LABOUR AND CONCLUSION

THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT ON THE ISSUE OF CHILD

LABOUR

The National Policy on Child Labour declared in August, 1987, contains the
action plan for tackling the problem of Child Labour. It envisages:

• A legislative action plan: The Government has enacted the Child Labour
(Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 to prohibit the engagement of children in
certain employments and to regulate the conditions of work of children in certain
other employments.

• Focusing and convergence of general development programmes for benefiting

children wherever possible, A Core Group on convergence of various welfare
schemes of the Government has been constituted in the Ministry of Labour &
Employment to ensure that, the families of the Child Labour are given priority
for their upliftment.

• Project-based action plan of action for launching of projects for the welfare of
working children in areas of high concentration of Child Labour.

The Government of India has laid down multiple rules governing the enforcement
of child labour and has taken active measures to eradicate this practice.

36
6.1 - LEGISLATIVE POLICY ADOPTED BY GOVERNMENT FOR
ERADICATION OF CHILD LABOUR

Prevention:

• Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 prohibits employment

of children below the age of 14 years in 18 occupations and 65 processes.
• The onus of enforcement of the provisions of the Act lies with the State
Governments as envisaged in Section 2 of the Act.
• The Union of India monitors the enforcement from time to time. Special
drives on enforcement and awareness generation are also launched from
time to time.

Rescue & Repatriation:

During inspections and raids conducted under CLPRA, Child Labour are
identified, rescued and rehabilitative measures are set forth in motion by way of
repatriation, in case of migrant Child Labour, and providing bridge education
with ultimate objective of mainstreaming them into the formal system of
education. Besides pre-vocational training is also provided to the rescued
children.

Constitutional provision:

Article 21A: Right to Education

The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age
of 6 to 14 years in such manner as the state, by law, may determine.

Article 24: Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc.

No child below the age of 14 years shall be employed in work in any factory or
mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.

37
Article 39: The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing: -

(e) that the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age
of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic
necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength.

6.2 - THE CONVERGENCE STRATEGY OF MINISTRY OF LABOUR

FOR ERADICATION OF CHLD LABOUR

A Core Group on convergence of various welfare schemes of the Government

has been constituted in the Ministry of Labour & Employment to ensure that,
the families of the Child Labour are given priority for their upliftment.
Considering poverty and illiteracy are the root cause for Child Labour
Government is following, educational rehabilitation of the children has to be
supplemented with economic rehabilitation of their families so that they are not
compelled by the economic circumstance to send their children to work.
Ministry is taking various pro-active measures towards between schemes of
different Ministries like,

• Ministry of Women and Child Development for supplementing the efforts of

this Ministry in providing food and shelter to the children withdrawn from work
through their schemes of Shelter Homes, etc.

• Ministry of Human Resource Development for providing Mid-day meal to the

NCLP school children, teachers training, supply of books, etc under Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan and mainstreaming of NCLP children into the formal education
system.

• Convergence with Ministries of Rural Development, Urban Housing and

Poverty Alleviation, Panchayati Raj for covering these children under their

38
various income and employment generation scheme for their economic
rehabilitation.

• In each State one officer from the State Department of Labour has been
nominated as Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) to act as link officer for co-
ordinating with Ministry of HRD in that state for prevention of trafficking of
children. CBI is the nodal anti trafficking agency.

• Convergence with Ministry of Railways for generating awareness and

restricting trafficking of children.

• Government is taking various proactive measures towards convergence of

schemes of different Ministries like Ministries of Human Resource Development,
Women & Child Development, Urban Housing & Rural Poverty Alleviation,
Rural Development, Railway, Panchayati Raj institutions etc. so that Child
Labour and their families get covered under the benefits of the schemes of these
Ministries.

6.3 – NATIONAL CHLD LABOUR PROJECT

Government had initiated the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme in
1988 to rehabilitate working children in 12 child labour endemic districts of the
country. This is a scheme by the central government of India to facilitate
rehabilitation of child labourers and to aid their introduction to formal education
with vocational training at NCLP Centres.

It is a Central Government Scheme which has been devised to tackle the issue of
child labour is a more effective manner by focusing on specific target ideas,
identifying the victims, withdrawing them from hazardous situations, focusing on
their rehabilitation and meanwhile spreading awareness on the functionalities of
NCLP and the other agencies on child labour to the families of the child labourers.

39
Objectives of NCLP: It aims at expulsion of child labour in all field in a
sequential pattern –

i)Identification of children in child labour in the project area.

ii)Preparation of the withdrawn children for introduction to mainstream education

by providing necessary vocational training.

iii)Ensuring that they are benefitted by the multitude of services provided by the
different governments and agencies.

iv)It aims at the withdrawal of adolescent children from hazardous situations or

occupations.

v) Facilitating training programmes for such adolescents through the skill

development schemes which are currently existing

vi) It aims at raising awareness amongst the target communities and the other
stakeholders regarding child labour about the functionality of NCLP.

vii) To create a Child Labour Monitoring, Tracking and Reporting System to stay
updated with the situation.

NCLP Target Group:

i)The scheme focuses on all the child workers below the age of 14 in the target
areas, adolescent workers below 18 years of age engaged in hazardous
occupations and on the families of the child workers in that specific target areas.

ii)The children would be eased into local schools after providing necessary
bridging programmes.

iii)The adolescent children in hazardous work would be given skill enhancement

training and shifted to non-hazardous work.

iv)The delivery of income/stipend, employment, or social security to the families

of child workers will be ensured by the government.

40
v)The tracking of the rescued child workers will be done to follow up for
evaluation of impact.

NCLP Highlights/Features:

i)The Government contributes to the identification, classification, eradication,

and withdrawal of children and adolescents from hazardous occupations.

ii)Successfully mainstreaming the rescued children into proper local schools and
affiliating them with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).

iii)The adolescents will be provided with other skill enhancement training and
transferred to permitted occupations.

iv)Better awareness programs for the education of communities and the Indian
public, with the help of enhanced abilities.

v)Compensatory measures for the families who are releasing their children from
working and allowing them to attend training or schools.

vi)Mother of such victimized children are often organized into Self-Help-Group.

Benefits of NCLP: The total number of children mainstreamed through Special

Training Centres set up under the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme,
is 13.63 lakh, since the inception of the scheme. Major benefits that will accrue
through this scheme are – 1. Contribute to the identification and eradication of all
forms of child labour;

2. Contribute to the identification and withdrawal of adolescents from hazardous

occupations and processes in the target area;

3. Awareness about the ill effects of child labour;

4. Successful mainstreaming into regular schools of all children who have been
withdrawn from child labour and rehabilitated through the NCLPS;

41
5. Adolescents withdrawn from hazardous occupations /processes to have
benefited from skills training wherever required and linked to legally permissible
occupations;

6. Better informed communities, specific target groups and the public at large as
a result of the Social Mobilization Programme;

7. Enhanced capacities to address the issue of child labour through training of

NCLP staff and other functionaries.

6.4 – CONVERGENCE WITH OTHER PROGRAMME

Convergence of services from different government departments is one of the key

components of the NCLP which leads to the overall success of the programme.
The NCLPs make efforts to utilise the services of other departments at various
levels. Most important among the different departments has been the Department
of Education. Since different forms of child labour cannot be ended only by
improving school enrolment and educational rehabilitation, efforts for
improvement of socio-economic environment of the child labour families will be
strengthened. Some of the prominent schemes of these Ministries/department,
which could have an explicit component for child labour and their family are
given below and could be utilized for government interventions for elimination
of child labour. This is however, only an indicative list and could be extended to
others programmes to:

a) Schemes of Department of Education

• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)
• Mid-Day Meal Scheme
b) Schemes of Ministry of Women & Child Development:
• ICPS scheme for providing food and shelter to the children withdrawn
from work through their schemes of Shelter Homes, etc.

42
 • Balika Samridhi Yojana and admission of children withdrawn from into
residential schools under SC/ST/OBC Schemes.
c) Schemes of Ministry of Rural Development
• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
(MGNREGA).
• Swarn Jayanti Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY)
• Indira Awas Yojana (IAY)
d) Scheme of Ministry of Labour & Employment
• Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY)
• Skilled Development Initiative Scheme (SDIS)
e) Other Social security schemes
• Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme
• National Family Benefit Scheme
• Janani Suraksha Yojana
• Handloom Weavers’ Comprehensive Welfare Scheme
• Handicraft Artisans’ Comprehensive Welfare Scheme
• Pension to Master craft persons
• National scheme for Welfare of Fishermen and Training and Extension
of Janashree Bima Yojana

As poverty and illiteracy are the prime reasons for child labour, a combined and
coordinated effort of the various departments would greatly help to mitigate this
problem. The National Policy on Child Labour, prescribes the need to focus on
general development programmes for the benefit of the families of child Labour.
Providing income generation opportunities to the parents of child labour would
enable them to send their children to school rather than work. Moreover,
encouraging the parents of the working children to form Self Help Groups
(SHGs). This would also help to bring children from these families to the fold of
education.

43
CHILD LABOUR LAWS IN INDIA:

Child labour has become a big matter of concern for both Union and State
Governments. Several legislative initiatives have been taken at both levels. As
compared to other countries, child labour in India is more prevalent. Out of 179
million children, 90 million who are in the age group of 6 to 14 years are
employed and they do not go to school. It contributes to 50% of children in our
country who are involved in child labour. Since 1933, various laws have been
made in India to control child labour.

Below are the major national legislative developments that aim for Children’s
Welfare in India.

▪ Minimum Wages Act, 1948

▪ The Plantation Labour Act, 1951
▪ Mines Act, 1952
▪ Merchant Shipping Act, 1958
▪ The Apprentices Act, 1961
▪ The Indian Factories Act, 1948
▪ Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986
▪ Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act, 2000
▪ Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009
▪ National Child labour Programme, 1988

44
6.5 - SUGGESTIONS TO ERADICATE CHILD LABOUR:
Child labour is an unforgivable crime that robs children of their childhood.
Despite the government efforts and stringent laws, this social evil continues to
prevail in our society. Child labour hinders the growth and progress of child and
impedes an entire nation’s the social and economic development. Therefore, we
ought to come together and channelize our efforts in the right direction to stop
child labour. Here are some of the ways to stop child labour.

[Link] awareness – If parents and communities are aware and alert, disruption
in children’s education can be prevented and many of them will not get pushed
into child labour. Lack of understanding on the part of parents creates situations
where traffickers prey upon children and many trafficked children ends up in
child labour. Aware communities can comprehend and respond to children’s
issues much more effectively. Awareness also ensures that communities tap
growth, education, employment, and enterprise opportunities and create a socially
and economically developed society in which children suffer much less.

[Link] stringent laws and effective implementation – Policymaking is

essential to bring in long-lasting social change, and advocating for better laws
involves demonstrating how change can bring considerable benefit. NGOs
conduct research and showcase findings regarding exploited children, and use
case studies to establish how their works benefit children.

[Link] more children to school – India has the world’s largest educational
system, yet faces the hurdles of low literacy, due to low enrolment and lack of
education infrastructure. Organisation like Save the Children execute several
initiatives to boost children’s enrolment in schools. The organisation maps out-
of-school children and those who are at risk of dropping out and ensures that they
enter into the fold of education.

45
[Link] people to employ children in homes, shops, factories, etc. –
Child labour gets a resounding approval when Indian businesses openly use it, in
industries like retail, hospitality, and menial work. NGOs today sensitise trade
organisations to end this social evil, and educate locals about reporting instances
of child labour at businesses and homes.

[Link] NGOs like Save the Children – Save the Children also offers
immediate aid to children involved in child labour, while also working for long
term societal change through policy change. The NGO works to ensure that
existing policies are followed through with action. The NGO works with state
and national level authorities, including Police departments of states to prevent
exploitation incidents.

46
6.6 - STRATEGY FOR DEALING WITH CHILD LABOUR

• The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act should be

strengthened and amended.
• The problem of working children of the migratory families should be
addressed. Child labour survey should be opened in each Metro and Mega
cities and also in every district.
• It is important to run residential schools for rehabilitation of child labour.
• The NCLP Scheme should expand further to a large geographical
coverage.
• The convergence approach should be followed to enhance social
protection and welfare measures for working children.
• Emphasis should be given to the monitoring and tracking of NCLP school
children.
• Panchayati Raj Institutions should be involved in monitoring and tracking
of child labour
• The NCLP Scheme should be realigned in the light of Right to education
Act 2009. Teachers of the NCLP Special schools should be properly
trained.
• Three tier Monitoring Committee at the District, State and National level
should be made for effective implementation and monitoring of the
NCLP Scheme.
• Educated society not to employ children or economically exploit them.
• Ensure the convergence of national poverty eradication and development
programmes aiming at prevention and progressive elimination of all
forms of child labour.
• Country wide survey should be done to know the existence, prevalence,
and nature of child labour in both the organized and un-organized sectors.

47
6.7 – CONCLUSION

Child labour is still a problem before the nation. The various measures have been
taken by the Government to deal with this problem of child labour actively.
However, due to the socio-economic problems like poverty, illiteracy which are
the main cause of child labour, it cannot be solved unless and until there are
collective effects of all the members of the society. If every individual takes the
responsibility of child labour, then this problem can be solved and we can have a
better and developed India. If the public supports the functions of the
Government, then the problem of child labour can be controlled to a great extent.
It is important to spread the awareness about the evil of child labour and makes
people understand that it is important for a child to grow and enjoy his/her
childhood as they are future of our country.

Collective efforts are needed on the part of society and the government to put an
end to the practice of child labour. In fact, every citizen should take a pledge to
never employ child labourer, rather discourage others too from doing so. We
should create awareness amongst people employing child labourers and the
parents sending their children to work. We need to provide our children a happy
childhood where they can enjoy the best period of their lives with a merry and
carefree attitude.

The government should make efforts to increase the incomes of parents by

launching various development schemes. Efforts should be made towards poverty
eradication combined with educational reforms to provide free or affordable
access to quality education. Only by taking comprehensive steps. Various laws
by different countries have been introduced various countries to combat the
problem. Though there has a decrease in the trend with efforts, but still a long-
way is there to cover. The main focus should be on fighting with the causes of the
problem so that there stood no way of even origination of this social-evil.

48
Awareness programmes and thinking of the society needs to be changed and all
the countries and people of the world are needed to be unified for the cause. Laws
must be made and implemented in strict sense, and child-care reforms must be
made more sincerely as it is a question on millions of innocent lives.

49
 Bibliography

1. [Link]
_on_Child_Labour.pdf
2. [Link]
[Link]
-sro-new_delhi/documents/publication/wcms_557089.pdf
3. [Link]
4. [Link]
_different_countries
5. [Link]
[Link]
6. [Link]
7. [Link]
8. [Link]
[Link]
9. [Link]
ways-to-tackle-the-problem-of-child-labour-in-india

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