What Are The Initiatives Taken by Indian Government To Stop Child Labour in India?

Child labour is a problem that has been haunting different countries of the world, especially developing countries, such as India. When a child is forced to work for a living in the place of spending life like any other child, it not just takes away innocence but also impacts their health and potential. Currently, there are many government initiatives for child labour to improve the situation.

Understanding the Problems of Child Labour in India

According to the Census of India 2001, there were about 1.26 crore children of the age group 5 years to 14 years who were exposed to child labour. Out of this number, there were about 12 lakh such children who worked in those hazardous occupations that were prohibited by the Child Labour Act.

According to a survey by the National Sample Survey Organisation, this number decreased to 90.75 lakhs by the year 2004–2005. Soon there were steps taken by government to stop child labour. As a result, the number even decreased to 43.53 lakhs in the year 2011.

How Should Child Labour Be Eliminated?

There are a number of proven methods that can help in eliminating child labour.

• One of the topmost ways is by spreading awareness against child labor among people who face financial crisis.
• There should be more stringent government schemes to stop child labor in India.
• More parents should be encouraged to send their children to school in place of sending them to work at a tender age
• Teach and make people realize that they should not employ children for work either at homes, shops, or any other places.
• Even supporting NGOs that work against child labor can make a difference.

Initiatives Taken By Government Of India To Eradicate Child Labour

Over the years, there were several steps taken by government to reduce child labour.

1. Gurupadaswamy Committee

The Gurupadswamy Committee was formed in 1979 to deal with the situation of child labour in India. The committee understood that poverty is one of the prime reasons for child labour and it is not an easy task to completely eradicate poverty. Hence, the committee made a major decision of prohibiting child labour in several hazardous workplaces and regulating the environment of other workplaces under the Child Labour Act 1986.

2. Amendments

An amendment was made to the Child Labour Act in 2015 according to which any children between the age of 5 years to 4 years should not work in any occupation, apart from the entertainment industry. But again, children may work only in family enterprises, if the work environment is non-hazardous. Finally, child labor was absolutely banned in the amendment made in 2016.

3. Regulations and Rehabilitation

One of the important government measures for tackling the problem of child labour is to make amendments to the Child Labour Act for regulations and rehabilitation. According to the current amendments, children of the age group 14–18 years can work but only in non-hazardous workplaces. The Act also focuses on the rehabilitation of children of any age group, who once worked in a hazardous setup.

4. Right to Education

The Right to Education Act was passed in 2009 to ensure that all children get an education in place of working. There are several schools set up that impart free education to such children and also offer faculties such as textbooks, uniforms, and others for free. The basic facilities such as toilets, drinking water, teacher-student ratio, and others are ensured.

5. Legal Proceedings

There are several legal proceedings that the government practices against child labour. For example, those who force children to beg or to earn money in any other way will be imprisoned. Any kind of bonded labour will be also severely punished. To maintain these proceedings, every police station has a special cell for juvenile protection. The government has launched the platform Pencil to ensure proper enforcement of all child labour laws.

Child labour is a serious issue in India and Government is doing its every bit to tackle the problem and ensure a healthy childhood for all. Also, there are several NGOs like CRY India that have come forward to work on the child labour project and offer support to the Government in making India free from child labour instances in the upcoming next few years. Help CRY India to prevent child labour by donating online to the NGO.