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Child Labour – India’s Hidden Shame

From Current Affairs Notes for UPSC » Editorials & In-depths » This topic

One of the most unfortunate consequences of the pandemic and its wide range of restrictions has been the higher vulnerability of children to different forms of abuse and deprivation. Moreover, the second wave of COVID-19 has left several children without both or one of their parents. This situation exposed them to hopelessness, financial hardships and increased risk of child labour, exploitation, and trafficking.

This topic of “Child Labour – India’s Hidden Shame” is important from the perspective of the UPSC IAS Examination , which falls under General Studies Portion.

Who is a child?

Child and Adolescent Labour (prohibition and regulation) Act 1986 defines the child as a person who has not completed the age of 14 years.

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What is Child Labour?

• Child Labour as defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) is a work that takes away children their childhood, their potential and their dignity which is harmful to their physical as well as mental development.
• ILO also explains child labour in its most extreme forms involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities — often at a very early age.
• But Children or adolescents who involve in works that do not impact their health and personal development or affect their schooling is not child labour. For instance, helping their parents at home, helping family or earning pocket money outside school hours and on holidays.

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How children are exploited for Labour in India?

Instead of being in school or at play or other constructive activities, they are put to work on a range of activities that span repetitive low-skill work that doesn’t aid development for future employment opportunities, they are forced to be exposed to conditions devastating to health and safety in the agriculture, industry and service sectors.

The work involves long hours on a bewildering range of tasks such as transferring pollen in cotton plants, picking the crop with their bare hands, indentured on tea or tobacco plantations and brick making factories and construction sites; being sent down dangerous mines for extracting gold and diamonds, or confined to cramped workshops for cutting and polishing gemstones; working at slaughterhouses and tanneries with minimal protection or under life-threatening conditions at fireworks factories.

Children are very commonly employed in the murky underbelly of the fashion industry in yarn and spinning mills, and garment factory sweatshops, put to work from handling silkworms in scalding water to doing painstaking embellishment work. They are on the streets picking rags – carrying an entire recycling industry on their shoulders, or in homes doing domestic work either as employees of others or in the case of girls in their own homes where they are treated as free labour and not considered as deserving of education as their brothers.

The worst of all is the human trafficking situations of modern-day slavery that children are thrown into, facing horrific abuse and lifelong trauma as bonded labourers or sold into sexual exploitation . Alongside the physical implications of this work, can we even begin to imagine the mental health consequences for these children and adolescents forced into labour?

What is the statistics of child labour in India?

According to the 2011 census,

• there were more than 10.2 million children in the age group of 5-14 working as child labourers.
• Child labour has increased rapidly in urban areas and declined in rural areas.
• The overall decrease in child labour is only 2.2% per year from 2001-2011.
• India’s biggest child labour employers are – Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

What is the nature of child labour in India?

Change in work location: There has been high involvement of children in home-based works and in the informal sector.

Rural-Urban areas:

• In urban areas, a huge number of children are involved in manual domestic work, rag picking, restaurants, motor repair shops, etc.
• Agriculture including cotton growing,
• Matchbox industries,
• Brass, and lock-making factories,
• Embroidery,
• Rag-picking,
• Beedi-rolling,
• Carpet-making industry,
• Mining and stone quarrying,
• Brick kilns,
• Tea gardens etc.

Gender specific: The division of labour is gender-specific with girls being engaged in more domestic and home-based work, and boys working as wage labourers.

Bonded Child labour: refers to the employment of a person against a loan, debt or social obligation by the family of the child or family as a whole. Bonded child labourers are mostly found in the agriculture sector or helping their families in brick kilns, and stone quarries. There are around 10 million bonded child labourers in India.

Migrant Children: Children who are migrating to other locations with family are often forced to drop-out schools and unavoidably put to work at work-sites.

What are the causes of Child Labour in India?

Poverty and Indebtedness:

• Poverty is the greatest cause of child labour. For impoverished households, income from a child’s work is generally important for his or her own survival or for that of the household.
• Children are also bonded to labour because of the family indebtedness.
• Rural poverty and urban migration often expose children to being trafficked for work.

Adult unemployment and under-employment : high prevalence of adult unemployment and under-employment often force children to work to support the family.

Illiteracy and Ignorance of parents:  Illiteracy of the child’s parents further worsens the crisis. Illiteracy and Lack of awareness of the harmful consequences of child labour make them violate the law and put their children under the risk of inhuman exploitation.

Lack of access to basic and meaningful quality education and skills training:

• The current educational infrastructure is highly unsuitable to children of economically deprived families.
• Furthermore, the deteriorating quality of education has resulted in increasing dropout rates and forced children to engage in work.
• Compulsory education (RTE) does not cover the 15-18 age group (adolescents). However, being illiterate or school dropouts, these children are vulnerable and most exploited for the informal, unskilled and casual workforce.

Demand for child labour :

• Rising demand for child labour particularly in urban areas is an important cause for the prevalence and increase in child labour.
• Children are employed as they are cheap and flexible with respect to the demands of the employer and not aware of their rights.

Cultural factors:

• An expectation that children should contribute to the socio-economic survival of the family and community, as well as the existence of large families,  contribute to the prevalence of child labour.
• Children mostly take up family’s traditional work from an early age. For instance, a Goldsmith’s son takes to gold-smithery, or a carpenter’s child takes up carpentry from an early age.

Social factors:  There is a strong correlation between India’s differentiated social structure and child labour. The majority of child labourers in India belong to the so called lower castes (SCs), the tribal and Muslim religious minority.

What are the impacts of child labour?

• Affect childhood: Child labour takes away a child of his/her childhood. It not only denies his/her right to education but also right to leisure.
• Affect adult life: Child labour prevents children from gaining the skills and education they require to have opportunities for decent work when they become an adult.
• Major health and physical risks: as they work long hours and are needed to do tasks for which they are physically and mentally unprepared. Working in hazardous situations adversely impacts a child’s physical and mental health and affects intellectual, emotional and psychological development.
• Poverty: Child labour is both a cause and consequence of poverty. Household poverty makes children enter the labour market to earn money = they miss out on an opportunity to get an education = further continuing household poverty across generations in a vicious cycle.

• Affect country as a whole: Existence of a large number of child labourers has long term effect on the economy and it is a serious obstacle to the socio-economic welfare of the country.

What are the International Safeguards against Child Labour?

International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions:

• The two Core Conventions directly related to child labour are that of ILO Convention 138 (Minimum age convention) and 182 (Worst forms of Child Labour Convention).
• India has ratified both the Core Conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions.

Declaration of Rights of Child, 1959:

• Universal declaration of human rights 1948 –  mentions (under article 25) that childhood is entitled to special care and assistance.
• The above principles along with other principles of a universal declaration concerning child were incorporated in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, 1959.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989

It sets out different rights of children- civil, political, economic, cultural, social and health. Article 32 states that the government should protect children from work that is dangerous or might harm their health or their education.

What are the measures taken by India?

Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 

Based on the recommendations of the Gurupadaswammy Committee (1979), the Act was passed in 1986. It has the following objectives:

• to prohibit the engagement of children in some employment.
• and to regulate the conditions of work of children in certain other employment.

Salient features:

• The Act prohibits children from working in any occupation listed in Part A of the Schedule; for example: Catering at railway establishments, construction work on the railway or anywhere near the tracks, plastics factories, automobile garages, etc.
• The act also prohibits children from working in places where certain processes are being undertaken, as listed in Part B of the Schedule; for example beedi making, tanning, soap manufacture, brick kilns, and roof tiles units, etc.
• Part III of the act outlines the conditions in which children may work in occupations/processes not listed in the schedule.
• Any person who employs any child in contravention of the provisions of section 3 of the Act is liable for punishment with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than 3 months but which may extend to one year or fine.

Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016

• The Amendment Act completely prohibits the employment of children below 14 years.
• The amendment also prohibits the employment of adolescents in the age group of 14 to 18 years in hazardous occupations and processes and regulates their working conditions where they are not prohibited.
• The amendment also provides stricter punishment for employers for violation of the Act and making the offence of employing any child or adolescent in contravention of the Act by an employer as cognizable.

Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2017

• The rules provide a broad and specific framework for prevention, prohibition, rescue, and rehabilitation of child and adolescent workers.
• It also clarifies on issues related to helping in family and family enterprises and definition of family with respect to the child.
• It states that the child shall not perform any tasks during school hours and between 7 p.m. and 8 a.m.
• It also provides for safeguards of artists which have been permitted to work under the Act, in terms of hours of work and working conditions.
• It states that no child shall be allowed to work for more than 5 times a day, and for not more than 3 hours without rest.

National Policy on Child Labour (1987)

• It contains the action plan for tackling the problem of Child Labour.
• It focuses more on the rehabilitation of children working in hazardous occupations and processes, rather than on prevention.
• The policy consists of three main attributes:
• Legal Action plan –Emphasis will be laid on strict and effective enforcement of legal provisions relating to a child under various Labour laws.
• Focusing on general development programmes- Utilisation of various on-going development programmes of other Ministries/Departments for the benefit of Child Labour wherever possible.
• Project-based plan of Action – Launching of projects for the welfare of working child in areas of high concentration of child labour.

National Child Labour Project Scheme

• For rehabilitation of child labour, the Government had initiated the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme.
• The NCLP Scheme seeks:
• To eliminate all forms of child labour through identification and withdrawal children from child labour and preparing them for mainstream education along with vocational training
• To contribute to the withdrawal of all adolescent workers from Hazardous Occupations / Processes and their skilling and integration in suitable occupations.
• Creation of a Child Labour Monitoring, Tracking and Reporting System.

Pencil:  The government has launched a dedicated platform viz. pencil.gov.in to ensure effective enforcement of child labour laws and end child labour.

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000 and Amendment of the Act in 2006

• It includes the working child in the category of children in need of care and protection, without any limitation of age or type of occupation.
• Section 23 (cruelty to Juvenile) and Section 26 (exploitation of juvenile employee) specifically deal with child labour under children in need of care and protection.

The Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act (2009):  The Act made it mandatory for the state to ensure that all children aged six to 14 years are in school and receive free education.

Many NGOs like Bachpan Bachao Andolan, ChildFund, CARE India, Talaash Association, Child Rights and You, Global march against child labour, RIDE India, Child line, Kailash Satyarthi Children Foundation etc. have been working to eradicate child labour in India.

What are the Challenges in reducing child labour in India?

Issues with Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016:

• The list of hazardous industries has been drastically decreased, this may allow the employers in industries like chemical mixing units, cotton farms, battery recycling units, and brick kilns, etc. to employ adolescent labour, which they may even get at a much cheaper price.
• Further, the amendment allows a child to be employed in “family or family enterprises”.This raises a question over a large number of child labour in agrarian rural India where poor families are trapped in intergenerational debt-bondage.

Definitional issue:  One of the biggest challenges in eradicating child labour is the confusion around the definition of a child, in terms of age, in various laws dealing with child labour.

Lack of identification:  Age identification of children is a difficult task in India due to the lack of identification documents. Child labourers often lack school registration certificates and birth certificates, creating an easy loophole in the law to exploit. Most often the children of migrant workers working as labourers and those employed in domestic work go unreported.

Weak enforcement of law and poor governance: Weak enforcement of the law, lack of adequate deterrence and corruption is a major hurdle in eradicating child labour.

What is the way forward?

• Child labour is a vicious circle of poverty, unemployment, underemployment, and low wages. There should be a concerted effort towards social protection programmes and cash transfers to improve the economic situation of families and to reduce the “need” to send children to work.
• There is an urgent need to revamp educational infrastructure- to ensure access to educational institutions, improvement in quality and relevance of education
• There is a need to bring uniformity in existing Indian laws dealing with child labour. The laws must expand the definition of a child by prohibiting the employment of and ensuring free and compulsory education (RTE, Act, 2009) for children below 18 years
• There is a need to launch a national campaign to invoke public interest and large-scale awareness on the exploitation of children and the menace of child labour.
• The government should take adequate measures to raise awareness among families and communities. Parental literacy can play an important role in ensuring the rights of children are upheld.
• Elimination of child labour demands commitment from the society e.g. family, state, civil society and those who employ children in any enterprises.

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Child Labour in India: Causes, Consequences and Solutions

The article on Child Labour in India aims to cover the facts, statistics, causes, consequences, solutions and other related aspects of the topic in detail.

What is Child Labour?

Child Labour means when children are made to work in a way that takes away their childhood, potential, and self-respect.

• It includes work that is dangerous or harmful to children’s physical, mental, social, or moral well-being.
• It also includes work that stops them from going to school, either by not allowing them to attend or by forcing them to leave early.

Whether a particular type of work is considered child Labour depends on factors like the child’s age, the kind and hours of work, the conditions in which it takes place, and the rules set by each country. The definition may vary from country to country and even within different industries within a country.

Facts and Statistics of Child Labour in India

• Total child population (5-14 years) in India: 259.6 million (Census 2011).
• Working children in India: 10.1 million (3.9% of the total child population) as “main workers” or “marginal workers.”
• Out-of-school children in India: more than 42.7 million.
• Child Labour decreased in India by 2.6 million between 2001 and 2011.
• The decline is more visible in rural areas, while the number of child workers increased in urban areas, indicating a growing demand for child workers in menial jobs.

Causes of Child Labour

There are many other factors that contribute to the problem, such as social norms, cultural beliefs, and discrimination.

Consequences of Child Labour

The consequences faced have a far-reaching impact on the child, society, and the nation as a whole:

Solutions to the Issue of Child Labour in India

Addressing the issue of child Labour in India requires a comprehensive approach involving various stakeholders.

• Strengthening Legislative Framework: Enforce and strengthen existing laws, such as the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, to ensure comprehensive protection for children and stricter penalties for offenders. Amendments should align with international standards.
• Access to Quality Education: Ensure universal access to free and quality education for all children. Implement and enforce the Right to Education Act, focusing on reducing dropout rates and increasing enrollment in schools.
• Poverty Alleviation: Tackle the root causes of child Labour by implementing poverty alleviation programs, providing economic support to families living in poverty, and promoting livelihood opportunities for parents.
• Awareness and Sensitization: Conduct widespread awareness campaigns targeting parents, communities, and employers about the detrimental effects of child Labour on children’s physical, mental, and educational development.
• Rehabilitation and Social Protection: Develop and implement comprehensive rehabilitation programs for rescued child laborers, including access to education, vocational training, healthcare, and psychological support. Establish social protection schemes for vulnerable families to prevent children from entering the Labour force.
• International Cooperation: Collaborate with international organizations, such as the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF, to access expertise, technical assistance, and financial resources to combat child Labour effectively.
• Empowering Local Communities: Involve local communities, including parents, teachers, and community leaders, in preventing child Labour. Empower them to identify and report cases of child Labour and provide support for rehabilitation and reintegration efforts.

It is important to recognize that addressing child Labour is a complex and multifaceted issue that requires sustained efforts, collaboration, and the commitment of all stakeholders to create lasting change.

Addressing and eliminating child Labour is crucial for the well-being of children, the progress of society, and the sustainable development of a nation. It requires concerted efforts, comprehensive policies, and the active involvement of various stakeholders to ensure the protection of children’s rights and their holistic development.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Child Labour in India

How many children are presently working as labour in india.

There are around 10.1 million (3.9% of the total child population) as “main workers” or “marginal workers.”

What is the major reason for Child Labour in India?

The major reason for child Labour in India is poverty . Families living in poverty often resort to child Labour as a means of survival, as children can be paid less and are more vulnerable to exploitation.

What are the 10 Causes of Child Labour?

The 10 causes of child Labour include poverty, lack of access to education, limited enforcement of child Labour laws, cultural attitudes and norms, armed conflict, discrimination, inadequate social protection, migration, globalization, and demand for cheap Labour.

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Child Labour in India

What’s in today’s article?

Why in news, what is child labour, what are the steps taken by india to eliminate child labour.

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) said it issued directions to political parties to refrain from using children in election campaigns.
• The Bombay High Court, in August 2014, emphasised the need to ensure that parties do not allow children to participate in election-related activities.
• According to the ILO, child labour includes any work that deprives children of their childhood, potential and dignity, physical or mental development.
• It perpetuates the vicious cycle of poverty (due to poor education-health, less economic opportunities), denying children their fundamental rights and a better future.
• Article 24 of the Constitution of India prohibits employment of children below the age of 14 years in any factory or mine or in any hazardous employment.
• According to the International Labour Organization, India has the highest number of child laborers in the 5-17 age range in South Asia.
• In rural areas, 13.9% of children are involved in child labor, compared to 4.7% in urban areas.
• 70% of child laborers are in agriculture, 20% in services, and 10% in industry.
• As per census 2011, 10.1 million children, or 3.9% of the total child population, are "main workers" or "marginal workers".
• Poverty and lack of social security are the main causes of child labour.
• Entry of multi-national corporations into industry without proper mechanisms to hold them accountable has led to the use of child labour.
• Lack of quality universal education has also contributed to children dropping out of school and entering the labour force.
• Laws that are meant to protect children from hazardous labour are ineffective and not implemented correctly.
• A growing phenomenon is using children as domestic workers in urban areas .
• According to many surveys, child labour is highest among schedule tribes, Muslims, schedule castes and OBC children.
• The commitments made by the county after ratification of ILO conventions, and
• The target stipulated in Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 to end all forms of child labour.
• The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 , prevents children from partaking in certain employments and regulates the conditions of work for children in other fields.
• In 2016, an amendment completely banned the employment of children below 14 years.
• It also prohibits employment of adolescents (14-18 years) in hazardous occupations and processes.
• Government has framed the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2017.
• This rule specifies the duties and responsibilities of State Governments and District Authorities.
• Government had initiated the NCLP Scheme in 1988 to rehabilitate working children in 12 child labour endemic districts of the country.
• Under this Scheme, the children in the age group of 9-14 years are withdrawn from work and put into NCLP Special Training Centres.
• Here they are provided with bridge education, vocational training, mid-day meal, stipend, health care etc. before being mainstreamed into formal education system.
• The Portal connects Central Government to State Government(s), District(s) and all District Project Societies.
• This act prohibits the employment of children under 14 years old in factories.
• 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.
• Convention 138: On the minimum age of employment
• Convention 182: On the worst forms of child labour

Q1) What is the International Labour Organization (ILO)?

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency that aims to promote social and economic justice. The ILO's mission is to promote internationally recognized human and labor rights, and to ensure that labor peace is essential to prosperity.

Q2) What is Article 24 of the Constitution of India?

Article 24 of the Constitution of India prohibits the employment of children under the age of 14 in factories, mines, and other hazardous occupations. The article also prohibits the employment of children in other hazardous activities, such as construction work or railway work. However, the article does not prohibit harmless work.

Source: Zero tolerance towards use of children in poll campaigns: ECI to political parties | Ministry of Labour and Employment | PIB

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Child labour in India- Explained Pointwise

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An Australian Parliamentary committee in its recent report has raised concerns over Child Labour in India . According to the Parliamentary report, the mini trade deal ( The Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement ( ECTA )) signed between India and Australia, does not recognise international labour rights and disregards environmental standards. The report has also noted that India has a well-documented presence of child and forced labour , which is a form of modern slavery.

Child Labour is a rampant problem in India , despite a plethora of legislations to curb it. It is a humanitarian crisis which tarnishes the international image of India as well as damages its trade prospects . Hence, the malpractice needs to be curbed at the earliest.

What is Child Labour? What is the Extent of Child Labour in India?

Child Labour- According to The International Labour Organisation (ILO), child labour is a work that deprives children of their childhood , their potential and dignity , and that is harmful to their physical and mental development .

However, children or adolescents who participate in work that does not affect their health and personal development or interferes with their schooling , is not child labour. For Ex- Helping their parents at home, assisting family or earning pocket money outside school hours and on holidays.

Child Labour in India Statistics

What are the Causes of Child Labour in India?

1. Poverty and Indebtedness- Poverty is the greatest cause of child labour in India. For impoverished households, income from a child’s work is crucial for his or her own survival or for that of the household. For ex- Bonded Labour due to Family Indebtedness .

2. Adult unemployment and under-employment- High prevalence of adult unemployment and under-employment often force children to work to support family .

3. High prevalence of Illiteracy and ignorance of parents- Illiteracy and ignorance of the parents put children under the risk of inhuman exploitation.

4. Lack of access to quality education and skills training- Deplorable quality of education and lack of coverage of 15-18 year age group in compulsory education , has led to increase in dropout rates and forced children into child labour.

5. Cultural factors- Children often take up family’s traditional work from an early age, contributing to enhancement of Child labour. For ex- A Goldsmith’s son taking to gold-smithery , or a carpenter’s child taking up carpentry from an early age .

6. Social factors- India’s differentiated social structure also contribute to child labour . The majority of child labourers in India belong to the marginalised social groups like SCs , STs and the Muslim religious minority .

7. Epidemics and Disasters- Natural disasters, conflicts, and pandemics increase the vulnerability of Children towards forced labour , as they forced to work for survival and are often exploited by traffickers and perpetrators.

What is the impact of the Prevelance of Child Labour in India?

1. Impedes Children from gaining skills and education- Child labour impedes children from gaining the skills and education they need to have opportunities of decent work as an adult. This violates their right to life and liberty as provided by the constitution.

2. Health and Physical Risks- Long working hours and hazardous working conditions adversely affects a child’s physical and mental health and impairs their intellectual, emotional and psychological development.

3. Negatively affects Human Capital Formation- Child labour diminishes children’s ability to accumulate skills and knowledge, thereby affecting their future productivity and income .

4. Perpetuation of poverty- Child labour is both a cause and consequence of poverty. Household poverty forces children into the labour market to earn money. Thus, the children miss out on an opportunity to gain an education , further perpetuating household poverty across generations.

5. Obstacle to Socio-Economic Welfare of the country- Presence of a large number of child labourers has long term effect on the economy and it is a serious obstacle to socio-economic welfare of a country. For ex- Cancellation of trade pacts on account of human right abuses such as Child Labour .

What are the International and National Provisions to curb the practice of Child Labour?

International Provisions

National Policy Framework surrounding Child Labour

What are the challenges in combating Child labour in India?

1. Issues with Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016- a. The amendment act has drastically decreased the types of hazardous industries provided in the list. This allows employers in industries like chemical mixing units , cotton farms , battery recycling units , and brick kilns etc. to employ adolescent labour.

b. The amendment allows the child to be employed in “family or family enterprises” . This promotes child labour in agrarian rural India, where poor families are trapped in intergenerational debt-bondage.

2. Definition of Child- One of the biggest challenges in eradicating child labour is the confusion around the definition of a child, in terms of age, in various laws dealing with child labour. For ex- Conflicting age of Child provided in Juveline Justice Act and Child Labour Act .

3. Lack of proper identity documents- Child labourers often lack school registration certificates and birth certificates , which, creates an easy loophole in the law to exploit. Also, lack of reporting of children of migrant workers working as labourers and domestic help, further aggravates the problem of Child Labour.

4. Weak enforcement of law and poor governance- Weak enforcement of law, lack of adequate deterrence and corruption is a major hurdle in eradicating child labour.

5. Socio-Economic crisis- The economic contraction and lockdowns lead to income reductions for enterprises and workers , promoting   child labour.

What Should be the Way Forward?

1. Uniformity in Indian Laws dealing with Child Labour- We must aim to bring uniformity in existing Indian laws dealing with child labour. The laws must expand the definition of a child.  We must also ensure free and compulsory education (RTE, Act, 2009) for children below 18 years .

2. Police action in case of failure to register child labour- The 52nd report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour has suggested incorporating provisions for taking action against the police for not registering FIRs in the CALPRA Act , similar to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 .

3. Social Protection Schemes- There should be concerted effort towards social protection programmes and cash transfers to improve the economic situation of families and to reduce the “need” to send children to work.

4. District-level Funds and National Level Child Tracking Mechanism- The 52nd report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour has recommended establishing a district-level fund and National Level Child Tracking Mechanism for immediate relief and rehabilitation for child laborers.

5. Raise Awareness- Government with the help of NGOs like Bachpan Bachao Andolan, ChildFund, CARE India, Talaash Association, Child Rights and You should take adequate measures to raise awareness among families and communities. Parental literacy can play an important role in ensuring the rights of children are upheld.

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Child Labour in India: An In-Depth Analysis of a Persistent Social Issue

Relevant for UPSC Mains GS 2 – Social Justice

Introduction: Child labour is a pressing social issue in India, with millions of children engaged in work that deprives them of their childhood, education, and future prospects. Despite legal frameworks and numerous initiatives to eradicate child labour, the problem persists, with children working in various sectors, often in hazardous conditions. In this comprehensive blog, we will explore the issue of child labour in India, examining its causes, consequences, and potential solutions to this deeply rooted problem.

• Understanding Child Labour in India: Child labour refers to the employment of children below the legal age, in activities that are mentally, physically, socially, or morally dangerous and harmful. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), child labour is defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, potential, and dignity, and that is harmful to their physical and mental development. In India, child labour is widespread across various sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and the informal sector. Children often work long hours in hazardous environments, with little or no access to education, healthcare, or basic rights.
• Poverty: Poverty is the primary driving force behind child labour in India. Families living in poverty often rely on the income generated by their children to meet basic needs, forcing children to work instead of attending school.
• Lack of Access to Quality Education: Inadequate access to quality education, particularly in rural areas, leads many children to drop out of school and enter the workforce. Additionally, the lack of infrastructure, resources, and trained teachers in many schools contributes to poor learning outcomes, further discouraging children from continuing their education.
• Social and Cultural Factors: Traditional beliefs, social norms, and cultural practices often perpetuate child labour in India. In some communities, child labour is considered a part of the social fabric, with children expected to contribute to their family’s income or learn a trade from an early age.
• Ineffective Legal Framework and Implementation: Although India has a legal framework in place to combat child labour, implementation and enforcement of these laws are often weak. Corruption, lack of resources, and inadequate monitoring systems contribute to the limited effectiveness of existing laws and policies.
• Impact on Child Development: Child labour has a profound impact on a child’s physical, mental, and emotional development. Long hours of work in hazardous conditions can lead to injuries, chronic health issues, and psychological trauma.
• Loss of Education and Future Opportunities: Children engaged in labour often miss out on education, limiting their future opportunities and perpetuating the cycle of poverty. Lack of education also hinders their ability to contribute to the nation’s development in the long run.
• Perpetuation of Poverty and Inequality: Child labour contributes to the perpetuation of poverty and inequality in society, as children who work instead of attending school are more likely to remain trapped in a cycle of poverty throughout their lives.
• The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016: This Act prohibits the employment of children below 14 years of age in all occupations and processes, with certain exceptions for family enterprises and child artists. The Act also regulates the working conditions of adolescent workers (aged 14-18) and prohibits their employment in hazardous occupations and processes.
• The Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009: The RTE Act guarantees free and compulsory education for all children aged 6-14 in India, ensuring that every child has access to quality education, which is crucial in preventing child labour.
• National Child Labour Project (NCLP): The NCLP is a government initiative aimed at rehabilitating child labourers through the provision of education, vocational training, and healthcare. The project also raises awareness about child labour and its adverse effects on children, families, and society.
• Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS): The ICPS is a comprehensive scheme aimed at creating a safe and protective environment for children through the establishment of child protection services at national, state, and district levels.
• Poverty Alleviation: Tackling the root cause of child labour – poverty – is essential in the fight against child labour. Implementing policies and programs aimed at poverty alleviation, such as income-generation schemes, skill development initiatives, and social security measures, can help reduce the reliance on child labour for family income.
• Ensuring Access to Quality Education: Improving access to quality education, particularly in rural and marginalized communities, can help prevent child labour. Investments in school infrastructure, teacher training, and the development of contextually relevant curricula can improve learning outcomes and encourage children to stay in school.
• Strengthening Legal Framework and Enforcement: Enhancing the effectiveness of existing laws and policies is critical in the fight against child labour. This can be achieved through better monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, increased resources for inspections and prosecutions, and the establishment of dedicated child labour courts.
• Collaboration between Stakeholders: Combating child labour requires a coordinated effort among various stakeholders, including the government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the private sector, and local communities. Collaborative initiatives, such as public-private partnerships and community-based programs, can help pool resources and expertise to address the issue more effectively.
• Raising Awareness and Advocacy: Raising awareness about the adverse effects of child labour and promoting a change in societal attitudes towards the issue is crucial. Advocacy campaigns, community mobilization efforts, and engagement with the media can help challenge prevailing norms and practices that perpetuate child labour.

Conclusion: Child labour in India is a deeply entrenched social issue, with its roots in poverty, lack of access to quality education, social and cultural factors, and ineffective legal frameworks. Addressing the problem requires a multi-faceted approach, involving various stakeholders and focusing on strategies that tackle the root causes of child labour. With concerted efforts and collaboration, it is possible to eradicate child labour in India, ensuring a brighter future for millions of children who are currently deprived of their basic rights and opportunities.

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Child Labour in India

• Child labour typically means the employment of children in any manual work with or without payment . It is a deep rooted social ill in India.
• Child labour refers to the employment of children in any work that deprives them of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful.
• The Census of India 2011 reports 10.1 million working children in the age group of 5-14 years , out of whom 8.1 million are in rural areas mainly engaged as cultivators (26%) and agricultural labourers (32.9%).
• Even though there was a decline in the number of working children to 3.9% in 2011 from 5% in 2001, the decline rate is grossly insufficient to meet  target 8.7 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) , which is  to end child labour in all forms by 2025 .
• India tops the list when it comes to the number of children still living and working in bonded labour and slave conditions.
• Risks of contracting occupational diseases like skin diseases, diseases of the lungs, weak eyesight, TB etc.;
• Vulnerability to sexual exploitation at the workplace;
• Deprived of education.
• They grow up unable to avail development opportunities and end up as unskilled workers for the rest of their lives.

Factors leading to Child Labour

• Increase in ‘out of school’ children : UNESCO estimates that around 38.1 million children are “out of school”.
• Economic crisis : The economic contraction and lockdowns lead to income reductions for enterprises and workers, many of them in the informal economy.
• Socioeconomic Challenges : caused by the return of migrant workers has compounded the problem.
• Issues in the Indian Economy : India experienced slower economic growth and rising unemployment even before the pandemic.
• ‘Digital divide’:  Lack of access to the internet ,  Digital devices have forced challenges in distant learning and online learning for children. According to the NSS Report titled ‘ Household Social Consumption on Education in India’  only 24% of Indian households had access to an Internet facility.
• Unorganised Sector Growth:  Due to stringent labour laws, industries prefer to hire contractual labour than permanent hiring.
• Weak Laws:   Laws are not  updated according to the seriousness of the situation.
• Other reasons:  increased economic insecurity, lack of social protection and reduced household income, children from poor households Children are being pushed into child labor.

Impacts of child labour

• Affect childhood:  Child labour takes away a child of his/her childhood. It not only denies his/her right to education but also right to leisure.
• Affect adult life:  Child labour prevents children from gaining the skills and education they require to have opportunities for decent work when they become an adult.
• Major health and physical risks:  as they work long hours and are needed to do tasks for which they are physically and mentally unprepared. Working in hazardous situations adversely impacts a child’s physical and mental health and affects intellectual, emotional and psychological development.
• Poverty:  Child labour is both a cause and consequence of poverty. Household poverty makes children enter the labour market to earn money = they miss out on an opportunity to get an education = further continuing household poverty across generations in a vicious cycle.
• Affect country as a whole:  Existence of a large number of child labourers has long term effect on the economy and it is a serious obstacle to the socio-economic welfare of the country.

Child Labour: Constitutional And Legal Provsions

• The Indian constitution provides free and compulsory education for all children in the age group of six to 14 years as a fundamental right under article 21A. Child labour in India decreased in the decade 2001 to 2011, and this demonstrates that the right combination of policy and programmatic interventions can make a difference.
• According to Article 23 of the Indian Constitution any type of forced labour is prohibited.
• Article 24 states that a child under 14 years cannot be employed to perform any hazardous work.
• Article 39 states that “the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are not abused”.
• In the same manner,  Child Labour Act (Prohibition and Regulation) 1986  prohibits children under the age of 14 years to be working in hazardous industries and processes.
• Policy interventions such as  MGNREGA 2005 , the  Right to Education Act 2009  and the Mid Day Meal Scheme have paved the way for children to be in schools along with guaranteed wage employment (unskilled) for rural families.
• Further, with the ratification International Labour Organization Conventions Nos. 138 (Minimum age convention) and 182 (Worst forms of Child Labour Convention) in 2017, the Indian government have demonstrated its commitment to the elimination of child labour including those engaged in hazardous occupations.

Situation of Child Labour in India

• The number of children working as child labourers came down by 100 million in last two decades ( 1991 to 2011)  which demonstrates that the  right combination of policy and programmatic interventions can make a difference ; but COVID-19 pandemic has undone a lot of gains
• The Covid-19 crisis has brought  additional poverty  to these already vulnerable populations and may reverse years of progress in the fight against child labour-  ILO
• A report by the  International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF  warns that  9 million additional children are at the risk of being pushed into child labour by the end of 2022 globally , as a result of the pandemic.
• In India,  the closure of schools and the economic crisis faced by the vulnerable families , triggered by the pandemic, are likely drivers pushing children into poverty and thus, child labour and unsafe migration.
• There has been a  significant increase in the proportion of working children from 28.2% to 79.6% out of the 818 children who were surveyed , mainly because of the COVID-19 pandemic and closure of schools, reveals a study conducted by  Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL).
• The coronavirus pandemic is  forcing India’s children out of school and into farms and factories to work, worsening a child-labour problem  that was already one of the direst in the world.
• Orphaned children are particularly vulnerable  to trafficking and other exploitation like forced begging, or child labour. In such families, there is also the likelihood of older children dropping out of school to support their younger siblings.
• Children are seen as a  stop-gap measure to fill jobs left vacant by migrant labourers  who fled cities for their rural homes during the lockdown.
• According to the  CACL survey , more than 94% of children have said that the economic crisis at home and family pressure had pushed them into work. Most of their parents had lost their jobs or earned very low wages during the pandemic.
• A total of  591 children were rescued from forced work and bonded labour from different parts of India during the lockdown by Bachpan Bachao Andolan , a civil society group on children’s rights

As per the Census of 2011 , there are five major states in India that constitute 55% of the total number of child labour in the country.

Impact of the Pandemic

• The coronavirus pandemic is forcing India’s children out of school and into farms and factories to work, worsening a child-labour problem that was already one of the direst in the world.
• The Covid-19 crisis has brought additional poverty to these already vulnerable populations and may reverse years of progress in the fight against child labour- ILO
• The nationwide lockdown imposed, pushed millions of people into poverty, which is encouraging trafficking of children from villages into cities for cheap labour.
• School closures have aggravated the situation and many millions of children are working to contribute to the family income. The pandemic has also made women, men and children more vulnerable to exploitation.
• According to the  International Labour Organisation (ILO)  some 25 million people could lose their jobswith those in informal employment suffering most from lack of social protection during this pandemic.
• As per the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy’s (CMIE) weekly tracker survey, the impact of COVID-19 has already pushed the urban unemployment rate to 30.9%
• Orphaned children are particularly vulnerable to trafficking and other exploitation like forced begging, or child labour. In such families, there is also the likelihood of older children dropping out of school to support their younger siblings.
• Children are seen as a stop-gap measure to fill jobs left vacant by migrant laborers who fled cities for their rural homes during the lockdown.
• A total of 591 children were rescued from forced work and bonded labour from different parts of India during the lockdown by Bachpan Bachao Andolan, a civil society group on children’s rights

Challenges before policy makers with respect to child labour

• Definitional issue:  One of the biggest challenges in eradicating child labour is the confusion around the definition of a child, in terms of age, in various laws dealing with child labour.
• Lack of identification:  Age identification of children is a difficult task in India due to the lack of identification documents. Child labourers often lack school registration certificates and birth certificates, creating an easy loophole in the law to exploit. Most often the children of migrant workers working as labourers and those employed in domestic work go unreported.
• Weak enforcement of law and poor governance:  Weak enforcement of the law, lack of adequate deterrence and corruption is a major hurdle in eradicating child labour.
• The pandemic is  hampering enforcement of anti-child labour laws , with  fewer workplace inspections and less vigorous pursuit of human traffickers .
• NGOs point to the fact that the  real spike in child labour is yet to come . When economic activity begins accelerating, there is a risk of returning migrants taking children along with them to the cities.
• Children’s access to education, basic nutrition and other critical requirements for their development and wellbeing , have suffered a huge setback and many new children have fallen into the trap of forced labour along with further deteriorated conditions for the existing child labourers.
• Incoherency between laws that prescribe a minimum age for employment  and those for completion of compulsory school education. It also means that the expansion of quality universal basic education has to extend beyond the fulfilment of statutory provisions.
• Multiple forms exist: Child labour is not uniform. It takes many forms depending upon the type of work that children are made to do, the age and sex of the child and whether they work independently or with families.
• Due to this complex nature of child labour, there is no one strategy that can be used to eliminate it.
• The absence of national legislation to give effect to global conventions on the employment of children in hazardous industries, as well as on the minimum age of work.
• The lack of harmony between global commitments and domestic priorities .
• Lack of effective labour inspections in the informal economy. Around 71% of working children are concentrated in the agriculture sector, with 69% of them undertaking unpaid work in family units.

Government measures undertaken to eradicate Child labour in India

• Child Labour (Prohibition and 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
• Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 :  The Amendment Act completely prohibits the employment of children below 14 years.
• The amendment also prohibits the employment of adolescents in the age group of 14 to 18 years in hazardous occupations and processes and regulates their working conditions where they are not prohibited.
• On  World Day Against Child Labour (June 12) in 2017 , India ratified  two core conventions  of the  International Labour Organization on child labour .
• National Policy on Child Labour (1987) , with a focus more on rehabilitation of children working in hazardous occupations and processes, rather than on prevention.
• Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act2000  and  amendment of the JJ Act in 2006 : includes the working child in the category of children in need of care and protection, without any limitation of age or type of occupation.
• Section 23 (cruelty to Juvenile) and Section 26 (exploitation of juvenile employee)  specifically deal with child labour under children in need of care and protection.
• Pencil : The government has launched a dedicated platform viz. pencil.gov.in to ensure effective enforcement of child labour laws and end child labour.
• The Right to Education Act 2009  has made it mandatory for the state to ensure that all children aged six to 14 years are in school and receive free education. Along with Article 21A of the Constitution of India recognizing education as a fundamental right, this constitutes a timely opportunity to use education to combat child labour in India.
• Amendments made to the  Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act  prescribes severe punishment for people found guilty of retaining bonded labour.
• The amendment stipulates rigorous imprisonment for those who force children to beg, handle or carry human waste and animal carcasses.
• The  draft National Policy for Domestic Workers , when goes into force, will ensure minimum Rs.9,000 salary for household helpers.
• Every police station in the country has a separate cell for juvenile, women and child protection.
• Many  NGOs like Bachpan Bachao Andolan, CARE India, Child Rights and You, Global march against child labour, RIDE India, Child line etc . have been working to eradicate child labour in India.

Way Forward

• Abolition of child trafficking, elimination of poverty, free and compulsory education, and basic standards of living can reduce the problem to a great extent.
• Strict implementation of labour laws is also essential in order to prevent exploitation by parties or multinational companies
• Strengthening policy and legislative enforcement, and building the capacities of government, workers’ and employers’ organisations as well as other partners at national, State and community levels should be prioritized.
• Spreading literacy and education is a potent weapon against the practice of child labour, because illiterate persons do not understand the implications of child labour
• The single most effective way to stem the flow of school-aged children into child labour is to improve access to and quality of schooling.

Eradicate Unemployment:

• Another way to stop child labour is to eliminate or rein in unemployment. Because of inadequate employment, many families cannot afford to meet all their expenses. If employment opportunities are increased, they will be able to let their children read and write and become worthy citizens
• Continued progress against child labour requires policies that help mitigate the economic vulnerability of households. Accelerating progress towards universal social protection is key, as social protection helps prevent poor households from having to rely on child labour as a coping mechanism.

Role of Panchayat:  As nearly 80% of child labour in India emanates from rural areas, the Panchayat can play a dominant role in mitigating child labour. In this context, panchayat should:

• Generate awareness about the ill-effects of child labour,
• Encourage parents to send their children to school,
• Create an environment where children stop working and get enrolled in schools instead,
• Ensure that children have sufficient facilities available in schools,
• Inform industry owners about the laws prohibiting child labour and the penalties for violating these laws,
• Activate Balwadis and Aanganwadis in the village so that working mothers do not leave the responsibility of younger children on their older siblings.
• Motivate Village Education Committees (VECs) to improve the conditions of schools.

Attitude change:

• It is important that the attitudes and mindsets of people are changed to instead employ adults and allow all children to go to school and have the chance to learn, play and socialize as they should.
• A sector-wide culture of child labour-free businesses has to be nurtured.
• Coordinated policy efforts should be taken to provide employment and income support to all informal sector workers to stimulate the economy and labour demand.
• States should prioritise efforts to continue education for all children, using all available technology.
• Financial support or relaxation of school fees and other related school expenses should be given to those children who wouldn’t be able to return to school otherwise.
• School authorities need to ensure that every student will have free lunches at home until schools open. Special efforts should be taken to identify children orphaned due to COVID-19, and arrangements of shelter and foster care for them should be made on a priority basis.

Integrated Approach:  

• Child labour and other forms of exploitation are preventable through integrated approaches that strengthen child protection systems as well as simultaneously addressing poverty and inequity, improve access to and quality of education and mobilize public support for respecting children’s rights.

Treating Children as Active Stakeholder:  

• Children have the power to play a significant role in preventing and responding to child labour.

Eliminating child labour is firmly placed within Goal 8 of the SDGs . A stronger nexus between the discourse on SDGs and the discourse on eliminating child labour can take the advantage of complementarities and synergies of a wide range of actors engaged in both areas of work. The fight against child labour is not just the responsibility of one, it is the responsibility of all.

This report completely exposes loopholes in the current Indian education system. The poverty forced rural families to deprive their children from going schools and know their human rights, legal as well as constitutional rights. The kids are being illiterate at the rate more than this report was published. Actually, the vulnerable sections particularly in MP are decades behind learning abilities. The NEP proposes reforms but when parents are not addressed the importance of education whom does the policy benefit. The Government schools are particularly the epicenters of intential illiteracy and lack of awareness about child labour. The teachers instead of teaching-learning process are forced to do office work, no sports activities, no music and no communicative learning. The rote learning days have passed. The sick mentality of Government jobs is like “one pair of shoes fits them all” is harrassing the child development. That’s why the Government schools must be transformed to model schools like Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya. Unless no expected change for future bonded labourers designed by current irresponsible schools and parents.

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Social and Economic Consequences of Abolishing Child Labour in India

Ias mains general studies sample answers, what are the social and economic consequences of abolishing child labour in india.

Starvation will be a result even to some families. Children will require enough nutrition apart from this. Activities for their upliftment will be a first priority. But the position does not appear that government will be able to provide food, clothes, shelter and education on its own if children do not earn. Adult members will have to replace the children. Children are always low paid, for such low payment an adult can not afford to work.

As far as economic aspect is concerned there are some protests from USA and European countries regarding child labour in India. Indian export will go up after abolishing it. On the other hand earning of families will be reduced income deficiency will result in poverty because children support their families. Along with it employer of children will not be able to employ an adult because of their inability to pay higher wages. Some children can afford their own food and education even with working, and then this burden has to be handled by their poor parents.

Economic conditions of Government is not so sound to afford all these costs. Higher cost of wages to small scale industries and small employers will resulted from it. So, it can be said that all these facts shows that it is not possible for India to abolish child labour in hear future.

Indian poverty has made it compulsory to employ children in payable work as self employment to meet the ends of the family. It is a curse upon the society that children in the age of 'study & play' have to work to earn money. Child labour is a blame upon the Indian democracy. However, a lot of steps have been taken in India to get rid of child labour. Child labour and exploitation have been abolished for the first time, due to the Article 24 and 39. India has signed with ILO also for the understanding regarding the abolition of child labour.

To get rid of child labour following steps must be taken:

Social awareness regarding evil effects of the child labour upon the future of the society and that of the child and family itself.

Welfare funds by the government can be established to take care of such children.

Where possible and necessary, alternate employment should be provided to an adult from the family of the child so removed from the labour.

Proper facilities of free education to such children should be done.

They can e given vocational education so that at the age of earning, they should not have to search for a job which is tough to find.

They should be provided free meal and scholarship apart from free books and literature of their study.

Alternatives to the abolition of the child labour in the form of funds for their rehabilitation and compensation for the loss of income to the vulnerably poor families.

Child labour policy should be re-examined to make it more effective.

A commission should be set up in each district to monitor the implementation of related laws and to create awareness in the society.

Implementation of legislation should be done properly.

The employers violating the laws should be forced to deposit an amount in a fund which can be utilized to remove this curse from India.

Stringent punishment should be given to the violating employers.

Related bills and acts can be drafted or amended in such a way as to make them more operative rather than more oppressive.

Important of all, social awareness is must to remove child labour, so education in such vulnerable localities can help to improve their conditions.

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• Child labour in India
• Article: Child labour issue in India by CHILDLINE India Foundation

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• National Child Labour Project Scheme

National Child Labour Project Scheme - Indian Polity Schemes

The National Child Labour Project Scheme is one of the schemes introduced by the Central Government as a solution for the current situation of child labour in India. It is a topic which comes under ‘vulnerable sections’ and is important for the Governance and Social Justice segments in the UPSC Syllabus .

What is Child Labour?

• Child Labour refers to the exploitation of children for any form of work that would deprive them of gaining equal access to education and a normal childhood.
• This results in the victimized child being used mostly for physically, socially and mentally harmful work.
• India currently is home to more than 10 million child labourers, despite the various legislations and efforts taken in this direction by the Indian Government.
• The elimination of child labour is essential to achieve the set developmental goals of the government by 2030.

To know more about other Government Schemes , visit the linked article

Government Laws against Child Labour

• The government has laid down multiple rules governing the enforcement of child labour and is taking active measures to eradicate this practice.
• Gurupadswamy Committee, in 1979, was a statutory committee formed by the Central Government of India, which found that the inextricable reason behind child labor in India was linked directly to Poverty. The committee’s findings and analysis were then utilized to enact the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 by the union government. 
• Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Act, of 2016 is an amendment of the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 which has placed a complete prohibition on the employment of underage children, especially in hazardous situations or occupations. It has also interconnected the prohibition of employment with access to free education as per the Right to Education Act of 2009 .
• India was the 170th member of the International Labour Organisation ( ILO ) to agree with  Convention No. 138 . This convention requires member parties to set a minimum age under which no person should be employed. India also agreed with  Convention No. 182 which requires state parties to eliminate and prohibit any forms of extreme child labour activities such as trafficking, use of children in armed conflict, prostitution and in illicit activities.
• INDUS Project: Government of India and the US Department of Labour had jointly collaborated to form the INDUS Project which aimed at preventing and eliminating child labourers, especially from hazardous occupations. It was developed under ILO-IPEC( International Labour Organization- International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour).
• National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme: 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. 

National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme

It is a Central Government Scheme which has been devised to tackle the issue of child labor is a more effective manner by focussing on specific target ideas, identifying the victims, withdrawing them from hazardous situations, focussing 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. 

Objectives of NCLP:

• Identification of children in child labour in the project area.
• Withdrawing the identified children.
• Preparation of the withdrawn children for introduction to mainstream education by providing necessary vocational training.
• Ensuring that they’re benefitted by the multitude of services provided by the different governments and agencies.
• Identifying all adolescents and withdrawing them from the project area.
• Facilitating training programmes for such adolescents through the skill development schemes which are currently existing.
• It aims at raising awareness amongst the target communities and the other stakeholders regarding child labour about the functionality of NCLP.
• To create a Child Labour Monitoring, Tracking and Reporting System to stay updated with the situation.

Given below are a few links that are relevant for the upcoming UPSC Civil Services Exam –

NCLP Target Group:

• 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 also on the families of the child workers in that specific target areas.
• The children would be eased into local schools after providing necessary bridging programmes.
• The adolescent children in hazardous work would be given skill enhancement training and shifted to non-hazardous work.
• The delivery of income/stipend, employment or social security to the families of child workers will be ensured by the government. The tracking of the rescued child workers will be done to follow up for evaluation of impact. 
• The child labour laws will be stepped up according to the requirement in the required area.

NCLP Highlights/Features:

• The Government contributes to the identification, classification, eradication, and withdrawal of children and adolescents from hazardous occupations.
• Successfully mainstreaming the rescued children into proper local schools and affiliating them with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).
• The adolescents will be provided with other skill enhancement training and transferred to permitted occupations.
• Better awareness programs for the education of communities and the Indian public as a whole with the help of enhanced abilities.
• Compensatory measures for the families who are releasing their children from working and allowing them to attend training or schools.
• Mothers of such victimized children are often organized into self-help groups (SHG’s).

NCLP Implementation:

• The scheme was successfully implemented through joint collaboration with civil society, state and district administration.
• The responsibility is jointly handed to the respective state governments and the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
• The scheme has been initially launched in areas of high cases of child labour and specific District Project Societies (DPS’s) have been set up at the district level to ensure proper implementation of the scheme at al levels.
• District Project Society is also responsible for the stipend payment for the children and their families.

PENCIL PORTAL

A unique online portal was launched in 2017, by the government, called  PENCIL (Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour). It had been created under the NCLP scheme:

• To ensure effective and easy implementation of the scheme.
• It consists of a Child Tracking System and a Complaint corner.
• The portal can connect the Central Government to respective State Governments, districts, to all project societies and finally to the general public.
• The portal allows anyone to file a complaint regarding child labour.
• The received complaints are automatically assigned to the concerned Nodal officer by the system immediately upon receiving the complaint to take further actions which might be necessary.
• The portal has registered a total of 1010 complaints of which 361 have been updated as resolved by the Nodal officers.

Benefits of NCLP

The total number of children mainstreamed through Special Training Centers 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 –

• Contribute to the identification and eradication of all forms of child labour;
• Contribute to the identification and withdrawal of adolescents from hazardous occupations and processes in the target area;
• Awareness about the ill effects of child labour
• Successful mainstreaming into regular schools of all children who have been withdrawn from child labour and rehabilitated through the NCLPS
• Adolescents withdrawn from hazardous occupations /processes to have benefited from skills training wherever required and linked to legally permissible occupations
• Better informed communities, specific target groups and the public at large as a result of the Social Mobilization Programme
• Enhanced capacities to address the issue of child labour through training of NCLP staff and other functionaries.

National Child Labour Project Scheme – Indian Polity:- Download PDF Here

UPSC Questions related to NCLP

What is the national child labour project.

It is a central government scheme which focuses on identifying, withdrawal and easing them into the rehabilitation of the children and adolescent workers. The children are ensured access to formal education along with vocational training while the adolescent workers are shifted from hazardous occupations to a permissible occupation with sufficient skill training.

What are the steps taken by the government to stop child labour?

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, the INDUS Project 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 with regard to the same issue in the public.

What is the punishment of child labour?

Any person found employing an adolescent (14-18 years of age) or a child (below 14 years of age) in an illegal occupation can be punished with jail time (6-24 months) and/or a fine of Rs. 20,000-Rs. 50,000. Jail time of 1-3 years is given to a person if they’ve been found to indulge in child labour again after having been punished once.

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Child Labour in India, Causes, Government Initiatives

Child labour being more prevalent in India as 62.8% of India’s child labour aged between 14-17 are engaged in hazardous work mostly engaged in agricultural activities. Know more about it here.

Table of Contents

Child Labour in India

In India, child labour refers to activities that are damaging to kids in terms of their mental, physical, social, or moral development; they rob them of their youth, potential, and dignity; and interfere with their schooling. It includes all types of slavery, including the sale and trafficking of children, servitude for restitution, forced labour, the enlistment of children in military combat, the employment of children in pornographic or other dangerous work, and debt bondage.

Child Labour in India Overview

In accordance with the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986, a “child” is anyone under the age of 14. The International employment Organisation (ILO) defines child employment as work that deprives children of their youth, potential, and dignity and endangers their physical and mental development.

On the contrary, child labour is defined as labour that has no detrimental effects on a child’s or adolescent’s health or development or interferes with their ability to learn. helping their parents out at home, helping out with relatives, or working while off from school.

Cause of Child Labour in India

Different causes of child labour in India have been mentioned below:

• The frequency and expansion of child labour are significantly influenced by the rising demand for it, especially in urban areas. Due to their low cost and ability to adapt to the needs of the employer, children are frequently hired, even if they are not aware of their legal rights.
• Prevalence Poverty and Debt trap in India especially in rural India
• Poverty is the primary driver of child labour. A child’s income is frequently crucial to his or her life or the life of the family in impoverished households. Children frequently have to work because the family is in debt.
• Due to rural poverty and urban migration, child trafficking for labour is a common occurrence.
• Adult unemployment and underemployment: Because these conditions are so common, children are regularly required to work in order to support their families.
• Parental illiteracy and ignorance: The issue is exacerbated by the child’s parents’ lack of education. They flout the law and subject their children to cruel exploitation because they lack literacy and knowledge of the negative effects of child labour.

Government Initiatives on Child Labour

Government of India have been taking several initiatives for eradicating of child labour in India as are mentioned below:

Constitutional Provision

• The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act of 2002 added Article 21-A to the Indian Constitution, establishing it as a Fundamental Right to provide all children between the ages of six and fourteen with free and compulsory education in accordance with any legal requirements imposed by the State.
• Article 23: Prohibits forced work and human trafficking.
• Article 24 states that no kid under the age of fourteen may be employed in a factory, mine, or in any other dangerous occupation.

Government Schemes on Child Labour

• The Ministry of Labour and Employment created the PENCIL Portal as an electronic tool to effectively implement the No Child Labour policy.
• Programme for the National Child Labour Project (NCLP): This programme enrols kids in school and prevents them from working in order to empower and motivate them.
• The Gurupadswamy Committee was established in 1979 to investigate the subject of child employment and made several policy recommendations to address the issues posed by children who work.
• Act of 2016 amending the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act: The Amendment Act outright forbids hiring anyone under the age of 14.
• Amendment to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2000 made in 2006: Regardless of their age, working children fall within the category of children in need of care and protection.
• A 2009 law called the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act: According to the law, every kid between the ages of six and fourteen must be enrolled in school and get a free education.
• In 2002, the World Day Against Child Labour was established by the International Labour Organisation. It is honoured on June 12th of each year all across the world.

Child Labour in India UPSC

Child labour is related to poverty, underemployment, unemployment, and low wages. A concerted effort should be made towards social safety programmes and cash transfers in order to alleviate the financial situation of families and remove the “need” to send kids to work. In order to guarantee access to educational institutions as well as an improvement in the quality and relevance of education, it is essential to enhance the educational infrastructure.

To ensure that children’s rights are upheld, parental literacy might be essential. All facets of society, including the family, the state, civil society, and those who work with children in whatever capacity, must be committed to ending child labour.

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Child Labour in India FAQs

What is the minimum age for child labour in india.

No child under the age of 14 can be recruited to work in a factory or mine, or in any other hazardous occupation.

What are the causes of child labour?

Some of the causes of Child Labour are poverty, unemployment, underemployment and lack of education

What is the punishment for employing children in violation of the law?

A sentence of six months to two years in prison and/or a fine of Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 50,000.

What are the constitutional provisions related to Child Labour in India?

Constitutional provisions related to Child Labour in India are Article 21A, Article 23, Article 24 and Article 39 (e).

What is the covid 19 impact on Child Labour in India?

During Covid-19 due to the temporary closing of schools many children are pushed into child labour.

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Essay on Child Labour for Students in English [500 Words Essay]

December 10, 2020 by Sandeep

Essay on Child Labour: Illegal exploitation of a child for financial or other gains is known as Child labour. It is a crime to employ children below the age of 14 years. According to UNICEF, 13% of the total workforce in India are children. Child labour is not only illegal but also detrimental & unfortunate for a society.

Essay on Child Labour 500 Words in English

Below we have provided Child Labour Essay in English, written in easy and simple words for class 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 school students.

“Child slavery is a crime against humanity. Humanity itself is at stake here. A lot of work still remains, but I will see the end of child labour in my lifetime”. – Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace Laureate

Child Labour is defined as “work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential, and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development,” by Article 1 of the United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child. It refers to the illegal exploitation of a child for financial or other gains. Data from UNICEF shows that more than 10 million children in India are part of the workforce. This constitutes 13% of the total workforce.

The term is often used by news channels or movies to talk about children who are forced to work from a budding age.  Children from poor families are forced to work and fend for themselves and their families. It is a crime to send or employ children below the age of 14 in any industry or factory. Thus, various restrictions and limitations have been put on children who work. The legally acceptable age for employing children is 15.

Child Labour is not only unfortunate but also detrimental to society. It robs from children, the opportunity to go to school, and getting an education. The right to education is a fundamental right of every child. It also prevents them from growing up in a conducive environment. Further, such children are burdened by responsibilities and hence cannot have a proper childhood. Research has also proven that their physical and mental development is hampered. Though illegal, the menace is far from being eradicated.

Causes of Child Labour

It is important to identify the causes of child labour to be able to deal with it effectively. Some causes are region-specific, while others are universal. Here are a few common causes of child labour:

• Increasing levels of unemployment and poverty, especially in developing countries, are the primary causes of child labour. About 1/4th of the world’s population is currently categorised under the global poverty line. When families do not have enough money to sustain, they force children into work. If adults cannot find work or are sick, the responsibility of earning a livelihood comes down to children.
• Lack of social security pushes people into a cycle of poverty, which inevitably leads to child labour. The increasing rich-poor divide and privatisation of the organisation have led to the concentration of wealth in the hands of few. Small children are in situations where they must work in order to earn two meals a day.
• The lack of awareness about the importance of education and very little accessibility has also played a role in contributing to child labour. Without the opportunity to obtain an education, children are pushed into working. Uneducated parents think of short-term benefits and send their children to work so they can survive in the present.
• Industries are not efficiently regulated. Multiple factories prefer children as labourers because they have to pay lesser to children than to adults for the same work. This decreases labour expenses for those industries. Many factories which possess significant health hazard, like the firecrackers industry also prefer children. Children are also easier to manipulate and influence. Thus, factory owners often take advantage of children’s circumstances for their profit.
• Children are also sent to work for non-monetary payments like rice or wheat. This is due to the vicious nature of hunger. Often, after the death or illness of a parent, the eldest children are forced to take up the burden of the rest of the family. Most of the social welfare schemes in developing and developed countries do not reach the poor due to factors like corruption. Thus, the poor are often left directionless, with child labour being necessary for their survival.
• Another major reason is the lack of effective implementation of child labour related laws. Many industries openly indulge in employing children without fear of law. The police and law enforcement agencies have failed miserably at being able to create fear about the use of children for labour. Even if the state tracks down child labour rackets, it is unable to provide an alternative to child labour for those families. This pushes children back to work.
• Due to the increased demand for child labourers, child trafficking rackets often sell children to people who will extract work from them. Begging is yet another form of child labour that is often forced and ignored.

Measures to Eradicate Child Labour

As a society, it is our collective responsibility to find methods by which we can get closer to eradicating child labour. This requires significant support and effort from the government, law enforcement agencies, NGOs, and the general public. Here are some ideas to think about:

• Creation of communities or unions that are specifically aimed at eradication of child labour can be effective. This can be a citizen initiative supported by the government. These communities’ sole objective will be to identify child labourers and find ways to rehabilitate them. It can also further indulge in involving law enforcement agencies to ensure that the guilty are punished.
• Creating social awareness about the presence and downfalls of child labour is necessary. Once people understand the problems of child labour, they can be instigated to boycott any shop or establishment that hires children. This way, these industries can be discouraged from employing child labourers.
• Education should be a nation’s priority. Economic and military development should not come at the cost of social wellness schemes. The poor should be made aware of the benefits of education, along with ensuring that every village and town has access to free and compulsory education.
• Creation of employment opportunities is also essential to combat child labour. If an adult can earn sufficient income for the family, the need to send the children to work is reduced. This involves, in particular, the creation of unskilled labour. A country must also take measures to reduce the rich-poor divide.
• Population control measures are also necessary in order to ensure that we reduce family sizes. This leads to a family having lesser mouths to feed. NGOs and the government must give family planning attention.
• Effective and strict implementation of laws is necessary to ensure that factory owners do not try to hire child labourers. Measures to combat child trafficking are also significant. The government must focus on the depth and long-term impact of the problem and create practical and enforceable laws.

“When the lives and the rights of children are at stake, there must be no silent witnesses,” said Carol Bellamy. It is true that we cannot estimate the real number of child workers in the country. But it is important that we, as a society, take responsibility to acknowledge, identify, and combat the problem.

10 Lines on Child Labour Essay

• Child labour refers to the exploitation of children by forcing them to work or taking advantage of poor children.
• It interferes with their ability to have a normal happy childhood and can lead to trauma.
• A lot of child labourers are victims of child trafficking and are also exposed to abuse.
• Although child labour is illegal, it still takes place in sectors that are unmonitored or left unregulated.
• A lot of the work that child labourers are forced to do can be dangerous and detrimental to their physical and mental health .
• In such cases, businesses are basically taking advantage of helpless and engaging in immoral acts.
• A lot of these businesses choose child labourers because they either have to pay them very less or sometimes not at all.
• The people put in charge of making sure the children work are often very cruel to them and hand out punishments if they do not work according to their requirements.
• Because it is unmonitored, the children are forced to work for long hours without breaks and are fed very little food.
• Child labour is still a prevalent issue in society today, and that’s why it is important to monitor business practices carefully.

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UPSC Daily Current Affairs – 16th Aug 2024 – Edukemy

Today’s daily current affairs briefing for UPSC aspirants explores the latest developments relevant to the upcoming civil services examination. Our focus today includes a critical analysis of recent policy changes, international affairs, and national developments, all of which play a pivotal role in shaping India’s socio-political and economic landscape. Stay informed and stay ahead in your UPSC preparations with our daily current affairs updates, as we provide you with concise, well-researched insights to help you connect the dots between contemporary events and the broader canvas of the civil services syllabus. 

Table of Contents

Impact of Climate Change on Earth’s Rotational Dynamics  

Tags: GS – 1, Geography- Physical Geography – Important Geophysical Phenomena  

Why in the news?  

• Recent research has shown that melting polar ice caps due to climate change are causing the Earth to spin more slowly, leading to slight changes in the duration of a day.  

How is Climate Change Affecting Earth’s Rotation?  

• The melting of polar ice sheets leads to water redistribution towards the equator, increasing Earth’s oblateness (flattening at the poles) and moment of inertia. 
• Over the last two decades, Earth’s rotation has slowed by about 1.3 milliseconds per century. 
• This occurs due to the principle of angular momentum: as ice melts and shifts towards the equator, Earth’s moment of inertia increases, causing a decrease in rotational speed to conserve angular momentum. 
• Projections indicate that under high emission scenarios, this slowdown could accelerate to 2.6 milliseconds per century, making climate change a significant factor in Earth’s rotational deceleration. 
• Melting ice also affects Earth’s axis of rotation, causing a slight but measurable shift. 
• This shift, though small, highlights the impact of climate change on fundamental Earth processes, including the phenomenon known as the Chandler wobble, which can affect rotational timing and stability. 

Other Factors Affecting Earth’s Rotation Speed:  

• The loss of groundwater changes mass distribution on Earth, which can influence rotational dynamics and contribute to variations in the planet’s rotation speed. 
• Convection currents in the Earth’s outer core generate torsional waves, which oscillate through the Earth and can affect the planet’s rotation.  
• These waves are linked to changes in the length of a day. 
• Earth’s rotation is influenced by the Moon and other celestial bodies. Historically, the Moon was much closer to Earth, resulting in shorter days of about 18 hours and 41 minutes.  
• Today, as the Moon slowly moves away, days are gradually lengthening due to the Moon’s tidal effects on Earth’s rotation. 
• Movements within the Earth’s mantle and core, such as changes in the tilt of the inner core or fluctuations in core density, can impact the Earth’s rotational speed.  
• These internal dynamics contribute to variations in how fast the Earth spins. 

Implications of the Slowdown of Earth’s Rotation:  

• Earth’s rotational slowdown impacts the need for leap seconds to keep atomic clocks synchronised with solar time.  
• This adjustment may cause issues in technology, such as network outages or discrepancies in data timestamps. 
• GPS satellites depend on precise time measurements. Variations in Earth’s rotation can affect GPS accuracy, leading to minor navigation and location errors. 
• A slowdown in Earth’s rotation can affect ocean currents, including the Global Mean Ocean Circulation (GMOC), which might influence regional climate patterns and worsen sea level rise. 
• Changes in Earth’s rotation and mass distribution may influence tectonic processes, affecting stress distribution in the crust and potentially impacting seismic and volcanic activity. 
• The slowdown of Earth’s rotation highlights the extensive impact of climate change, affecting weather patterns, sea levels, and the planet’s rotational mechanics. 

Way Forward: Addressing the Impact of Climate Change on Earth’s Rotation:  

• Develop educational programs to inform the public about how climate change affects Earth’s rotation and physical systems. 
• Fund and support research focused on the interaction between climate change and Earth’s rotational dynamics. 
• Invest in resilient timekeeping systems that can adapt to changes in Earth’s rotation.
• Improve GPS and navigation systems to account for gradual changes in Earth’s rotational speed. 
• Advocate for policies promoting renewable energy and reducing fossil fuel use. 
• Support sustainable practices in agriculture, transportation, and urban planning. 
• Engage in global agreements, such as the Paris Agreement, to set and meet emission reduction targets. 
• Create programs to continuously monitor sea levels, polar ice melt, and their impact on Earth’s rotation. 
• Prepare for potential disruptions in technologies reliant on precise timekeeping, including contingency plans for sectors like finance and space exploration. 
• Lobby for both government and private sector investments in technologies designed to mitigate climate change effects. 

UPSC Civil Services Examination Previous Year Question (PYQ)  

Prelims  .

Q. Variations in the length of daytime and nighttime from season to season are due to (2013)  

• The earth’s rotation on its axis 
• The earth’s revolution around the sun in an elliptical manner 
• The latitudinal position of the place 
• Revolution of the earth on a tilted axis 

Ans: (d)  

Source: TH  

Women and Men in India 2023  

Tags: GS Paper – 1, Social Issues- Population and Associated Issues – Government Policies & Interventions – Inclusive Growth   Why in the news?  

• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has released the 25th edition of the report titled Women and Men in India 2023 . 

Key Highlights of the 2023 Report:  

• By 2036, India’s population is projected to reach 152.2 crores. 
• Sex Ratio Improvement:  The sex ratio is expected to improve to 952 women per 1000 men by 2036, up from 943 in 2011. 
• Female Population Share:  The female percentage is anticipated to constitute 48.8% in 2036, compared to 48.5% in 2011, indicating a more feminine population by 2036. 
• The proportion of individuals under 15 years is projected to decrease from 2011 to 2036, likely due to declining fertility rates. 
• Conversely, the proportion of the population aged 60 years and above is expected to see a significant increase. 
• From 2016 to 2020, ASFR in the age groups 20-24 and 25-29 decreased from 135.4 and 166.0 to 113.6 and 139.6, respectively. 
• Definition:  ASFR is the number of live births in a specific age group of women per thousand female population of that age group. 
• Later Childbearing:  The ASFR for ages 35-39 increased from 32.7 to 35.6 during the same period, suggesting women are expanding their families later in life. 
• Adolescent Fertility Rate:  It was 33.9 for the illiterate population compared to 11.0 for the literate population in 2020.
• India has achieved a major milestone by reducing MMR to 97 per lakh live births in 2018-20, approaching the SDG target of reducing MMR to 70 by 2030. 
• Definition:  MMR is the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births during a given period. 
• Both male and female IMR were equal at 28 infants per 1000 live births in 2020.
• Definition:  IMR is the probability of a child born in a specific year or period dying before reaching the age of one year. 
• It decreased from 43 in 2015 to 32 in 2020, with the gap between boys’ and girls’ under-five mortality rates also narrowing. 

Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR):  

• Male LFPR:  Increased from 75.8% in 2017-18 to 78.5% in 2022-23. 
• Female LFPR:  Increased from 23.3% to 37% during the same period. 
• Definition:  LFPR is the proportion of the working population aged 16-64 currently employed or seeking employment. 
• Women’s participation in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections increased to 65.6% and further rose to 67.2% in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. 
• Between 2016 and 2023, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) recognized a total of 1,17,254 start-ups. 
• Of these, 55,816 start-ups are led by women, accounting for 47.6% of the total recognized start-ups. 

Challenges Associated with India’s Demographic Profile:  

• Skewed sex ratio due to preference for sons, who are seen as financial support, while daughters are viewed as liabilities due to dowry. 
• Rapidly increasing elderly population, expected to rise from 153 million to 347 million by 2050, posing challenges in healthcare and social support. 
• Significant health disparities between regions, with northeastern states having higher infant mortality rates and rural-urban gaps. 
• Patriarchal norms and gender roles limit women’s access to education and jobs, keeping them out of the labour force. 
• Voter decisions are often influenced by caste and religion rather than informed policy choices due to lack of education. 
• Women-led enterprises are mostly rural, small-scale, and lack formal funding, operating primarily in textiles, handicrafts, and food processing. 

Initiatives Related to Overall Demographic Development in India:  

• Aimed at addressing the declining child sex ratio and promoting the survival, protection, and education of the girl child. 
• A scheme focused on funding higher education institutions for improving overall quality and enhancing access, equity, and inclusion. 
• A health scheme providing insurance coverage to economically vulnerable families, ensuring access to healthcare services. 
• An initiative aimed at creating a comprehensive digital health ecosystem, improving access and efficiency in healthcare delivery. 
• A vaccination program to ensure full immunisation for children and pregnant women, particularly in remote and underserved areas. 
• A scheme designed to promote entrepreneurship among women and Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes by providing bank loans for setting up enterprises. 

Way Forward:  

• Organise regular meetings with scan centre proprietors to enforce the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 and take legal action against those conducting illegal abortions.  
• Promote contraceptive use, like oral pills, injectables, and intrauterine devices, to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
• Provide specialised healthcare for seniors, foster intergenerational bonds, and use technology to make healthcare and social services accessible and affordable, thereby boosting the silver economy. 
• Implement child-care subsidies to free up mothers’ time for labour force participation, significantly impacting female employment rates.
• Encourage the formalisation of women-led enterprises, provide institutional finance, and offer skill development to ensure greater participation and equity for women entrepreneurs. 

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Question (PYQ)  

Prelims:  .

Q:1 To obtain full benefits of demographic dividend, what should India do? (2013)  

(a) Promoting skill development 

(b) Introducing more social security schemes 

(c) Reducing infant mortality rate 

(d) Privatisation of higher education 

Ans: (a)  

Q:2 India is regarded as a country with “Demographic Dividend”. This is due to (2011)  

• Its high population in the age group below 15 years 
• Its high population in the age group of 15-64 years 
• Its high population in the age group above 65 years 
• Its high total population 

Ans: (b)  

Q:3 Despite being a high saving economy, capital formation may not result in significant increase in output due to (2018)  

• weak administrative machinery 
• Illiteracy 
• high population density 
• high capital-output ratio 

Q:4 As per India’s National Population Policy, 2000, by which one of the following years is it our long-term objective to achieve population stabilisation? (2008)  

Ans: (c)  

Mains:  

Q. Examine the role of ‘Gig Economy’ in the process of empowerment of women in India (2021)  

Q:2 Discuss the main objectives of Population Education and point out the measures to achieve them in India in detail.  

Q:3 Critically examine whether growing population is the cause of poverty OR poverty is the main cause of population increase in India. (2015)  

Source: BS  

RBI Employment Data  

Tags: GS-3, Economy- Growth & Development- RBI- Employment  

• Frequently cited for job creation analysis in India, curated by Delhi School of Economics and ICRIER, now housed at RBI. It tracks productivity growth using data on capital, labour, energy, material, and services. 

Methodological Limitations and Implications:  

• Process : Estimates are derived by applying WPRs to demographic data, interpolated from Census or National Population Commission projections. 
• Issues : Projections may overestimate population growth, leading to inflated labour force estimates. Assumes uniform growth across rural and urban areas, which may not reflect actual trends. 
• Problem : Reliance on potentially inflated population projections can exaggerate labour force estimates. Overestimation occurs due to outdated or inaccurate growth rate assumptions. 
• Approach : Employment is distributed across sectors based on PLFS data, not accounting for sectoral changes or new economic dynamics. 
• Concern : Outdated sectoral data may misrepresent current employment trends. 
• Challenge : Differences between EUS and PLFS data complicate comparisons over time. Methodology assumes continuity without addressing potential discrepancies. 
• Impact : Counting individuals in marginal or secondary jobs can distort employment quality and stability perceptions, as these jobs may be less secure. 

Implications for Policy and Analysis  

• Policy Misguidance : Overestimation of employment figures might lead to misguided policies, underestimating the need for job creation or ignoring underemployment issues. 
• Complacency Risk : Reliance on inflated data may result in complacency regarding employment challenges. 

Emerging Employment Trends and Contrasting Data  

• Agricultural Employment : Increased from 20 crore to 25 crore (2018-19 to 2022-23). 
• Service Sector : Rose from 17.2 crore to 20.2 crore. 
• Manufacturing : Grew from 5.5 crore to 6.3 crore. 
• Discrepancies : ASUSE data estimated employment in unorganised sectors at 10.96 crore, with total employment figures inflated by KLEMS to 56.8 crore. 
• Issue : Discrepancies suggest KLEMS may not fully capture employment nuances, particularly in unorganised sectors. 

Conclusion  

While KLEMS provides valuable data on productivity and employment trends, its methodological limitations necessitate cautious interpretation. The reliance on interpolated data and assumptions about population growth may lead to inflated or misleading employment figures. A thorough analysis of these figures, in conjunction with other data sources, is essential for accurate understanding and policy formulation. 

Source: IE  

ILO to help Eliminate Child Labour, Forced Work in Cotton Fields  

Tags: GS-3, Economy- Growth & development- Agriculture- Employment  

• Recently, Indian Textile Industry (CITI) has joined hands with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to help farm workers and small and medium farmers engaged in cotton cultivation.  
• The project was launched in Delhi on Tuesday and is expected to reach out to 65 lakh cotton farmers in 11 States. 

What is Child Labour?  

• “Child labour” refers to work that deprives children of their childhood, potential, and dignity, and is harmful to their physical and mental development.  
• The classification of “child labour” varies by age, type and hours of work, and working conditions, differing from country to country. 

International Organisations Regarding Child Labour  

• Objective : Provides humanitarian and developmental aid to children globally. 
• Guidance : Operates under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989. 
• Funding : Relies on voluntary contributions from governments and private donors. 
• Programs : Focus on community-level services to promote children’s health and well-being. 
• Headquarters : New York, U.S. 
• Foundation : Established in 1919 under the League of Nations; the oldest UN specialised agency. 
• Objective : Advances social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. 
• Governance : Features a tripartite structure involving governments, employers, and workers of member states to develop policies and promote decent work. 
• Headquarters : Geneva, Switzerland 

Child Labour in India:  

• Statistics : Approximately 10.1 million children aged 7 to 16 years are engaged in work in India. 
• Distribution : Rural areas account for 80% of child labour, with the highest concentration in Uttar Pradesh. 
• Types of Work : Children are employed in various tasks, including industrial, agricultural, and domestic roles like maids and babysitters. 

Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016  

• Amendment Details : Updates the original Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986. 
• Prohibitions : Bans employment of children under 14 years and restricts adolescents (14-18 years) from hazardous jobs. 
• Permitted Work : Allows children to work in family enterprises or as child artists outside school hours or during vacations. 
• Legal Provisions : Offences under the Act are now compoundable and cognizable, and a Child and Adolescent Labour Rehabilitation Fund has been established. 
• Rules : The Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2017, outline State Governments’ and District Authorities’ responsibilities for enforcement. 

ILO Initiative to Address Child Labour and Forced Work in Cotton Fields  

• Initiative : The ILO and the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry have launched the “Promoting Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work” (FPRW) project. 
• Scope : Aims to impact 65 lakh cotton farmers across 11 states in India. 
• Goals : Focuses on promoting freedom of association, eliminating discrimination, and ensuring safe working conditions. 
• Support : Includes providing information on government schemes, promoting financial inclusion, and supporting education and skill development in cotton-growing communities. 

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Question (PYQ)   

Q:1 International Labour Organization’s Conventions 138 and 182 are related to: (2018)  

• Child Labour 
• Adaptation of agricultural practices to global climate change 
• Regulation of food prices and food security 
• Gender parity at the workplace 

Mains  

Q:1 Examine the main provisions of the National Child Policy and throw light on the status of its implementation. (2016)  

WHO declares monkeypox a public health emergency of global concern  

Tags: GS-3, Science & Technology- Biology- Diseases  

• Recently, The WHO has declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other African countries being severely affected. 
• Since 2022, there have been 99,176 cases and 208 deaths reported from 116 countries.  

World Health Organisation (WHO):  

• Foundation : Established in 1948, WHO is the United Nations agency responsible for global public health. 
• Membership : Comprises 194 member states. 
• Headquarters : Geneva, Switzerland. 
• Roles : Engages in vaccination campaigns, manages health emergencies, and supports primary health care initiatives globally. 
• Funding : Supported through member fees based on economic status and voluntary contributions. 
• Membership : India joined WHO in January 1948 and is part of the Southeast Asia Region. 
• Historical Leadership : Dr. Chandra Mani served as the first regional director for Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1968. Currently, Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh holds the position, having been appointed in 2014.
• Notable Figures : Dr. Soumya Swaminathan served as WHO’s Chief Scientist from 2019 to 2022. 

What Does Declaration as a PHEIC Mean?  

• Definition : A PHEIC is declared for an extraordinary event posing a public health risk to other states through international disease spread. 
• Purpose : The PHEIC status triggers a coordinated international response, potentially unlocking funding and facilitating collaboration on vaccines and treatments. 

Monkeypox  

• Nature : Monkeypox is a rare zoonotic viral disease caused by the Orthopoxvirus genus in the Poxviridae family, related to smallpox. 
• Discovery : Identified in 1958 during outbreaks in captive monkeys, hence the name ‘monkeypox’.
• Treatment : No specific treatment exists, but the Vaccinia vaccine, used against smallpox, has demonstrated 85% efficacy in preventing monkeypox. 

What is the Reason for the Current Concern?  

• Current Strain : Clade Ib of the mpox virus, which is transmitted primarily through sexual contact, is raising alarms. 
• Historical Spread : Clade I infections were previously spread through zoonotic events and were not known for sexual transmission. 
• Recent Developments : Over 100 cases of clade Ib have been reported in countries neighbouring the DRC (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda), where mpox was not previously reported. 
• Statistics : Total mpox cases have risen to over 15,600, with 537 deaths reported this year. The virus is now spreading human-to-human and rapidly mutating into new lineages. 

Risk for India:  

• International Spread : The first case of clade Ib outside Africa was reported in Sweden, raising concerns about potential global spread via international travel. 
• Previous Outbreak : In 2022, India reported 27 cases and one death from the less virulent clade II, initially linked to international travel but later showing local transmission. 
• Current Situation : The surge in mpox cases in Africa and the emergence of a new sexually transmissible strain highlight the global urgency for effective response measures. 

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs)  

Q:1 Critically examine the role of WHO in providing global health security during the Covid-19 pandemic. (2020)  

Source: IE  

Flood Watch India 2.0  

Tgas: GS-3, Environment & Ecology- Disaster Management  

• Recently, the Union Minister Shri C.R. Paatil for Jal Shakti launched Version 2.0 of the ‘FloodWatch India’ mobile application, which has been developed by the Central Water Commission (CWC). 

About FloodWatch India:  

• Real-Time Information: The app provides real-time information related to flood situations and forecasts for up to 7 days. 
• User-Friendly: Developed in-house, the app features a user-friendly interface with readable and audio broadcasts in two languages: English and Hindi. 
• Flood Monitoring: Users can access real-time flood monitoring to check the current flood situation across the country. 
• Data Utilisation: It leverages near real-time river flow data from various sources. 
• Flood Forecasts: Users can view flood forecasts at their nearest location directly from the Home Page. 
• State/Basin Forecasts: The app offers State-wise/Basin-wise flood forecasts (up to 24 hours) and flood advisories (up to 7 days), accessible by selecting specific stations, states, or basins from a dropdown menu. 
• Advanced Technologies: It employs advanced technologies such as satellite data analysis, mathematical modelling, and real-time monitoring for accurate and timely flood forecasts. 

New Features in FloodWatch India 2.0  

• Increased Monitoring Stations: The app now includes current information from an additional 392 flood monitoring stations, bringing the total to 592, providing users with a comprehensive overview of flood conditions nationwide. 
• Reservoir Information: It also offers additional data on the storage positions of 150 major reservoirs, aiding users in understanding potential flood risks in downstream areas. 

UPSC Civil services Examination PYQ  

Q:1 The frequency of urban floods due to high intensity rainfall is increasing over the years. Discussing the reasons for urban floods, highlight the mechanisms for preparedness to reduce the risk during such events. (2016)  

Source: PIB  

Jiyo Parsi Scheme  

Tags: GS-2, Polity & Governance- Social Schemes    

• The Minister Kiren Rijiju for Minority Affairs recently launched the Jiyo Parsi Scheme portal. 

About Jiyo Parsi Scheme:  

• Purpose: The Jiyo Parsi Scheme is a unique Central Sector Scheme implemented by the Ministry of Minority Affairs to address the population decline of the Parsi Community in India. 
• Launch Year: The scheme was introduced in 2013-14. 
• Objective: Its primary goal is to reverse the declining trend of the Parsi population by using scientific methods and structured interventions to stabilise their population in India. 
• Components: The scheme consists of three main components: Medical Assistance, Advocacy, and Health of Community. 
• Medical Assistance: Provides financial support to Parsi couples for medical treatment following standard medical protocols. 
• Health of Community: Offers financial assistance to Parsi couples for childcare and support for elderly members of the community. 
• Advocacy: Conducts outreach and advocacy programs to raise awareness among the Parsi population. 

Dysbiosis  

• Antibiotics, especially broad-spectrum ones, can significantly reduce gut bacteria, leading to a disruption called dysbiosis. 

About Dysbiosis:  

• Definition: Dysbiosis is an imbalance within a community of microorganisms living together in a microbiome. 
• Microbiomes in the Body: Our bodies host several distinct microbiomes, which are communities of microorganisms that assist us in various functions. 
• Balanced Microbiome: A healthy microbiome has a diverse range of microorganisms, with no single bacteria, virus, or fungus dominating. Dysbiosis indicates a lack of this diversity and balance, affecting how these microorganisms’ function in the body. 
• Occurrence: It commonly occurs when the bacteria in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract—comprising the stomach and intestines—become unbalanced. 
• Causes: Dysbiosis can result from infections, antibiotic use, or certain dietary factors. 

How Does Dysbiosis Affect Us?  

• Microbial Imbalance: A lack of diversity and balance in any microbiome can allow one type of microorganism to dominate. 
• Increased Vulnerability: Dysbiosis makes the body more susceptible to infections from both internal and external germs. 
• Functional Disruption: It can also disrupt other critical services typically provided by a healthy microbiome. 
• Symptoms: While sometimes asymptomatic, dysbiosis may cause abdominal pain, bloating, vomiting, and skin issues. It can occur due to exposure to harmful bacteria or the overgrowth of a single type of bacteria. 

Treatment:  

• Treatment Goal: The primary aim is to increase gut microbiome biodiversity. 
• Fecal microbiota transplantation 
• Probiotic therapy 
• Microbial metabolic pathway therapy 
• Specific Treatments: If an underlying disease or condition is causing dysbiosis, targeted treatment for that condition is necessary. 

Amrit Bharat Station Scheme  

Tags: GS-3, Economy- Growth & Development – Infrastructure  

Why in the news?   

• Recently, western railway has announced the inclusion of Kandivali and Dahisar railway stations in the launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS). 

About:  

• Launch Date: February 2023 
• Initiative by: Ministry of Railways, India 
• Purpose: The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme is an ongoing mission by Indian Railways aimed at redeveloping railway stations across the country. 
• Focus: It emphasises the long-term development of railway stations through the creation and phased implementation of master plans to enhance various station facilities. 

Key Objectives:  

• The scheme aims to address the unique needs of each station, ensuring a comprehensive approach to railway station enhancement. 
• The goal is to transform railway stations into modern, well-equipped hubs with improved passenger amenities, better traffic circulation, inter-modal integration, and upgraded signage. 
• The scheme emphasises sustainable practices, including the use of energy-efficient lighting, rainwater harvesting systems, and green spaces.  
• It also promotes the use of ballastless tracks to reduce noise and vibration. 

Key Features:  

• Clean and hygienic waiting areas and restrooms. 
• Special amenities for disabled passengers. 
• Availability of food and beverage outlets. 
• Separate entry and exit points for passengers and vehicles. 
• Widening of roads and footpaths. 
• Provision of adequate parking facilities. 
• Seamless connectivity between railway stations and other transport modes like buses, taxis, and auto rickshaws. 
• Clear and visible signage in multiple languages to guide passengers. 
• Installation of energy-efficient lighting and appliances. 
• Implementation of rainwater harvesting systems. 
• Development of green spaces. 
• Introduction of ballastless tracks to minimise noise and vibration. 
• Utilisation of roof plazas, where available, to provide additional space for commercial activities and passenger amenities. 
• The long-term vision of the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme is to transform railway stations into vibrant city centres that enhance the travel experience and serve as well-integrated hubs for urban development. 

Source: TOI  

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Make Your Note

Children and Domestic Labour

• 31 Jul 2023
• GS Paper - 2
• Issues Related to Children
• Government Policies & Interventions

For Prelims: Child Labor , International Labour Organization , National Crime Records Bureau , Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.

For Mains: Vulnerabilities Faced by Child Labor in Domestic Work.

Why in News?

Recently, an incident came into light where a couple was accused of hiring a 10-year-old girl as a stay-at-home help to care for their 4-year-old son and was subjected to physical and mental abuse on several occasions.

• This incident highlights the issue of Child Labour in Domestic Work.

What is Child Labor?

• Child domestic work is a general reference to children’s work in the domestic work sector in the home of a third party or employer.
• Child labor in domestic work refers to situations where domestic work is performed by children below the relevant minimum age (for light work, full-time non-hazardous work), in hazardous conditions or in a slavery-like situation.
• Long and tiring working days ; use of toxic chemicals; carrying heavy loads; handling dangerous items such as knives and hot pans; insufficient or inadequate food and accommodation etc.
• The risks are compounded when a child lives in the household where he or she works as a domestic worker.
• As per the National Crime Records Bureau Report 2022, in 2021, around 982 cases were registered under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, with the highest number of cases registered in Telangana, followed by Assam.
• According to a study by Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL), there has been a significant increase in the proportion of working children from 28.2% to 79.6% out of the 818 children who were surveyed, mainly because of the Covid-19 pandemic and closure of schools.
• The states in India having highest child labour employers are – Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

Why is Child Labor in Domestic Work Prevalence in India?

• The prevalence of child labor in domestic work in India are the social and economic conditions of families, lack of effective policies ensuring sufficient wages to adult workers, and the burden falling on children of impoverished households to supplement family income.
• This situation often leads to kids being paid even less and forced to work beyond their physical and mental capacity, resulting in a systematic trap of slavery in 24x7 house help employment.
• Some communities and families have a tradition of making their children work in certain occupations, such as agriculture, carpet weaving, or domestic service. Some also believe that education is not important or suitable for girls.
• Tribals and Dalits who migrate to big cities from the poorer regions of India such as West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand are the easiest targets.
• Many schools in India lack adequate facilities, teachers, and quality education. Some schools also charge fees or other expenses that are unaffordable for poor families. 
• These factors discourage parents from sending their children to school and make them drop out.
• Natural disasters, conflicts, and pandemics can disrupt the normal functioning of society and increase the vulnerability of children.
• Some children may lose their parents, homes, or access to basic services. They may be forced to work for survival or be exploited by traffickers and other perpetrators.

What is the Socio-Economic Impact of Child Labour?

• Child labor diminishes children's ability to accumulate skills and knowledge, affecting their future productivity and income.
• Child labor lowers wages for unskilled work , contributing to the cycle of poverty and continued child labor.
• Child labor hampers technological advancements and innovation, slowing down long-term economic growth and development.
• Child labor deprives children of their rights to education, health, protection, and participation, limiting their future opportunities and social mobility.
• Child labor weakens social development and cohesion within a country, impacting stability and democracy.
• Child labor exposes children to hazards, physical injuries , diseases, abuse, and exploitation, adversely affecting their physical and mental well-being, mortality rates, and life expectancy.

What are the Government Initiatives to Curb Child Labour in India?

• Right to Education Act (2009)
• Forbids employment of children under 14 years of age in dangerous jobs like factories and mines. However, it didn't prohibit their employment in any harmless or innocent work.
• Amended in 2016 as Child & Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, completely prohibited employment of children below 14 years of age in all occupations and processes.
• The Factories Act (1948)
• National Policy on Child Labour (1987)
• Pencil Portal
• The Minimum Age Convention (1973) - No. 138
• The Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999) - No. 182

Way Forward

• The government should enact and amend laws that prohibit and regulate child labour, in line with international standards and conventions.
• It should also ensure that the laws are effectively implemented and enforced, by allocating adequate resources, capacity, coordination, data, accountability and political will. 
• The government should provide comprehensive social protection and economic support to poor and vulnerable families, to prevent them from resorting to child labour as a coping mechanism.
• The government should ensure that all children have access to free and compulsory education up to the age of 14 years, as per the Right to Education Act 2009 and Article 21A of the Constitution.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Question (PYQ)

Q. International Labour Organization’s Conventions 138 and 182 are related to (2018)

(a) Child Labour (b) Adaptation of agricultural practices to global climate change (c) Regulation of food prices and food security (d) Gender parity at the workplace

Q. Examine the main provisions of the National Child Policy and throw light on the status of its implementation. (2016)

What happened in the Kolkata rape case that triggered doctors’ protests?

Activists and doctors in India demand better safeguarding of women and medical professionals after a trainee medic was raped and murdered in Kolkata.

Activists and doctors across India continued to protest on Wednesday to demand justice for a female doctor, who was raped and murdered while on duty in a hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata.

Feminist groups rallied on the streets in protests titled “Reclaim the Night” in Kolkata overnight on Wednesday – on the eve of India’s independence day – in solidarity with the victim, demanding the principal of RG Kar Medical College resign. Some feminist protesters also marched well beyond Kolkata, including in the capital Delhi.

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While the protests were largely peaceful, a small mob of men stormed the medical college and vandalised property. This group was dispersed by the police.

This comes after two days of nationwide protests by doctors following the incident at RG Kar Medical College in West Bengal’s capital city. “Sit-in demonstrations and agitation in the hospital campus will continue,” one of the protesting doctors, identified as Dr Mridul, told Al Jazeera.

Services in some medical centres were halted indefinitely, and marches and vigils shed light on issues of sexual violence, as well as doctors’ safety in the world’s most populous nation.

What happened to the doctor in Kolkata?

A 31-year-old trainee doctor’s dead body, bearing multiple injuries, was found on August 9 in a government teaching hospital in Kolkata.

The parents of the victim were initially told “by hospital authorities that their daughter had committed suicide,” lawyer and women’s rights activist Vrinda Grover told Al Jazeera. But an autopsy confirmed that the victim was raped and killed.

Grover has appeared for victims in sexual violence cases in India in the past, including Bilkis Bano , a Muslim woman who was gang-raped during the 2002 Gujarat riots, and Soni Sori, a tribal activist based in Chhattisgarh state.

Thousands of doctors marched in Kolkata on Monday, demanding better security measures and justice for the victim.

On Tuesday, the Kolkata High Court transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) called for a nationwide halting of elective services in hospitals starting on Monday. Elective services are medical treatments that can be deferred or are not deemed medically necessary.

On Tuesday, FORDA announced on its X account that it is calling off the strike after Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda accepted protest demands.

One of these demands was solidifying the Central Protection Act, intended to be a central law to protect medical professionals from violence, which was proposed in the parliament’s lower house in 2022, but has not yet been enacted.

FORDA said that the ministry would begin working on the Act within 15 days of the news release, and that a written statement from the ministry was expected to be released soon.

Press release regarding call off of strike. In our fight for the sad incident at R G Kar, the demands raised by us have been met in full by the @OfficeofJPNadda , with concrete steps in place, and not just verbal assurances. Central Healthcare Protection Act ratification… pic.twitter.com/OXdSZgM1Jc — FORDA INDIA (@FordaIndia) August 13, 2024

Why are some Indian doctors continuing to protest?

However, other doctors’ federations and hospitals have said they will not back down on the strike until a concrete solution is found, including a central law to curb attacks on doctors.

Those continuing to strike included the Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA), Delhi-based All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Indira Gandhi Hospital, local media reported.

Ragunandan Dixit, the general secretary of the AIIMS Resident Doctors’ Association, said that the indefinite strike will continue until their demands are met, including a written guarantee of the implementation of the Central Protection Act.

Medical professionals in India want a central law that makes violence against doctors a non-bailable, punishable offence, in hopes that it deters such violent crimes against doctors in the future.

Those continuing to protest also call for the dismissal of the principal of the college, who was transferred. “We’re demanding his termination, not just transfer,” Dr Abdul Waqim Khan, a protesting doctor told ANI news agency. “We’re also demanding a death penalty for the criminal,” he added.

“Calling off the strike now would mean that female resident doctors might never receive justice,” Dr Dhruv Chauhan, member of the National Council of the Indian Medical Association’s Junior Doctors’ Network told local news agency Press Trust of India (PTI).

Which states in India saw doctors’ protests?

While the protests started in West Bengal’s Kolkata on Monday, they spread across the country on Tuesday.

The capital New Delhi, union territory Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow and city Prayagraj, Bihar capital Patna and southern state Goa also saw doctors’ protests.

Who is the suspect in the Kolkata rape case?

Local media reported that the police arrested suspect Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer who would visit the hospital often. He has unrestricted access to the ward and the police found compelling evidence against him.

The parents of the victim told the court that they suspect that it was a case of gang rape, local media reported.

Why is sexual violence on the rise in India?

Sexual violence is rampant in India, where 90 rapes were reported on average every day in 2022.

Laws against sexual violence were made stricter following a rape case in 2012, when a 22-year-old physiotherapy intern was brutally gang-raped and murdered on a bus in Delhi. Four men were hanged for the gang rape, which had triggered a nationwide protests.

But despite new laws in place, “the graph of sexual violence in India continues to spiral unabated,” said Grover.

She added that in her experience at most workplaces, scant attention is paid to diligent and rigorous enforcement of the laws.

“It is regrettable that government and institutions respond only after the woman has already suffered sexual assault and often succumbed to death in the incident,” she added, saying preventive measures are not taken.

In many rape cases in India, perpetrators have not been held accountable. In 2002, Bano was raped by 11 men, who were sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2022, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi authorised the release of the men, who were greeted with applause and garlands upon their release.

However, their remission was overruled and the Supreme Court sent the rapists back to jail after public outcry.

Grover believes that the death penalty will not deter rapists until India addresses the deeply entrenched problem of sexual violence. “For any change, India as a society will have to confront and challenge, patriarchy, discrimination and inequality that is embedded in our homes, families, cultural practices, social norms and religious traditions”.

What makes this case particularly prominent is that it happened in Kolkata, Sandip Roy, a freelance contributor to NPR, told Al Jazeera. “Kolkata actually prided itself for a long time on being really low in the case of violence against women and being relatively safe for women.”

A National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report said that Kolkata had the lowest number of rape cases in 2021 among 19 metropolitan cities, with 11 cases in the whole year. In comparison, New Delhi was reported to have recorded 1, 226 cases that year.

Prime Minister Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called for dismissing the government in West Bengal, where Kolkata is located, led by Mamata Banerjee of All India Trinamool Congress (AITC). Banerjee’s party is part of the opposition alliance.

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in parliament, also called for justice for the victim.

“The attempt to save the accused instead of providing justice to the victim raises serious questions on the hospital and the local administration,” he posted on X on Wednesday.

Roy spoke about the politicisation of the case since an opposition party governs West Bengal. “The local government’s opposition will try to make this an issue of women’s safety in the state,” he said.

Have doctors in India protested before?

Roy explained to Al Jazeera that this case is an overlap of two kinds of violence, the violence against a woman, as well as violence against “an overworked medical professional”.

Doctors in India do not have sufficient workplace security, and attacks on doctors have started protests in India before.

In 2019, two junior doctors were physically assaulted in Kolkata’s Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital (NRSMCH) by a mob of people after a 75-year-old patient passed away in the hospital.

Those attacks set off doctors’ protests in Kolkata, and senior doctors in West Bengal offered to resign from their positions to express solidarity with the junior doctors who were attacked.

More than 75 percent of Indian doctors have faced some form of violence, according to a survey by the Indian Medical Association in 2015.

What happens next?

The case will now be handled by the CBI, which sent a team to the hospital premises to inspect the crime scene on Wednesday morning, local media reported.

According to Indian law, the investigation into a case of rape or gang rape is to be completed within two months from the date of lodging of the First Information Report (police complaint), according to Grover, the lawyer.

The highest court in West Bengal, which transferred the case from the local police to the CBI on Tuesday, has directed the central investigating agency to file periodic status reports regarding the progress of the investigation.

The FIR was filed on August 9, which means the investigation is expected to be completed by October 9.

Bengal women will create history with a night long protest in various major locations in the state for at 11.55pm on 14th of August’24,the night that’ll mark our 78th year as an independent country. The campaign, 'Women, Reclaim the Night: The Night is Ours', is aimed at seeking… pic.twitter.com/Si9fd6YGNb — purpleready (@epicnephrin_e) August 13, 2024