Child Welfare Policies

Child Welfare Policies and Programmes in India

 

Keeping in view the problems and challenges faced by children, laws have been introduced and various policies and programmes are being implemented, for the welfare of children in India

 

Every child has right to lead a decent life. The physical, mental and social well being of a child depends upon the family to which she/ he belongs. In the process of socialisation during childhood the family and school are two important institutions which play significant role for integrated development of the child. According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child, child means a person male or female who is below 18 years of age. While casting glance over Indian situation, it is found that, around 440 million are children which constitute around 40 percent of country’s population. India has high rate of neo-natal deaths which is around 35 percent in the world. Around 50 percent of child mortality occurs in the country. Keeping in view the problems and challenges faced by the Indian children, laws have been introduced and various policies and programmes are being implemented for the welfare of children in India.  

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Child Protection in India

Child Protection in India

 

Protecting children from all forms of violence, abuse, and exploitation in different settings, including family, community and wider society is essential to ensure that they are given all the rights due to them

 

Protecting children from all forms of violence, abuse, and exploitation is integral to the holistic development of children, as it enables them to become active participants in their own development and the development of the Nation.  

A child who sells flowers or magazines at a traffic light every day is not just another salesperson, but someone who is deprived of a normal and secured family life, and denied his or her basic rights of nutrition, health, education, and development.  

Unfortunately, it is common to see children in vulnerable and difficult situations. At an age where they should be in school and learning, children are married off; engaged in work– in farms, households, restaurants, and in industries; trafficked for labour and sexual exploitation; and exposed to abuse and violence.  

According to the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD), around 170 million or 40 percent of all children in India are either vulnerable to or experiencing difficult circumstances, such as violence at home, separation from family and street life (Integrated Child Protection Scheme– ICPS). If we look at sexual abuse, a study conducted by MWCD in 2007 shows that more than 53 percent all respondents reported to have faced one or more forms of sexual abuse.   

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