The
Government of India has taken note of the prevalence of malnutrition,
child marriage, child labour, trafficking and dropouts at the elementary level
of education in the country as per the indicators below.
Malnutrition: As per
National Family Health Survey III the rate of malnutrition has declined from 42.7%
in 1998-99 (NFHS-2) to 40.4% in 2005-06 (NFHS-3) for children below 3 years of
age.
Child marriage : As
per National Family Health Survey III (NFHS III : 2005-06) the percentage of
women between the age of 18-29, who married before reaching age of 18, i.e.
before reaching the legal age for marriage is 46 %.
Child Labour: The
total number of working children in the country has declined from 1.26 crore as
per the Census 2001 to 49.84 lakh in 2009-10 as per NSSO Survey.
Dropouts at the
elementary level education in the country: As per District Information
System for Education (DISE) data, the Annual Average Dropout Rate at Primary
level has reduced from 6.5 % for 2011-12 to 5.62 for 2012-13.
The Government has
initiated various Schemes to address the problems. Some of the Schemes are
outlined as follows:
·
Integrated
Child Development Services (ICDS) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme which
provides a package of six services to children below 6 years and pregnant and
lactating mothers which inter-alia includes supplementary nutrition.
· Integrated
Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) was introduced in 2009-10 with the aim to
contribute to the improvement in the well being of children in difficult
circumstances, as well as the reduction of vulnerabilities to situations that
lead to abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment and separation of children
from their families.
·
Scheme
for Welfare of Working Children in Need of Care and Protection provides
opportunities including non-formal education, vocational training, etc. to
working children to facilitate their entry / re-entry into mainstream
education.
·
Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls
(RGSEAG)-SABLA aims at an all-round development of adolescent
girls (AGs) of 11-18 years by making them self reliant by facilitating access
to learning, health and nutrition through various interventions such as health,
education, vocational training etc. Such empowerment also addresses the issue
of Child Marriage.
·
Indira Gandhi Matritva
Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) is
a Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme for pregnant and lactating women which was
introduced in October, 2010 for improved health and nutrition to pregnant and
nursing mothers.
· Trafficking:
“Ujjawala”
– is a Comprehensive Scheme for Prevention of Trafficking and Rescue,
Rehabilitation, Re-integration and Repatriation of Victims of Trafficking for
Commercial Sexual Exploitation.
·
Rehabilitation of Child Labour : National Child Labour Project
(NCLP) is a Scheme with the objective to withdraw children working in hazardous
occupations and processes, and mainstream them into formal education system.
All children rescued/withdrawn in the age group of 9-14 years are enrolled in
the NCLP Special Training Centres, where they are provided with bridge
education, vocational training, mid-day meal, stipend, health care, etc. before
being mainstreamed into formal education system.
The details of the funds
released under the three major schemes viz., Integrated Child Development
Services (ICDS), Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) and Ujjawala scheme
administered by the Ministry of Women and Child Development is as per table
below:
(Rs. In
crores)
Sl.No.
|
Name of
|
2010-11
|
2011-12
|
2012-13
|
2013-14
|
Scheme
|
|
|
Budget (RE)
|
Actual
|
Budget (RE)
|
Actual
|
Budget (RE)
|
Actual
|
Budget (RE)
|
Actual
|
|
|
|
Exp.
|
|
Exp.
|
|
Exp.
|
|
Exp. (17.2. 2014)
|
1
|
ICDS
|
9280
|
9763
|
14048
|
14267
|
15850
|
15704
|
16312
|
14483
|
2
|
ICPS
|
100
|
115
|
213
|
178
|
273
|
258
|
270
|
198
|
3
|
UJJAWALA
|
7
|
9
|
10
|
10
|
7
|
7
|
13
|
12
|
|
Total
|
9387
|
9887
|
14271
|
14455
|
16130
|
15969
|
16595
|
14693
|
In addition to implementing the Schemes and programmes as above,
the Government has also initiated several legislative measures viz
(i)
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences
Act, 2012 (POCSO Act),
(ii)
The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA)
2006,
(iii)
The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956,
(iv)
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)
Act, 1986,
(v)
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education (RTE) Act, 2009 etc., Workshops, Seminars, legal awareness camps and
consultation are held with the State Governments, NGOs and other stakeholders
for sensitisation and wider public awareness.
This
was stated by Smt. Krishna Tirath, Minister for Women and Child Development, in
a written reply to the Lok Sabha today.
****
MV