Child Labour Protection Act

The Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act was enacted in 1988 which prohibits the employment of children in 18 occupations and 65 processes and regulates the working conditions of children in employment where they are not prohibited from working. The employment of children as Domestic servant and in Dhabas, restaurants, tea stalls, etc. has been banned w.e.f. 10.10.2006. Since 2007, under Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 13,60,117 inspections have been carried out and 49092 prosecutions are launched and 4774 employers convicted which includes enforcement data on domestic child labour. Child Labour is an outcome of various socio-economic problems such as poverty, economic backwardness and illiteracy, being addressed in the National Child Labour Policy announced in 1987. The action plan under this policy is multi-pronged and mainly consists of:

•           Legislative Action Plan

•           Focus on general development programmes for the benefit of the families of child labour; and

•           Project-based action in areas of high concentration of child labour.

In pursuance of this policy, the Government is implementing National Child Labour Project (NCLP) in 266 districts of the country for rehabilitation of children rescued/withdrawn from work. Under the Project, children rescued/withdrawn from work are enrolled in the special schools, where they are provided with bridge education, vocational training, nutrition, stipend, health care, etc. before being mainstreamed into formal education system.