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Rights groups seek increased allocation to help eliminate child labor

Rights groups seek increased allocation to help eliminate child labor
Child rights organizations want the government to prioritize the safety of children.

Policy and Regulations

Rights groups seek increased allocation to help eliminate child labor

Child rights organizations want the government to prioritize the safety of children and as such, are looking for more funds for the elimination of child labor. They are keen for more investment in strengthening the social safety-net.




Jyoti Mathur, the Executive Director or Kailash Satyarthi Foundation,  says the overall percentage share of budget allocation for children in the Union Budget must be improved. She believes it should be restored to at least the level of 2020-21. “It is noteworthy to mention here that the percentage share of the Union Budget allocated for the welfare of children has been reduced from 3.16% (2020-21) to 2.46% (2021-22). This is the lowest share of the budget allocation for the welfare of children in the last 11 years.”

Mathur highlighted that the total budget allocated towards the welfare of the children has declined by 11% in the past two years – in 2021-22 over 2020-21. There is a decline from Rs 96,042 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 85,713 crore in 2021-22. The Foundation is seeking an increased allocation for the elimination of child labor with a comprehensive national action plan. It also recommended enhanced budgetary allocation for rehabilitation of bonded labor, which is part of the overall budget head of the National Child Labor Project (NCLP).

“Since the budget head of the NCLP also includes grants-in-aid to voluntary agencies and reimbursement of assistance to bonded labor it appears impossible to provide any assistance to the victims of bonded labor as the allocation is grossly inadequate even to maintain the fixed expenditure under the NCLP,” Mathur said.

There is also a need for an International Centre to address incidences of online child sexual abuse. Puja Marwaha, the CEO of Child Rights and You (CRY), said children should be placed at the center of any development discourse – both for themselves and for the inclusive growth of the country – and this should be the centerpiece of the Union Budget.

“Experiences and learnings from prior humanitarian crises have shown that children tend to be disproportionately affected during such critical times and their rights, lives and well-being are at risk of irreparable harm,” she explained. “Owing to disruptions in education and healthcare systems, lack of access to nutrition and protection services over the past two years, their vulnerabilities, especially within rural areas and marginalized communities have increased multiple times.”


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Marwaha says the lives of India’s children were strictly restricted in terms of their access to education, nutrition and development, and child protection. “Given the increase in numbers of children facing risks such as entry into child labor or marriage, more investment in strengthening the social safety-net and effective preventive mechanisms needs to be accelerated on an immediate basis.”


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