World child labour day

Subject: Polity/Economy/Schemes

Context:

The United Nations and International Labour Organization (ILO) observe 12 June every year as the world day against child labour.

Concept:

• The occassion was originally launched by the ILO in 2002 to create awareness about the global extent of child labour and the actions and efforts that are needed to eliminate it.
• The theme of World Day Against Child Labour 2020 is ‘COVID-19 – Protect children from child labour now, more than ever.’
• According to UN data, Africa and the Asia and the Pacific regions together account for almost nine out of every ten children in child labour worldwide.
• As per the last census, there are over 10 million child labourers in India.

Government measures:

• India is committed for eradication of child labour from the country. The Government has amended the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 and enacted the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016.
• It provides for complete prohibition of work or employment of children below 14 years of age in any occupation and process and prohibition of adolescents in the age group of 14 to 18 years in hazardous occupations and processes.
• The Ministry of Labour and Employment is also implementing the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme since 1988 for rehabilitation of child labourers.
• Under the NCLP, the children in the age group of 9-14 years are rescued/withdrawn from work and enrolled in the NCLP Special Training Centres, where they are provided with bridge education, vocational training, mid-day meal, stipend, health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 children in the age group of 5-8 years are directly linked to the formal education system through a close coordination with the SarvaShikshaAbhiyan.
• To ensure the effective enforcement of the provisions of the Child Labour Act and smooth implementation of NCLP Scheme, a dedicated online portal named PENCIL (Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour) is developed in order to make the NCLP successful through better monitoring and implementation.  The Portal connects Central Government to State Government(s), District(s), all Project Societies and the general public.