Speak out against child labour on June 12

Ganges75

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BANGALORE: A quarter century has passed since the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act was introduced in the country, but..

BANGALORE: A quarter century has passed since the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act was introduced in the country, but India continues to be home to the largest number of working children in the world. Against this backdrop, World Day against Child Labour will be observed on June 12.
According to the last census, 12.7 million children belonging to the age group of 514 years were economically active and one in every eight children were working either for his/her own household or for somebody else.It is also surmised that data on child labour is outdated, resulting in faulty evaluation of the situation and planning. Some reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General, points out that state tends to underreport the actual figures of working children or don't conduct surveys to properly identify these children.

The National Crime Records Bureau, while providing data on crimes against children under special and local laws, doesn't shed much light on information pertaining to cases registered under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act and the Bonded Labour Act. Also, the rate of conviction under the child labour laws is poor, clearly pointing weak enforcement of laws. "Out of the 2,504 prosecutions under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act between January and 31 May 2003, there were only 318 convictions, the rest ending up in acquittal," said executive director , Childline India Foundation, Kajol Menon.