CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Ashish Gupta, a student of class XII has successfully completed
the English project report on “Child Labour in India”.

This project work is genuine and fair to the best of my knowledge and belief.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

S NO HEADINGS PG
NO.

1. Acknowledgement 4.
2. Statement of Purpose 5.
3. Action Plan 6.
4. Introduction to Child labour 7.
5. Causes and Consequences of Child labour 7.
6. Important facts about Child labour 8.
7. Various Child labour policies in India 8.
8. Conclusion 9.
9. References 10.

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 Acknowledgement
I extent my heartfelt gratitude to my teacher, Ms. Pooja Sharma for her guidance,
constant encouragement and assistance during the course of preparation of my
project.

I thank my family and friends for giving a helping hand in the successful completion of
the project.

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 Statement of Purpose

“CHILD LABOUR IS CHILD ABUSE FOR WHICH THERE IS NO EXCUSE”

The numbers of child labour population in India is increasing day by day. While child labour around the
world has declined by more than a third in the last 15 years, it remains a serious challenge and barrier to
the well being of children. According to a census report in 2011 by UNICEF, there are more than 10.1
million child labourers in India who are mostly between 5 and 14 years of age. Now on it looks like it is
becoming a growing phenomenon of using young children as domestic workers, specially in urban areas.
Also there are many side-effects of working at a young age such as skin diseases, various lung diseases,
weak eyesight, etc. The elimination of child labour is one of the major priority which is also being
implemented currently in India. A large number of non-governmental and voluntary organizations are
involved in this process along with some national and international organizations as well. This study intends
to summarize the reasons behind this increase in child labour population and also to provide various
suggestions to reduce this child working in various parts of the country.

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 Action Plan
The problem of child labour has got quite deep from the past few decades and it still remains to be
one of the major threats that degrade our society. Nowadays, this issue is not getting that much
attention which is not a good aspect.

A study has been prepared in order to summarize this issue and also it would provide a brief
description about how to tackle this immense problem.

The following steps will be followed to complete the study:

1. Reviewing literature and videos related to the topic.

2. Writing the report based on the review. The report will cover Child labour, an analysis of the
same and conclusion.

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Introduction to Child labour
Child Labour means the employment of children who have not reached the legal age for working. This
activity deprives children of their respective childhood which is meant for learning, playing, enjoying, etc. It
is even very detrimental to their physical and mental development. Mostly in urban areas, it is very common
to see children of poor families working in fields and in other areas to contribute to the family income.
Though from the past few years, child labour might have taken a slight decrease but still it remains a major
problem that exists and degrades the community in the present. Around the world, over 219 million children
are involved in Child labour. Currently, India is the home to the largest number of child labours in the world.

Causes and Consequences of Child labour

• There are numerous reasons why children end up losing their childhood:
Children coming from poor families may be forced to work in order to support in upbringing of their
respective families. Even a low aspiration from parents and children itself can be a major cause of child
labour as they find themselves in a situation where they end up working in local factories or grocery
stores. Children are mostly unskilled and also, they provide cheap but good support to the greedy
employers. Most of the illiterate people are unable to provide help to the children and are unable to
encourage them to go to school and hence, it end up in a havoc in the future of these children. Quality
education is much expensive in many parts of the world and for many families living in poverty,
priority is given in providing food for their families since education for them is unaffordable. Marrying
at an early age results in Overpopulation, having many children with little or no resources to support
leads to Child labour.

• Also there are some major negative impacts of Child labour:

Childhood plays a major role in bringing smile to any humans face whenever they are remembered of
their childhood but here, Child Labour plays an evil impact by depriving a young one from the
opportunity of living a good and happy childhood. Child labour can also lead to health complications
due to undernourishment and poor working conditions as the children employed in bad working places
such as mines and badly maintained factories might end up carrying lifetime health issues for
themselves. Children working at a young age might face various issues such as discrimination, sexual
exploitation and unfavourable working hours which may result in mental upset of these children.
Education prepares a person to deal with various challenges held down by the society whereas, an
illiterate person considers only force as the right answer in dealing with various situations.

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Important facts about Child labour
• There are some major unknown facts about Child labour:
Currently, there are nearly 30 million people held in slavery and an estimated 26 percent are children. In
2012, 160 million children from 5 years old to 17 years old were involved in Child labour. Around the
world, one in six children are forced to work, with children below the age of 18 representing between
40-50% of labourers. According to the UNICEF, there are over 3 lakh child soldiers forced into armed
combat. ‘World Day Against Child labour’ is celebrated by the United Nations on June 12 in order to
remember the young workers who have been robbed of their childhood, education and the future they
deserved. 1 in every 10 child labourers worldwide is from India. Highest number of child labourers are
in Asia and Pacific, where over 122 million children are forced into work.

Various Child labour Poilicies in India

Child labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2017
Govt. of India has notified the amendment in the Child labour Central Rules after extensive consultation
with the stakeholders. The rules provide broad and specific framework for prevention, prohibition, rescue
and rehabilitation of child and adolescent workers. It also clarifies on issues related with help in family and
family enterprises and definition of family with respect to child, specific provisions have been incorporated
in rules. Further, it also provides for safeguards of artists which have been permitted to work under the Act,
in terms of hours of work and working conditions.

Child labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016

Govt. has enacted the Child labour Amendment Act, 2016 which came into force on 1st Sept. 2016. The
Amendment Act completely prohibits the employment of children below 14 years. The amendment also
prohibits the employment of adolescent in the age group of 14 to 18 years in hazardous occupations and
processes and regulates their working conditions where they are not prohibited. The amendment also
provides stricter punishment for employers for violation of the Act and making the offence of employing
any child or adolescent in contravention of the Act by an employer as cognizable.

Child labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986

Article 24 of the Indian Constitution clearly states that, “No child below the age of 14 years shall be
employed to work in any factory or mine or employed in any hazardous employment.” The Child labour Act
of 1986 designates a child as a person who has not completed their 14th year of age. It aims to regulate the
hours and the working conditions of child workers and to prohibit child workers from being employed in
hazardous industries.

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 Conclusion
Supporting Fair Trade: Being conscious of the products that we purchase as if its too cheap to be true, it
might have be made by underpaid and overworked children in factories.

Get informed: By educating ourselves about the problems in the society and also keeping a check on what
is being done by the govt. in order to stop it.

Discouraging people to employ children in homes, shops, factories, etc: Child Labour cases gets a
massive increase when various businesses openly use it in various industries. NGOs currently are helping in
making the society aware about this social evil and we should also contribute by encouraging people to
eliminate child labour by not letting these poor children get employed at a young age.

Supporting NGOs like Save the Children: Save the Children offers immediate aid to victims of child
labour, while also working for long-term societal change. It has rescued 9337 children from child labour in
ongoing relief and rescue missions in India. Present in 120 countries, Save the Children focuses on
providing education and a new life for millions of children affected by armed conflict and exploitation.

Sending more children to school: India has the world’s largest educational system, yet faces the hurdles of
low literacy, due to low enrollment. Organisations like Save the Children execute several initiatives to boost
children’s enrollment in schools. The organizations maps out-of-school children and those who are at risk of
dropping out and ensures that they enter into the fold of education.

Engaging with the Sustainable Development Goals: The success of various Sustainable Development
Goals are meant only when we all contribute together in the upbringing of these Goals.

Improving economic growth: Many of the children drift away from the path of education completely and
hence, they end up in child labour. This means that the country has a lack of formally educated adults who
can contribute to the process of nation-building and helping in the country’s economic growth.

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 References
1. Child labour (2022):
Retrieved from https://vikaspedia.in/social-welfare/women-and-child-development/child-
development-1/resources-on-safe-childhood-for-panchayat-members/child-labour
2. Child labour Policies (2021):
Retrieved from https://vikaspedia.in/education/child-rights/child-labour-policies
3. Measures to prevent Child labour in India (2020):
Retrieved from https://www.savethechildren.in/child-protection/top-5-ways-to-tackle-the-problem-
of-child-labor-in-india/
4. Real Stories of Child Slavery: Child labour in India (2013)
Retrieved from https://youtu.be/Zsctc_25XFk
5. Child labour (2016):
Retrieved from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_labour

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