UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

A PROJECT ON
CHILD LABOUR
MASTER OF COMMERCE PART II (SEMESTER-III)
2016 -2017
SUBMITTED BY
MR. SABA Y SHAIKH
PROJECT GUIDE
PROF.AJIT JADHAV
SUBJECT: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

SHANKAR NARAYAN COLLEGE OF ART& COMMERCE

BHAYANDAR (EAST), THANE 401105

DECLARATION
I, MISS SABA SHAIKH, student of M.COM in ADVANCED ACCOUNTANCY
Part II (Semester-III) Roll No. 38 of Shankar Narayan College of Arts &
Commerce, Bhayandar (East) hereby declare that I have completed this project on
CHILD LABOUR in the academic year 2016 -2017 .
I declared that the project report is my original work and it has not been submitted by
me in part or full to any other university/institution/statutory body for the award of any
degree/diploma/certificate.

Name of Candidate : MISS SABA Y. SHAIKH

Place: Bhayandar (E)

Sign:
Date:

SHANKAR NARAYAN COLLEGEOF ART &COMMERCE

BHAYANDAR (EAST), NAVGHAR ROAD, THANE 401105
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that MR. SABA Y. SHAIKH has completed the project titled CHILD
LABOUR under the guidance of Prof.AJIT JADHAV in practical fulfilment of the
requirement for the award of Master of Commerce Part -II studies for academic
period 2016-2017 .

Internal PROJECT GUIDE:

PRINCIPAL: Prof. Dr. V.N. Yadav

EXTERNAL GUIDE
CO-ORDINATOR
Mr. Ajit N. Jadhav

Date

PLACE : BHAYANDAR

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This project bears imprint of all those who have directly or indirectly helped and
extended their kind support in completing this project at the time of making this report.
I express my sincere gratitude to all of them.
I am extremely thankful and obliged to PROF.AJIT JADHAV (Internal Project
Guide) for providing streamed guidelines since inception, till the completion of the
project.
At this moment I would also thank almighty God for the blessings showed upon
me, my parents for their support and care and also my friends for their valuable
suggestions.
This project report is a collective effort of all and I sincerely remember and
acknowledged all of them for their excellent help and assistance throughout the project.

SABA Y. SHAIKH

INDEX

Sr. No.

TITLE

Page No.

INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2.

INTRODUCTION TO CHILD LABOUR

12

3.

BACKGROUND & DEFINATION OF CHILD LABOUR

14

4.

PROVISIONS

16

6.

CAUSES

17

7.

BONDED CHILD LABOUR

19

8.

REMEDIES TO REMOVAL OF CHILD LABOUR

23

9.

CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS

28

10

BIBLOGRAPHY

29

Research Methodology:
Research methodology is the way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be
under stood as a science of studying to how research is done scientifically. In it we study the
various steps that are generally adopted by a researcher in studying his research problem
along with the logic behind them.
In research methodology we not only talk of the research methods but also consider the logic
behind the methods we use in the content of our research study and explain why we are using
a particular method and why we are not using others so that research results are capable of
being evaluated either by the researcher himself or by others.
Secondary data are those which have been collected by someone else and which have already
been passed through the statistical process. There are several ways by which secondary data
can be classified.

Survey Method:
The survey is a non-experimental, descriptive research method. Surveys can be useful when a
researcher wants to collect data on phenomena that cannot be directly observed (such as
opinions on library services). Surveys are used extensively in library and information science
to assess attitudes and characteristics of a wide range of subjects, from the quality of usersystem interfaces to library user reading habits. In a survey, researchers sample a population.
Basha and Harter (1980) state that "a population is any set of persons or objects that
possesses at least one common characteristic." Examples of populations that might be studied
are 1) all 1999 graduates of GSLIS at the University of Texas, or 2) all the users of UT
General Libraries. Since populations can be quite large, researchers directly question only a
sample (i.e. a small proportion) of the population
Types of Surveys:
Surveys can be divided into two broad categories:
1 The questionnaire
2 Theinterview.

Questionnaires are usually paper-and-pencil instruments that the respondent completes.

Interviews are completed by the interviewer based on the respondent says. Sometimes, it's
hard to tell the difference between a questionnaire and an interview. For instance, some
people think that questionnaires always ask short closed-ended questions while interviews
always ask broad open-ended ones. But you will see questionnaires with open-ended
questions (although they
do tend to be shorter than in interviews) and there will often be a series of closed-ended
questions asked in an interview.

Questionnaires:
When most people think of questionnaires, they think of the mail survey. All of us have, at
one time or another, received a questionnaire in the mail. There are many advantages to mail
surveys. They are relatively inexpensive to administer. You can send the exact same
instrument to a wide number of people. They allow the respondent to fill it out at their own

convenience. But there are some disadvantages as well. Response rates from mail surveys are
often very low. And, mail questionnaires are not the best vehicles for asking for detailed
written responses.
A second type is the group administered questionnaire. A sample of respondents is brought
together and asked to respond to a structured sequence of questions. Traditionally,
questionnaires were administered in group settings for convenience. The researcher could
give the questionnaire to those who were present and be fairly sure that there would be a high
response rate. If the respondents were unclear about the meaning of a question they could ask
for clarification. And, there were often organizational settings where it was relatively easy to
assemble the group (in a company or business, for instance).

What's the difference between a group administered questionnaire and a group interview or
focus group? In the group administered questionnaire, each respondent is handed an
instrument and asked to complete it while in the room. Each respondent completes an
instrument. In the group interview or focus group, the interviewer facilitates the session.
People work as a group, listening to each other's comments and answering the questions.
Someone takes notes for the entire group -- people don't complete an interview individually.

Survey Interviews:
Interviews are a far more personal form of research than questionnaires. In the personal
interview, the interviewer works directly with the respondent. Unlike with mail surveys, the
interviewer has the opportunity to probe or ask follow-up questions. And, interviews are
generally easier for the respondent, especially if what is sought is opinions or impressions.
Interviews can be very time consuming and they are resource intensive. The interviewer is
considered a part of the measurement instrument and interviewers have to be well trained in
how to respond to any contingency.
Almost everyone is familiar with the telephone interview. Telephone interviews enable a
researcher to gather information rapidly. Most of the major public opinion polls that are
reported were based on telephone interviews. Like personal interviews, they allow for some
personal contact between the interviewer and the respondent. And, they allow the interviewer
to ask follow-up questions. But they also have some major disadvantages. Many people don't
have publicly-listed telephone numbers. Some don't have telephones. People often don't like
the intrusion of a call to their homes. And, telephone interviews have to be relatively short or
people will feel imposed upon.
8

Constructing the Survey:

Constructing a survey instrument is an art in itself. There are numerous small decisions that
must be made -- about content, wording, format, placement -- that can have important
consequences for your entire study. While there's no one perfect way to accomplish this job,
we do have lots of advice to offer that might increase your chances of developing a better
final product.
First of all you'll learn about the two major types of surveys that exist, the questionnaire and
the interview and the different varieties of each. Then you'll see how to write questions for
surveys. There are three areas involved in writing a question:

determining the question content, scope and purpose

choosing the response format that you use for collecting information from the
respondent

figuring out how to word the question to get at the issue of interest

Finally, once you have your questions written, there is the issue of how best to place them in
your survey.
You'll see that although there are many aspects of survey construction that are just common
sense, if you are not careful you can make critical errors that have dramatic effects on your
results.

Details Of Research:
Method Used:

Survey method

Type Of survey:

Interview & content Analysis

Instrument used:

Questionnaire & Observation

Sample size:

30

Data used:

Both Primary & Secondary

Data Collection:
Data Collection is an important aspect of any type of research study. Inaccurate data
collection can impact the results of a study and ultimately lead to invalid results.
Data collection methods for impact evaluation vary along a continuum. At the one end of this
continuum are quantatative methods and at the other end of the continuum are Qualitative
methods for data collection .
Data collection methods
The Quantitative data collection methods, rely on random sampling and structured data
collection instruments that fit diverse experiences into predetermined response categories.
They produce results that are easy to summarize, compare, and generalize. Quantitative
research is concerned with testing hypotheses derived from theory and/or being able to
estimate the size of a phenomenon of interest. Depending on the research question,
participants may be randomly assigned to different treatments.

Experiments/clinical trials.
Observing and recording well-defined events (e.g., counting the number of patients
waiting in emergency at specified times of the day).
Obtaining relevant data from management information systems.

10

Primary Data Collection:

The considerable and diverse array of primary data methods includes, e.g., true experiments
such as randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and other controlled trials; other prospective but
uncontrolled trials; observational studies such as case-control, cross-sectional studies, and
surveillance studies; and simpler designs such as case series and single case reports or
anecdotes. These methods can be described and categorized in terms of multiple attributes or
dimensions, such as whether they are prospective or retrospective, interventional or
observational, controlled or uncontrolled, and other attributes noted below. Some of these
methods have alternative names, and many studies employ nearly limitless combinations of
these attributes

Primary data used in this project is mainly collected through questionnaire which
has been taken with the help of sample size which has been taken and after that the
entire data has been manipulated.

Secondary data:
Secondary data originally collected for a different study, used again for a new research
question.
o

Service

District

Statistics

including

basic

client

counts,

attributes,

demographics, social conditions and lots of program information (analogous to

public schools and school teachers, who constitute some of the most
accountable of public servants).
o

Other Social and Economic Indicators, Consumer Price Index, unemployment

figures, inflation indicators, Income Figures, etc.

Resource Inventories and other needs assessments

Opinion Polls taken by others

Budgets

The secondary data used in this project is :

through internet

through books of retail

Competitors company websites

11

CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA AND ITS CAUSES

INTRODUCTION:
India is a country where child is considered as the appearance of god. But in todays world
specially in India child is not considered as a appearance of god. They are under the threat of
child labour. Once when I was sitting at a local hotel one day , i went there for having some
food when I saw a little boy cleaning a table in the far corner of the hotel. He was tiny and the
innocence, of childhood had not left his face. On the next table to me sat a happy family of
four, parents and their two children who would more or less be of the same age as of the child
clearing the table. While one set of kids were biting into tasty food, the other, half- starved,
was working hard to feed himself and his family at least one meal a day. So we can see child
working to earn their livelihood everyday everywhere.
Children are the gifts, they are the precious gifts presented by God to human life for filling
the world with smile, happiness, and hope. Children are the future citizens; it is childhood
which determines a childs future, his/her life and their worthy contributions to the world. .
Childhood is the time to develop the best physical, intellectual and mental capacity of
children. But in the present world most of the child doesnt get a childhood in which they can
get education and develop their physical, intellectual and mental capacity. The main reason
behind this is Child labour. Child labour is absolutely violations of a range of rights of
children and it is recognised as a serious and enormously complex social problem in India.
Working children are denied their right to survival and development, education, leisure and
play, and adequate standard of living, opportunity for developing personality, talents, mental
and physical abilities, and protection from abuse and neglect.
Usually, when we think of child labour, the first thing that comes to our mind is a child
working in a factory. But this is not only like that , child labour ranges from factories to
mines, to construction areas to small tea stalls and every other work. Children, who are at the
receiving end, end up with ruined lives, bleak and a misty future and physical as well as
psychological disorders.
The main reason behind the child labour is the poor families and illiteracy. The problem of
child labour is mostly seen in villages. Most of the families in villages are Below Poverty
Line they dont even have the sufficient foot of two times to eat so they all wants to engage in
12

works and wants to earn their livelihood and that is why they give pressure to their child to
work and to earn money. They are unaware of what is going on in outside of the world they
always thinks that if a child study then he will forget their parents and also he will not live
with them. Because of that they send their child to work in factories.
In India, officially there are around 16 million child labourers, but if we trust the unofficial
sources, the number crosses 60 million. A country where 70% of the population lives in rural
areas, around 50-60% children are being forced into child labour. Lets understand this evil
and try to curb it.

13

BACKGROUND:
Todays child is tomorrows citizen. His is auniversally accepted truth . Child labour is not a
new phenomena. It has existed in one form or the other throughout mans history.

DEFINITIONS:
Child

Labour, in general, means the employment of children in any work with or without

payment. Every child out of school in the age group of 5 to 14 years, children who are paid in
work, children who work outside the homes or children who in hazardous industries can be
said to be child labourers.
Child labor is defined by many organizations as any kind of work for children that harms
them or exploits them in some way may it be physically, mentally, morally or by depriving a
child of education. Child labor is a social menace in many parts of the world, especially
developing countries. There is a widespread practice of child labor in places like agriculture,
factories, mining, and quarrying etc.
According to Stein and Davies, child labour means any work by children that interferes with
their full physical development, the opportunities for a desirable minimum education and for
their needed recreation.

14

ORIGIN :
History of child labour can be traced to some dark realms of industrialisation. But a more
detailed study of this heinous, shameful practice can reveal that child labour was there much
before industrialisation in various forms like in child slavery.
If we turn the pages of History we see that there was a custom for youths from the
Mediterranean basin to serve as aides, charioteers and armed bearers to their
adultcounterparts. A few of such examples can be found in Bibles when David serves his
King Soul; we find the examples of Hercules and Hylash in Greek Mythology as well. In
Greece this practice was considered to be an educational tradition and boys were considered
to be an efficient fighting force. Hitler Youth was an official organisation in the Nazi Army.
During the battle of Berlin, this youth force was a major part of the German Defences.

In India, children used to help and accompany their parents in agricultural and other
household activities in ancient times. Thus we see that child labour is not quite a new thing to
the world.

15

PROVISIONS UNDER INDIAN CONSTITUTION:

Child labourer are exposed or exploited to hazardous work conditions and paid a
pittance for their lonf hours of work . The Indian constitution enshrines that :

(i) ARTICLE 24:

No child below the age of 14 yrs shall be employed to work
in any factory or in any hazardous employment .

(ii) ARTICLE 39 f :
Childhood and youth are to be protected against exploitation
and against moral and material abandonment.

(iii)ARTICLE 45:
The state shall endeavour to provide with a period of 10 yrs
from the commencement of the constitution free and compulsory education for all
children until they complete the age of 14 yrs.

16

CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR

India accounts for the second highest number where child labour of the world is concerned.
Africa accounts for the highest number of children employed and exploited.Over population,
poverty, parental illiteracy, lack of proper education, urbanisations, availability of cheap child
labour are some common causes of wide-spread child labour.

POVERTY:
In India over 40% of population is under the poverty line and this is where the child labour is
endemic. The unrelenting poverty forces the parents to push their young children in all forms
of hazardous occupations. Child labour is a source of earning bread and butter for poor
families. In some cases, a childs income accounted for between 34 and 37 percent of the
total household income for these families.Some parents being in huge debts, sold or
abandoned their children to factory owners.
It is poverty that makes parents/guardians send their children to the streets to hawk, it is
poverty that makes parents send out their children to prostitute, it is poverty that make the
17

elders sell their children for child trafficking, it is poverty that makes parents allow their
children to be employed into formal and informal sectors for daily or monthly pay, it is
poverty that makes parents deny their children education and allow them to wallow in dirt
and unhygienic conditions in the name of working and it is poverty that makes the child to
work for gaining money in his early age. In fact, every form of child exploitation is linked to
poverty.
Most of the children involved are working to assist their families. For some it is necessary to
work to raise money for their education. To others it is a way to help their parents generate
more income to pay for basic needs such as food.
As i described above that in India in villages most of the families are BPL families and they
do not have sufficient food to eat so they wants to send their child in to factories and
somewhere to work.
Its poverty that forces them to push their young kids into the gallows because at theend of
the day, its money that matter to them. We can say, child labour and poverty are just two
sides of a coin. Poverty is the head and child labour is the tail. If the tail has to becut then the
head needs to be chopped off first.

ILLETERACY AND LACK OF EDUCATION:

This is also considered as the one of the greatest reason behind child labour. In india in
villages most of the peoples are illiterate and they never wished to send their children outside
of their villages. Once when i was doing my winter internship in VikalpSansthan we went to
schedule areas and we were asking them that why they are not sending their children to the
school then they replied that we do not want to send our child to the schools because he will
earn more money if he will do his paternal work. They also said that if he study and became
an officer he will forget us and never comes to meet us.

Illiteracy is a situation when a person is not able to read and/or write. This is when the person
is not in a position to get even primary education. Lack of education is another aspect which
is a result of illiteracy and lack of information. An uneducated person is one who is generally
unaware of things which an average person is required to know. Such people are normally

18

unaware of their human rights and the rights of their children too. The children of such
people normally become child labourers around their homes.

Illiterate and ignorant parents do not understand the need for wholesome proper physical,
cognitive and emotional development of their child. They are themselves uneducated and
unexposed, so they dont realize the importance of education for their children.

Illiteracy is at the root of many problems. Parents who are uneducated tend to send their
children to work instead of to study. Moreover, they may feel that primary education, which
is offered for free by the government, will not be enough to earn the child a good wage.
Therefore, they prefer to send their children to work at very young ages so that they can
master the work by the time they become teenagers. In addition, parents with a large number
of children and often other family members at home need extra income from their children to
lead a normal life, having three meals every day. Thus, often parents, who want their children
to go to school, dont send their child to the school.
IRRESPONSIBLE ATTITUDE OF EMPLOYERS:
A general sense of irresponsibility towards society is seen the employers in India who are
least bothered as to how their employees survive. In spite of being aware of the high cost of
living and inflation they are least bothered and least ashamed to pay wages which are much

19

below sustenance levels. Also if the employers were responsible they in the first place would
not employ children at all.

HIGH POPULATION:
This is also the thinking of the people that in todays world the population is very high and
continuously increasing and each and every person will not get job. Even if our child will go
to the schools and we spend money on that that will in vain because he will not job. I have
seen many instances of small children in villages caring for the cows and doing other
household work, because their parents do not send them to the school.
The industrialists in India have been successful in taking advantage of this disadvantage
faced by job seekers. Due to high population the job seekers not in a position to bargain a
higher wage. As a result the poor remain poor working for low wages and people engage
their child in the work.

IMPORTANCE TO THE AGRICULTURE:

Historically the working force of child workers is more in rural areas compared to urban
settings. Nine out of ten village children are employed in household industries and craftwork
and in agriculture. Children are more employed by their parents in the agriculture sector
because as India is the agriculture based country and more people are willing to do the
agriculture and definitely they earn good money from that but when the period of drought
comes people cannt do agriculture as there is no water especially in Rajasthan then the
people starts to go to the factories for working and also they took their childrens with them.

20

BONDED CHILD LABOUR:

Bonded labouris a hidden cause of child labour. Bonded labour means the employment of a
person against a loan or debt or social obligation by the family of the child or the family as a
whole. It is a form of slavery. Children who are bonded with their family or inherit a debt
from their parents are often found in agricultural sector or assisting their families in brick
kilns, and stone quarries. Individual pledging of children is a growing occurrence that usually
leads to trafficking of children to urban areas for employment and have children working in
small production houses versus factories. Bonded labourers in India are mostly migrant
workers, which opens them up to more exploitation. Also they mostly come from low caste
groups such as dalits or marginalised tribal groups. Bonded child labourers are at very high
risk for physical and sexual abuse and neglect sometimes leading to death. They often are
psychologically and mentally disturbed and have not learnt many social skills or survival
skills.
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION:
The industrial revolution has also had a negative effect by giving rise to circumstances which
encourages child labour. Sometimes multi-nationals prefer to employ child labourers in
developing countries especially in garment industries only because they can be recruited for
less pay and more work can be extracted from them and there is no problem of union with
them. This attitude also makes it difficult for adults to find job in factories, forcing them to
drive their little ones to work in factories.

FATALIST ATTITUDE OF THE POOR TOWARDS LIFE :

Most of the people belonging to the lowest strata of society in India have a fatalist and
submissive attitude towards life. They do not believe that that their lot can be better. Their
fathers were workers and they will also engage their children in the labour, they dont think
that their position can be better if their child study.

ORPHANAGE:
Orphanage is another reason of child labour. Children born out of wed-lock, children with no
parents and relatives, often do not find anyone to support which forces them to work for their
own survival. The person who is the owner of the orphanage 1st tells the people that they will

21

allow the children to study but slowely and gradually they starts to put them under the child
labour .
TRADITION OF MAKING CHILDREN LEARNS THE FAMILY SKILLS:
It is evident in the rural areas that the paternalistic profession is generally imitated by his
sons also, Since the collective aim of the family is to yield pecuniary benefits, they have none
other resort left but to incorporate ones own child in the money making so as to facilitate
their prosperity. A person who is by work Potter in the village always tries and wants to
make his child more skilful in this wok he will not admit his son in the school.
SOCIAL APATHY AND TOLERANCE OF CHILD LABOUR:
It is a socially rooted conviction in the common people that rather than sending their children
to schools for receiving education, they should be used in labouring so as to achieve the
target of money making for their sole survival. In today in villages if a person send their girl
daughter to schools then the person of the society tells them that why are you westing your
money on her one day she will go in others house so its better to engage her in the work and
hence they give her stress to work in the factories etc.

PARENTAL IGNORANCE REGARDING THE BAD EFFECTS OF CHILD

LABOUR :
The practice of child labour not just devoid a child of his basic rights to live and study but
also affects his future. Parents are ignorant about what will be the bad effects of child labour
They put stress on their child to work in the factories and in reaustraunts and at cheap shops
they are unaware about the bad effects of child labour, they are unaware It is also very
difficult to immature minds and undeveloped bodies to understand and organise themselves
against exploitation in the absence of adult guidance.

22

REMEDIES TO REMOVE CHILD LABOUR

1)

MODIFY PARENTS ATTITUDES with respect to need for help, education,

recreation for children, rights for children and responsibilities of parents,
education and vocational skill training.

2)

STRENGTHEN compulsory education, neighbourhood schools need to attract

and motivate the girls and boys.

3)

PROVIDE neighbourhood child care , crche services so that girls are not retained
at home for baby sitting when the mothers go out for work.

4)

USE MASS MEDIA for creating awareness with respect to the need of children.

5)

STRENGTHEN EMPLOYMENT GENERATION, minimum wage and such

other programme to provide employment to men and women in the family.

6)

COOPERATIONS OF GOVERNMENT and Voluntary organization is needed

eradicate child labour completely.

Governments policies
Child labour is a matter on which both the Union Government and state governments can
legislate. A number of legislative initiatives have been undertaken at both levels. The
problem of child labour continues to pose a challenge before the state. Government has been
taking various pro-active measures to tackle this problem. However, considering the
magnitude and extent of the problem and that it is essentially a socio-economic problem
inextricably linked to poverty and illiteracy, it requires concerted efforts from all sections of
the society to make a dent in the problem.

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986: The Act prohibits the
employment of children below the age of 14 years in 13 occupations and 57 processes that
are hazardous to the children's lives and health. These occupations and processes are listed in
the Schedule to the Act;

23

The Factories Act, 1948: The Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14
years. A teenager aged between 15 and 18 years can be employed in a factory only if he
obtains a certificate of fitness from an authorized medical doctor. According to this Act child
aged between 14 and 18 can work per day four and a half hour and prohibits their working
during night hours. An important judicial intervention in the action against child labour in
India was the 1996 Supreme Court judgment, directing the Union and state governments to
identify all children working in hazardous processes and occupations, to withdraw them from
work, and to provide them with quality education. The Court also directed that a Child
Labour Rehabilitation-cum-Welfare Fund be set up using contributions from employers who
contravene the Child Labour Act.

LAW REGARDING CHILD LABOUR:

The constitution of India provides safeguards against child labour.
ARTICLE 24 lays down that no child below 14 yrs shall be employed in any
factory , mine or any other hazardous work
A number of ACTS has been enacted to prohibit the employment of children in
hazardous occupations, regulate their hours of work and other work conditions.
The child labour prohibition and regulation Act has recently been passed in 1986 . It
is the central Act applicable to the whole country.
Initiatives towards Elimination of Child Labour Action Plan and Present Strategy
The problem of child labour continues to pose a challenge before the nation. Government has
been taking various pro-active measures to tackle this problem. However, considering the
magnitude and extent of the problem and that it is essentially a socio-economic problem
inextricably linked to poverty and illiteracy, it requires concerted efforts from all sections of
the society to make a dent in the probleWay back in 1979, Government formed the first
committee called Gurupadswamy Committee to study the issue of child labour and to suggest
measures to tackle it. The Committee examined the problem in detail and made some farreaching recommendations. It observed that as long as poverty continued, it would be
difficult to totally eliminate child labour and hence, any attempt to abolish it through legal
recourse would not be a practical proposition. The Committee felt that in the circumstances,
the only alternative left was to ban child labour in hazardous areas and to regulate and
ameliorate the conditions of work in other areas. It recommended that a multiple policy
approach was required in dealing with the problems of working children. m. Based on the
recommendations of Gurupadaswamy Committee, the Child Labour (Prohibition &
Regulation) Act was enacted in 1986. The Act prohibits employment of children in certain
24

specified hazardous occupations and processes and regulates the working conditions in
others. The list of hazardous occupations and processes is progressively being expanded on
the recommendation of Child Labour Technical Advisory Committee constituted under the
Act.
In consonance with the above approach, a National Policy on Child Labour was formulated in
1987. The Policy seeks to adopt a gradual & sequential approach with a focus on
rehabilitation of children working in hazardous occupations & processes in the first instance.
The Action Plan outlined in the Policy for tackling this problem is as follows:
Legislative Action Plan for strict enforcement of Child Labour Act and other labour laws to
ensure that children are not employed in hazardous employments, and that the working
conditions of children working in non-hazardous areas are regulated in accordance with the
provisions of the Child Labour Act. It also entails further identification of additional
occupations and processes, which are detrimental to the health and safety of the children.
Focusing of General Developmental Programmes for Benefiting Child Labour As
poverty is the root cause of child labour, the action plan emphasizes the need to cover these
children and their families also under various poverty alleviation and employment generation
schemes of the Government.
Project Based Plan of Action envisages starting of projects in areas of high concentration of
child labour. Pursuant to this, in 1988, the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme
was launched in 9 districts of high child labour endemicity in the country. The Scheme
envisages running of special schools for child labour withdrawn from work. In the special
schools, these children are provided formal/non-formal education along with vocational
training, a stipend of Rs.100 per month, supplementary nutrition and regular health check ups
so as to prepare them to join regular mainstream schools. Under the Scheme, funds are given
to the District Collectors for running special schools for child labour. Most of these schools
are run by the NGOs in the district.
Government has accordingly been taking proactive steps to tackle this problem through strict
enforcement of legislative provisions along with simultaneous rehabilitative measures. State
Governments, which are the appropriate implementing authorities, have been conducting
regular inspections and raids to detect cases of violations. Since poverty is the root cause of
this problem, and enforcement alone cannot help solve it, Government has been laying a lot
of emphasis on the rehabilitation of these children and on improving the economic conditions
of their families.

The coverage of the NCLP Scheme has increased from 12 districts in 1988 to 100 districts in
the 9th Plan to 250 districts during the 10th Plan.
Strategy for the elimination of child labour under the 10th Plan
An evaluation of the Scheme was carried out by independent agencies in coordination
with V. V. Geri National Labour Institute in 2001. Based on the recommendations of the
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evaluation and experience of implementing the scheme since 1988, the strategy for
implementing the scheme during the 10th Plan was devised. It aimed at greater convergence
with the other developmental schemes and bringing qualitative changes in the Scheme. Some
of the salient points of the 10th Plan Strategy are as follows:
Focused and reinforced action to eliminate child labour in the hazardous occupations by the
end of the Plan period.
Expansion of National Child Labour Projects to additional 150 districts.
Linking the child labour elimination efforts with the Scheme of SarvaShikshaAbhiyan of
Ministry of Human Resource Development to ensure that children in the age group of 5-8
years get directly admitted to regular schools and that the older working children are
mainstreamed to the formal education system through special schools functioning under the
NCLP Scheme.
Convergence with other Schemes of the Departments of Education, Rural Development,
Health and Women and Child Development for the ultimate attainment of the objective in a
time bound manner.
The Government and the Ministry of Labour & Employment in particular, are rather serious
in their efforts to fight and succeed in this direction. The number of districts covered under
the NCLP Scheme has been increased from 100 to 250, as mentioned above in this note. In
addition, 21 districts have been covered under INDUS, a similar Scheme for rehabilitation of
child labour in cooperation with US Department of Labour. Implementation of this Project
was recently reviewed during the visit of Mr. Steven Law, Deputy Secretary of State, from
the USA. For the Districts not covered under these two Schemes, Government is also
providing funds directly to the NGOs under the Ministrys Grants-in-aid Scheme for running
Special Schools for rehabilitation of child labour, thereby providing for a greater role and
cooperation of the civil society in combating this menace.
Elimination of child labour is the single largest programme in this Ministrys activities. Apart
from a major increase in the number of districts covered under the scheme, the priority of the
Government in this direction is evident in the quantum jump in budgetary allocation during
the 10th Plan. Government has allocated Rs. 602 crores for the Scheme during the 10th Plan,
as against an expenditure of Rs. 178 crores in the 9th Plan. The resources set aside for
combating this evil in the Ministry is around 50 per cent of its total annual budget.
The implementation of NCLP and INDUS Schemes is being closely monitored through
periodical reports, frequent visits and meetings with the District and State Government
officials. The Governments commitment to achieve tangible results in this direction in a time
bound manner is also evident from the fact that in the recent Regional Level Conferences of
District Collectors held in Hyderabad, Pune, Mussoorie and Kolkata district-wise review of
the Scheme was conducted at the level of Secretary. These Conferences provided an excellent
opportunity to have one-to-one interaction with the Collectors, who play a pivotal role in the
implementation of these Schemes in the District. Besides, these Conferences also helped in a
big way in early operationalisation of Scheme in the newly selected 150 districts.
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The Government is committed to eliminate child labour in all its forms and is
moving in this direction in a targeted manner. The multipronged strategy being followed by
the Government to achieve this objective also found its echo during the recent discussions
held in the Parliament on the Private Members Bill tabled by Shri Iqbal Ahmed Saradgi. It
was unanimously recognized therein that the problem of child labour, being inextricably
linked with poverty and illiteracy, cannot be solved by legislation alone, and that a holistic,
multipronged and concerted effort to tackle this problem will bring in the desired results.

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Conclusion
Child labour is a big issue in India. Government made many policies for stopping the child
labour but the problem is that thses policies are not properly implemented. Most of the
peoples in the villages are illiterate government should implement policise by which they can
be make aware of the bad impact of child labour. Eradication of child labour is not an easy
task; preventive strategies are more sustainable in the long run. One of the major preventive
strategies, which must feature in any national child labour eradication policy, is the role of
social mobilization and community participation. It is vital to ensure that children stay at
home and go to formal government schools rather than leave home to work full time. There
has to be a national campaign to invoke public interest and large-scale awareness on this
issue, there is a need for an extensive awareness generation campaign launched over a period
of time at the Centre and State on a sustained basis. Child labourers are spread across the
country; working in dispersed villages and slums. The eradication of child labour cannot be
done by the labour department alone, as it is so under-staffed. Labour department needs to
have a cadre of youth volunteers who can be trained as Social Mobilisers who will be
responsible for withdrawing children from work as well as monitoring school dropouts and
children with irregularity of attendance. It is understood that if such children are not tracked
they would join the labour force as child labour. children are the future of country, they must
be protected from any type of works .

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BIBLOGRAPHY
* Research methodology (national research)
*www.resarch methodology.com.in
*www.CHILDLABOUR.com

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