Peer-reviewed article
Policies and Programmes on Child Labour in India
B. Ananda Naidu, Yachika Reddy ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines policies and programmes implemented in India to address child labour. Child labour in India persists despite legal prohibition of employment for children under 14 years, driven by poverty, family economic pressures, and adult unemployment. The document identifies multiple harms faced by child labourers including low wages, long hours, health problems, psychological effects, and exploitation. The research uses secondary data to review government responses to child labour.
Key points
- Employment of children under 14 years is legally prohibited in India but continues due to poverty and family economic hardship
- Children are hired because they are perceived as easier to manage, less aware of rights, less complaining, and pose no union problems
- Child labourers experience lower wages, longer working hours, ill health, poor psychological development, exploitation, and sexual harassment
- The study is based on secondary data analysis of policies and programmes rather than primary research
Limitations
The document does not provide specific details about which policies and programmes are evaluated, their outcomes, or evidence of effectiveness. It does not present empirical findings or data on the scale of child labour or impact of interventions.
Abstract
In all societies irrespective of caste, race or area children occupied a very important position. A Child is the bud of future citizen of a country. Child labour is necessitated by economic compulsions of the parents and in many cases of the children. Widespread unemployment and underemployment among the adult poor are the main reason which has given rise to child labour. The major reason for hiring children viz., children’s are easier to manage because they are less aware of rights, less complaining, more trust worthy, less troublesome and no problems of unions. Employment of children of less than 14 years is strictly prohibited in India, still due to different reasons such as poverty, poor economic support to families, family disorganization, etc, it is still prevailed. The child labourers are facing many of the problems such as lower wages, longer working hours, ill health, poor psychological development, exploitation, sexual harassment, etc. So, the present study is based on secondary data which encompasses policies and programmes taken by the authorities to curb the child labour menace in India.