PM CARES for Children: Ensuring Comprehensive Care and Well-Being

The Hon’ble Prime Minister announced PM CARES for Children scheme on 29.05.2021 to support children who lost both parents or surviving parent or legal guardian or adoptive parents due to COVID-19 pandemic during 11.03.2020 to 05.05.2023. The objective of the Scheme is to ensure comprehensive care and protection of Children in a sustained manner and enable their well being through health insurance, empower them through education and equip them for self-sufficient existence with financial support till 23 years of age. The scheme is accessible through an online portal i.e. www.pmcaresforchildren.in. Benefits under the Scheme have been given to 14 eligible children so far in Osmanabad district of Maharashtra. The Ministry of Women and Child Development ensured that its schemes/ programmes such as One Stop Centre, Child Care Institution, Shakti Sadan, Women Helpline etc remained available to assist women and children including single women household during Covid-19 pandemic for providing relief and rehabilitation services through basic amenities/ needs such as supplementary nutrition, shelter, food, clothing, medical treatment including counselling, legal aid, vocational training etc. During Covid, Take Home Ration was provided by Anganwadi Workers/ Helpers to all children in the age group 6 months to 6 years; Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers (PW&LM); and out of School Adolescent Girls at their homes every fortnight to ensure that Children and PW&LM do not suffer from malnutrition.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is mandated to monitor the implementation of The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.

NCPCR conducted a nationwide rescue campaign targeting child and adolescent labour. This operation focused on various labour-prone areas, including factories, dhabas, industries, hotels, and construction sites. The campaign ensured compliance with the Juvenile Justice Act 2015 and the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.

Further, Ministry of Labour and Employment has taken various measures to prevent Child Labour which include legislative measures providing right to free education and general socio-economic development. The details of statutory and legislative measures, rehabilitation strategy are as under:

• The Child and Adolescent Labour(Prohibition & Regulation) (CALPR) Act, 1986 inter-alia covers complete prohibition of work or employment of children below 14 years of age in any occupation or process and prohibition of adolescents in the age group of 14 to 18 years in hazardous occupations and processes. It also provides for stricter punishment for employers for violation of the Act and the offence has been made as cognizable.
• Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Rules, 1988 inter-alia, provide for District Nodal Officer (DNO) and Task Force at district level under chairpersonship of District Magistrate to ensure that the provisions of the Act are implemented properly.
• Ministry of Labour & Employment has developed an online portal PENCIL (Platform for Effective Enforcement of No Child Labour) for effective enforcement of CALPR Act. The portal has also a complaint corner for registering the complaint regarding child labour.

This information was given by the Minister of Women and Child Development Smt. Annapurna Devi in the Lok Sabha in reply to a question today.