Lok Sabha Question No. 4526 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-20
Subject: Child Marriages
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Vijay Kumar Hansdak

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UN-STARRED QUESTION NO.4526

TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.03.2020

## CHILD MARRIAGES

## 4526.  SHRI VIJAY KUMAR HANSDAK:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the incidents of child marriages have increased over the years and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has taken any action to prevent and end child marriages;
- (c) if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the number of child marriages reported in the country during the last three years, State-wise, year-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) to (d): The percentage of women (in the age group of 20-24 years), who were married  before  the  age  of  18  years,  has    reduced  from  47.4%  in  2005-06  as  per National Family Health Survey(NFHS)-3 to 26.8% in 2015-16 as per the National Family Health  Survey  (NFHS)-4.    As  per  National  Crime  Records  Bureau  (NCRB)  Report, State-wise  number  of  child  marriages  reported  in  the  country  during  the  years  2016, 2017 and 2018 is at Annexure .

The Government of India has enacted the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 in  order  to  prohibit  child  marriages  rather  than  only  restraining  them.  The  States/UTs are being pursued from time to time for effective implementation of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India regularly sends out letters to States/UTs to increase alertness to prevent underage marriages during festivals such as Akshaya Tritiya/Akha Teej etc.

The practice of Child Marriages is largely due to the prevailing social customs, tradition,  illiteracy,  poverty,  low  status  of  women  in  society  and  lack  of  awareness. These issues cannot be tackled by legislative interventions alone. The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao  (BBBP)  scheme  envisages  education  of  girls  and  reduce  dropouts,  thus delaying their marriage. A significant part of the BBBP advocacy campaign is focused on  creating  awareness  on  and  discouraging  the  practice  of  child  marriage.  This  is  a continuous  process  and  Government  undertakes  media  campaigns  and  outreach programmes to address the issue of child marriage.

Annexure

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  to  (c)  TO  THE  LOK SABHA  UN-STARRED  QUESTION  NO.4526  FOR  20.03.2020  ASKED  BY SHRI VIJAY KUMAR HANSDAK REGARDING 'CHILD MARRIAGES'

State-wise  number of child  marriages  reported  in  the  country  during  the year 2016, 2017 and 2018

| S. No.   | States/UTs        |   2016 |   2017 |   2018 |
|----------|-------------------|--------|--------|--------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh    |     19 |     15 |     14 |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 3        | Assam             |     23 |     58 |     88 |
| 4        | Bihar             |      0 |     17 |     35 |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh      |      8 |      1 |      2 |
| 6        | Goa               |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 7        | Gujarat           |     12 |      6 |      8 |
| 8        | Haryana           |     14 |     18 |     21 |
| 9        | Himachal Pradesh  |      0 |      5 |      9 |
| 10       | Jammu &Kashmir    |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 11       | Jharkhand         |      4 |      1 |      7 |
| 12       | Karnataka         |     51 |     65 |     73 |
| 13       | Kerala            |      8 |     15 |     18 |
| 14       | Madhya Pradesh    |      9 |      5 |      3 |
| 15       | Maharashtra       |     16 |     20 |     13 |
| 16       | Manipur           |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 17       | Meghalaya         |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 18       | Mizoram           |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 19       | Nagaland          |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 20       | Odisha            |     15 |     17 |     22 |
| 21       | Punjab            |      8 |      8 |      6 |
| 22       | Rajasthan         |     12 |      6 |     11 |
| 23       | Sikkim            |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 24       | Tamil Nadu        |     55 |     55 |     67 |
| 25       | Telangana         |     19 |     25 |     24 |
| 26       | Tripura           |      1 |      1 |      1 |
| 27       | Uttar Pradesh     |      3 |      4 |      4 |
| 28       | Uttarakhand       |      1 |      1 |      2 |
| 29       | West Bengal       |     41 |     49 |     70 |
| 30       | A &NIslands       |      1 |      0 |      0 |
| 31       | Chandigarh        |      0 |      2 |      2 |
| 32       | D&N Haveli        |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 33       | Daman &Diu        |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 34       | Delhi UT          |      1 |      1 |      1 |
| 35       | Lakshadweep       |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 36       | Puducherry        |      5 |      0 |      0 |
|          | Total             |    326 |    395 |    501 |

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