Lok Sabha Question No. 982 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-18
Subject: Improvement of Nutrition Level
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Anil Firojiya

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 982

TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.09.2020

## IMPROVEMENT OF NUTRITION LEVEL

## 982. SHRI ANIL FIROJIYA:

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

- (a) whether  any  Committee  has  been  constituted  to  look    into  the  matters    related  to reduction of Maternity Mortality Ratio (MMR) and improvement of nutritional intake;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether fight against child labour needs to be mobilised further into a movement;
- (d) if so, the steps taken in this regard to effectively curb the problem?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  &  (b)  Ministry  of  Health  and  Family  Welfare  has  constituted  committees  to  look  into  the matters related to reduction of Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) at the following levels:

-  National  level :  National  Level  Maternal  Death  Surveillance  &  Response  Committee (NMDSRC).
-  State level: State Level Monitoring and Review Committee for MDR (SMRC-MDR)
-  District level: District Maternal Death Review Committee.

An Executive Committee has been set up under the Chairpersonship of Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development with representation of line Ministries and States for nutrition related activities for children and  women  providing  direction,  policy and  guidelines for implementation of various programmes/schemes under the POSHAN Abhiyaan.

(c) & (d)  The Ministry of Labour and Employment implements the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme for rehabilitation  of  child  labourer.  Under  the  NCLP,  the  children  in  the  age group  of  9-14  years  are  rescued/  withdrawn  from  work  and  enrolled  in  the  NCLP  Special Training Centres, where they are provided with bridge education, vocational training, mid-day meal, stipend, health care, etc. before being mainstreamed into formal education system.  The children in the age group of 5-8 years are directly linked to the formal education system through close  coordination  with  the  Sarva  Shiksha  Abhiyan.  The  Scheme  is  implemented  by  District Project Societies under the Chairpersonship of the administrative head of the district, namely District Magistrate/Deputy Commissioner/District Collector of the district.

To ensure effective enforcement of the provisions of the Child Labour Act and smooth implementation  of  NCLP  Scheme,  a  dedicated  online  portal  named  PENCiL  (Platform  for Effective  Enforcement  for  No  Child  Labour)  has  been  developed  for  better  monitoring  and ensuring timely disposal of work with transparency.

Further,  Government  has  also  enacted  Juvenile  Justice  (Care  and  Protection  of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act) which provides that a child who is found working in contravention of the  labour  laws  for  the  time  being  in  force  and  is  found  begging,  or  living  on  the  street  is considered as 'child in need of care and protection.' The Act mandates a security net of service delivery  structures  to  provide  Institutional  and  non-Institutional  care  to  these  children.  The primary responsibility of execution of Act, as such, lies with the States/UTs.

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