Lok Sabha Question No. 3440 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-09
Subject: Child Labour in Hand-made Carpets
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Satyadev Pachauri

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3440 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.08.2021

## CHILD LABOUR IN HAND-MADE CARPETS

†3440. SHRI SATYADEV PACHAURI:

Will  the  Minister  of  LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

- (a)whether the U.S.A. Labour Department has threatened to put India in  the  category  of  child  labourers  on  the  issue  of  employing  child labourers in hand-made carpets;
- (b)if so, the impact thereof on India's exports;
- (c)the basis on which U.S.A. has threatened to do so;
- (d)the  measures  taken  to  implement  child  labour  laws  effectively  in the country;
- (e)whether child labour is still going on in certain areas; and
- (f)if  so,  the  number  of  complaints  received  in  this  regard  along  with
- State-wise details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI RAMESWAR TELI)

- (a) to (c): As  per  the  information  received  from  the  Department  of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, the United States Department of Labour (USDOL) publishes periodically  the  list  of  'Goods  Produced  by  Child  Labour  and  Forced labour', also known as the TVPRA List under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorisation Act 2005 of USA. Indian Carpets has been one  of  the  products  listed  in  the  reports  since  the  year  2009.  The listing  of  goods  in  the  TVPRA  list  by  itself  does  not  result  in  any restrictions.

(d) & (e): The  Government  is  following  a  multi-pronged  strategy  for elimination of child labour comprising of legislative measures, projectbased rehabilitation and emphasis on universal elementary education.

Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 has been amended in the 2016.  The amended Act is now called the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 which interalia  provides  for  complete  prohibition  of      work  or  employment  of children below 14 years of age in any occupation and processes and prohibition  of  adolescents  in  the  age  group  of  14  to  18  years  in hazardous  occupations  and  processes.  The  Act  also  provides  for stricter  punishment  for  employers  for  violation  of  the  Act  and  has made the offence as cognizable.

The Rules framed under the Act, 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 properly enforced.

- (f): As per the information received from National Crime Records  Bureau,  the  latest  published  data  pertains  to  2019,  and according to which 770 number of cases were registered under Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 during 2019. State-wise details of the cases registered are at Annexure.

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## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (f)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UN-STARRED QUESTION  NO.  3440    FOR  09.08.2021  BY  SHRI  SATYADEV  PACHAURI REGARDING CHILD LABOUR IN HAND-MADE CARPETS .

| Sl. No   | State / Union Territories          |   Cases Registered |
|----------|------------------------------------|--------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh                     |                  2 |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh                  |                  0 |
| 3        | Assam                              |                 68 |
| 4        | Bihar                              |                 15 |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh                       |                  2 |
| 6        | Goa                                |                  0 |
| 7        | Gujarat                            |                 64 |
| 8        | Haryana                            |                 11 |
| 9        | Himachal Pradesh                   |                  0 |
| 10       | Jammu &Kashmir ( including Ladakh) |                  0 |
| 11       | Jharkhand                          |                 18 |
| 12       | Karnataka                          |                 83 |
| 13       | Kerala                             |                  2 |
| 14       | Madhya Pradesh                     |                  4 |
| 15       | Maharashtra                        |                 53 |
| 16       | Manipur                            |                  0 |
| 17       | Meghalaya                          |                  2 |
| 18       | Mizoram                            |                  0 |
| 19       | Nagaland                           |                  0 |
| 20       | Odisha                             |                  0 |
| 21       | Punjab                             |                  8 |
| 22       | Rajasthan                          |                 48 |
| 23       | Sikkim                             |                  0 |
| 24       | Tamil Nadu                         |                  3 |
| 25       | Telangana                          |                314 |
| 26       | Tripura                            |                  0 |
| 27       | Uttar Pradesh                      |                  9 |
| 28       | Uttarakhand                        |                 27 |
| 29       | West Bengal                        |                  5 |
|          | TOTAL STATE (S)                    |                738 |
| 30       | A&N Islands                        |                  0 |
| 31       | Chandigarh                         |                  0 |
| 32       | D&N Haveli                         |                  0 |
| 33       | Daman &Diu                         |                  2 |
| 34       | Delhi                              |                 30 |
| 35       | Lakshadweep                        |                  0 |
| 36       | Puducherry                         |                  0 |
|          | TOTAL UT(S)                        |                 32 |
|          | TOTAL (ALL INDIA)                  |                770 |

Source: Crime in India, 2019 : A  publication of National Crime Records Bureau.

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