Lok Sabha Question No. 1078 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-08
Subject: Orphanages
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Pashupati Nath Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1078

TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.12.2023

## ORPHANAGES

1078. SHRI PASHUPATI NATH SINGH:

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

- (a) whether the Government have taken any step to identify orphans in the country;
- (b) if so, the details and the outcomes thereof;
- (c) the details of the total number of the orphanages functioning in the country and the number of children lodged in those orphanages during the last three years, State/UT-wise especially in Jharkhand;
- (d) whether the Government proposes to launch any new scheme for the education and development of the children living in these orphanages;
- (e) if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) the funds allocated/released and utilized for running such orphanages during the last three years?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (f) : The  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  is  administering  the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act, 2015) (as amended in 2021) which is the primary legislation for ensuring safety, security, dignity and wellbeing of children in need of care and protection and those in conflict with law by catering to their basic needs through care, protection, development, treatment, rehabilitation and social re-integration.

As per section 2(42) of JJ Act, 2015, an orphan means a child who is without biological or adoptive parents or legal guardian or whose legal guardian is not willing to take or capable of taking care of the child.

Under  the  JJ  Act  2015,  the  Child  Welfare  Committees  (CWCs) have  been empowered to take decisions with regard to the children in need of care and protection including orphaned, abandoned and surrendered. They are also mandated to monitor the function of the Child Care Institutions (CCIs). Similarly, the Juvenile Justice Boards

(JJBs) are empowered to take decisions regarding the welfare of children in conflict with law. The Act defines standards of care and protection to secure the best interest of children living in CCIs and aims to provide family environment through non-institutional care services which includes sponsorship, fostercare and aftercare.

State/UT-wise total  number  of  the  Child  Care  Institutions  (CCIs)  including Jharkhand and beneficiaries funded under Mission Vatsalya Scheme during the last three years is at Annexure-I. State/UT-wise total number of children supported under Non-Institutional  Care  of  Mission  Vatsalya Scheme during the last three years is at Annexure-II. The  number  of  children  supported  under  sponsorship  i.e.,  NonInstitutional Care has increased by more than 100% from 2021-22 to 2022-23.

Under the JJ Act, 2015 (Sections 27-30), the Child Welfare Committees have been empowered to take decisions with regard to the children in need of care and protection  including  orphans,  keeping  their  best  interest  in  mind.  They  are  also mandated to monitor the functioning of the Child Care Institutions (CCIs). Similarly, the Juvenile  Justice  Boards  are  empowered  to  take  decisions  regarding  the  welfare  of children in conflict with law (Sections 04-09).

The Ministry has notified the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2021), which has come into effect from 01.09.2022. The Ministry  has  also  notified  the  Juvenile  Justice  (Care  and  Protection  of  Children) Amendment Model Rules, 2022 on 01.09.2022 and Adoption Regulations, 2022 on 23.09.2022.  Among  others,  the  Juvenile  Justice (Care and  Protection  of  Children) Amendment Act, 2021 empowers the District Magistrate to function as the focal point for implementation of JJ Act, 2015 and decide the cases of adoption.

The Adoption Regulations, 2022 inter-alia include empowerment of the District Magistrates to issue adoption orders within 60 days, time lines at various stages like uploading of Legally Free for Adoption (LFA)  within ten days, examination of special needs  children  within  a  period  of  fifteen  days  by  the  Chief  Medical  Officer  and verification of adoption application documents by District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) within five days, child can now be adopted by the foster family after 2 years instead of earlier provision of 5 years. Further, the Ministry has issued advisory to all States/UTs to  link  the  CCIs  with  Child  Adoption  Resource  Information  and  Guidance  System (CARINGS) portal. Further, as per Rule-44 of JJ Model Rules (as amended in 2022), every child who does not get a family either in in-country or in inter-country adoption and is placed under the hard to place category, shall be eligible to be placed in foster care, by the CWC on the recommendation of the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) or the Specialised Adoption Agency.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has introduced Mission Vatsalya Scheme  by  subsuming  the  erstwhile  Child  Protection  Services  Scheme  for  care, protection,  rehabilitation  and  reintegration  of  children  in  difficult  circumstances  on predefined cost sharing basis between the Central and the State Governments.  Such children have access to both institutional and non-institutional care as per Individual Care Plan (ICP) as mandated JJ Act, 2015 (as amended in 2021). CCIs provide/support for  boarding  &  lodging,  age-appropriate  education,  access  to  vocational  training, recreation, health care, counselling etc.  Mission Vatsalya Scheme fosters family based care through promotion of adoption and non-institutional care services.

The  details  of  funds  released  and  utilized  to  the  States/UTs  under  Mission Vatsalya Scheme including for setting up and maintenance of CCI during last three years i.e. 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, are as under :

(Rs. in lakh)

|   Sl. No. | Year    |   Funds Released | Funds Utilized   |
|-----------|---------|------------------|------------------|
|         1 | 2020-21 |          70977.5 | 68736.15         |
|         2 | 2021-22 |          63546.2 | 62147.60         |
|         3 | 2022-23 |          88476   | --               |

****

ANNEXURE-I

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (A)  TO  (F)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1078 FOR ANSWER ON 08.12.2023 BY SHRI PASHUPATI NATH SINGH REGARDING ORPHANAGES

STATE/UT-WISE TOTAL  NUMBER  OF  THE  CCIS  INCLUDING  JHARKHAND  AND BENEFICIARIES  FUNDED  UNDER  MISSION  VATSALYA  SCHEME  DURING  THE  LAST THREE YEARS

| S. No.   | State/UTs                            | 2020-21   | 2020-21       | 2021-22   | 2021-22       | 2022-23   | 2022-23       |
|----------|--------------------------------------|-----------|---------------|-----------|---------------|-----------|---------------|
| S. No.   | State/UTs                            | CCIs      | Beneficiaries | CCIs      | Beneficiaries | CCIs      | Beneficiaries |
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh                       | 92        | 3012          | 92        | 3069          | 84        | 1504          |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh                    | 6         | 195           | 8         | 147           | 11        | 206           |
| 3        | Assam                                | 67        | 1624          | 64        | 1378          | 67        | 1380          |
| 4        | Bihar                                | 65        | 1844          | 80        | 2372          | 78        | 2088          |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh                         | 87        | 2169          | 85        | 2167          | 83        | 1974          |
| 6        | Goa                                  | 24        | 798           | 23        | 685           | 25        | 526           |
| 7        | Gujarat                              | 78        | 1946          | 81        | 1299          | 78        | 1651          |
| 8        | Haryana                              | 52        | 2017          | 50        | 1786          | 49        | 1239          |
| 9        | Himachal Pradesh                     | 36        | 1264          | 37        | 1147          | 38        | 805           |
| 10       | Jammu and Kashmir                    | 14        | 759           | 16        | 579           | 39        | 817           |
| 11       | Jharkhand                            | 55        | 1767          | 50        | 1537          | 50        | 1219          |
| 12       | Karnataka                            | 153       | 4303          | 164       | 3974          | 154       | 3182          |
| 13       | Kerala                               | 44        | 591           | 41        | 1380          | 47        | 697           |
| 14       | Madhya Pradesh                       | 100       | 2976          | 103       | 2982          | 104       | 2292          |
| 15       | Maharashtra                          | 102       | 3716          | 107       | 3468          | 112       | 3654          |
| 16       | Manipur                              | 80        | 1966          | 81        | 1980          | 86        | 2121          |
| 17       | Meghalaya                            | 52        | 975           | 52        | 915           | 54        | 972           |
| 18       | Mizoram                              | 50        | 1018          | 49        | 776           | 49        | 914           |
| 19       | Nagaland                             | 44        | 770           | 43        | 597           | 44        | 493           |
| 20       | Orissa                               | 133       | 7392          | 130       | 7077          | 140       | 4153          |
| 21       | Punjab                               | 25        | 681           | 25        | 685           | 27        | 607           |
| 22       | Rajasthan                            | 146       | 5130          | 159       | 3670          | 156       | 2560          |
| 23       | Sikkim                               | 22        | 519           | 22        | 534           | 23        | 526           |
| 24       | Tamil Nadu                           | 229       | 13819         | 225       | 13877         | 221       | 7785          |
| 25       | Tripura                              | 34        | 832           | 33        | 875           | 34        | 829           |
| 26       | Uttar Pradesh                        | 120       | 4965          | 104       | 4722          | 100       | 3238          |
| 27       | Uttarakhand                          | 32        | 511           | 32        | 457           | 33        | 700           |
| 28       | West Bengal                          | 132       | 5257          | 137       | 6494          | 164       | 6220          |
| 29       | Telangana                            | 51        | 1626          | 56        | 2822          | 62        | 1129          |
| 30       | Andaman & Nicobar                    | 11        | 360           | 12        | 301           | 10        | 308           |
| 31       | Chandigarh                           | 8         | 297           | 8         | 153           | 8         | 202           |
| 32       | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | 3         | 60            | 4         | 5             | 4         | 28            |
| 33       | Ladakh                               | 0         | 0             | 0         | 0             | 1         | 25            |
| 34       | Lakshadweep                          | 0         | 0             | 1         | 0             | 1         | 0             |
| 35       | Delhi                                | 40        | 1500          | 42        | 1835          | 39        | 1206          |
| 36       | Puducherry                           | 28        | 956           | 29        | 373           | 30        | 690           |
| Total    | Total                                | 2215      | 77615         | 2245      | 76118         | 2305      | 57940         |

ANNEXURE-II

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (A)  TO  (F)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1078 FOR ANSWER ON 08.12.2023 BY SHRI PASHUPATI NATH SINGH REGARDING ORPHANAGES

## STATE/UT-WISE TOTAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN SUPPORTED UNDER NONINSTITUTIONAL  CARE  of  MISSION  VATSALYA  SCHEME  DURING  THE  LAST  THREE YEARS

|   Sl. No. | States/UTs                |   No. of children covered during FY 2020-21 |   No. of children covered during FY 2021-22 |   No. of children covered during FY 2022-23 |
|-----------|---------------------------|---------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|
|         1 | Andaman & Nicobar Islands |                                          52 |                                          52 |                                           0 |
|         2 | Andhra Pradesh            |                                         144 |                                         144 |                                        9150 |
|         3 | Arunachal Pradesh         |                                         317 |                                         318 |                                         840 |
|         4 | Assam                     |                                         434 |                                         434 |                                         858 |
|         5 | Bihar                     |                                        1646 |                                        1646 |                                         504 |
|         6 | Chandigarh                |                                          67 |                                          67 |                                         199 |
|         7 | Chhattisgarh              |                                        1250 |                                        1250 |                                         288 |
|         8 | D & N.H and D & Diu       |                                         156 |                                         156 |                                         519 |
|         9 | Delhi                     |                                         521 |                                         521 |                                         980 |
|        10 | Goa                       |                                          13 |                                          13 |                                          27 |
|        11 | Gujarat                   |                                        1438 |                                        1438 |                                         506 |
|        12 | Haryana                   |                                        1042 |                                        1042 |                                        5155 |
|        13 | Himachal Pradesh          |                                         563 |                                         563 |                                        1347 |
|        14 | Jammu & Kashmir           |                                         980 |                                         979 |                                        1398 |
|        15 | Jharkhand                 |                                        1125 |                                        1125 |                                        3086 |
|        16 | Karnataka                 |                                        1375 |                                        1375 |                                        3875 |
|        17 | Kerala                    |                                         323 |                                         323 |                                        1133 |
|        18 | Ladakh                    |                                           0 |                                           0 |                                          29 |
|        19 | Lakshadweep               |                                           0 |                                           0 |                                           0 |
|        20 | Madhya Pradesh            |                                        2188 |                                        2188 |                                        2377 |
|        21 | Maharashtra               |                                        1688 |                                        1688 |                                        9844 |
|        22 | Manipur                   |                                         730 |                                         729 |                                        1120 |
|        23 | Meghalaya                 |                                         489 |                                         490 |                                        1028 |
|        24 | Mizoram                   |                                         396 |                                         396 |                                         591 |
|        25 | Nagaland                  |                                         521 |                                         521 |                                         752 |
|        26 | Odisha                    |                                        1375 |                                        1375 |                                        1772 |
|        27 | Puducherry                |                                         198 |                                         198 |                                         106 |
|        28 | Punjab                    |                                         263 |                                         263 |                                         612 |
|        29 | Rajasthan                 |                                        1438 |                                        1438 |                                         239 |
|        30 | Sikkim                    |                                         188 |                                         188 |                                         323 |
|        31 | Tamil Nadu                |                                        1521 |                                        1521 |                                        2975 |
|        32 | Telangana                 |                                        1563 |                                        1563 |                                        6454 |
|        33 | Tripura                   |                                         364 |                                         365 |                                         305 |
|        34 | Uttar Pradesh             |                                        3313 |                                        3313 |                                        1766 |
|        35 | Uttarakhand               |                                         573 |                                         573 |                                         847 |
|        36 | West Bengal               |                                        1083 |                                        1083 |                                        1670 |

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