Lok Sabha Question No. 2286 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-15
Subject: Programmes for Orphan Children
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Mitesh Rameshbhai (Bakabhai) Patel, Shardaben Anilbhai Patel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2286

TO BE ANSWERED ON 15.12.2023

## PROGRAMMES FOR ORPHAN CHILDREN

## 2286.  SHRI MITESH RAMESHBHAI PATEL (BAKABHAI): SHRIMATI SHARDABEN ANILBHAI PATEL:

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

- (a) whether there is any data on number of orphan children in the country;
- (b) if so, the number of orphan children, State-wise, during the last three years;
- (c) whether  there  are  any  specific  programmes  addressing  the  rights  of  orphan children and their wellbeing in the country, if so, the details thereof indicating the number of children covered under each programme, State-wise; and
- (d) whether there is any budget allocation for welfare of orphan children in the country, if  so,  the  details thereof indicating the amount allocated and number of orphan children benefitted during the said period?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (d) : 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 well-being of children in need of care and protection and those in conflict with law including orphans 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-wise total  number  of  beneficiaries  including  Orphans  in  the  Child  Care Institutions (CCIs) supported under Mission Vatsalya Scheme during the last three years is at Annexure-I. State-wise total number of children including Orphans supported under Non-Institutional  Care  of  Mission  Vatsalya  Scheme  during  the  last  three  years  is  at Annexure-II.

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  is  implementing  Mission Vatsalya Scheme (erstwhile Child Protection Services Scheme) through State and UT Governments for care, protection, rehabilitation and reintegration of children in difficult circumstances including orphans on predefined cost sharing basis between the Central and the State Governments.  Such children have access to both institutional and noninstitutional  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 to the States/UTs under Mission Vatsalya Scheme including funds allocated for the welfare of orphan children in the country during last three years i.e. 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, is at Annexure- III.

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ANNEXURE-I

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) TO (D) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2286 FOR ANSWER ON 15.12.2023 BY SHRI MITESH RAMESHBHAI  PATEL  (BAKABHAI)  AND  SHRIMATI  SHARDABEN  ANILBHAI PATEL REGARDING PROGRAMMES FOR ORPHAN CHILDREN

STATE-WISE TOTAL  NUMBER  OF  BENEFICIARIES  IN  THE  CHILD  CARE INSTITUTIONS INCLUDING ORPHANS SUPPORTED UNDER MISSION VATSALYA SCHEME DURING THE LAST THREE YEARS

| Sl. No.   | State/UTs                            |   2020-21 Beneficiaries |   2021-22 Beneficiaries |   2022-23 Beneficiaries |
|-----------|--------------------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh                       |                    3012 |                    3069 |                    1504 |
| 2         | Arunachal Pradesh                    |                     195 |                     147 |                     206 |
| 3         | Assam                                |                    1624 |                    1378 |                    1380 |
| 4         | Bihar                                |                    1844 |                    2372 |                    2088 |
| 5         | Chhattisgarh                         |                    2169 |                    2167 |                    1974 |
| 6         | Goa                                  |                     798 |                     685 |                     526 |
| 7         | Gujarat                              |                    1946 |                    1299 |                    1651 |
| 8         | Haryana                              |                    2017 |                    1786 |                    1239 |
| 9         | Himachal Pradesh                     |                    1264 |                    1147 |                     805 |
| 10        | Jammu and Kashmir                    |                     759 |                     579 |                     817 |
| 11        | Jharkhand                            |                    1767 |                    1537 |                    1219 |
| 12        | Karnataka                            |                    4303 |                    3974 |                    3182 |
| 13        | Kerala                               |                     591 |                    1380 |                     697 |
| 14        | Madhya Pradesh                       |                    2976 |                    2982 |                    2292 |
| 15        | Maharashtra                          |                    3716 |                    3468 |                    3654 |
| 16        | Manipur                              |                    1966 |                    1980 |                    2121 |
| 17        | Meghalaya                            |                     975 |                     915 |                     972 |
| 18        | Mizoram                              |                    1018 |                     776 |                     914 |
| 19        | Nagaland                             |                     770 |                     597 |                     493 |
| 20        | Orissa                               |                    7392 |                    7077 |                    4153 |
| 21        | Punjab                               |                     681 |                     685 |                     607 |
| 22        | Rajasthan                            |                    5130 |                    3670 |                    2560 |
| 23        | Sikkim                               |                     519 |                     534 |                     526 |
| 24        | Tamil Nadu                           |                   13819 |                   13877 |                    7785 |
| 25        | Tripura                              |                     832 |                     875 |                     829 |
| 26        | Uttar Pradesh                        |                    4965 |                    4722 |                    3238 |
| 27        | Uttarakhand                          |                     511 |                     457 |                     700 |
| 28        | West Bengal                          |                    5257 |                    6494 |                    6220 |
| 29        | Telangana                            |                    1626 |                    2822 |                    1129 |
| 30        | Andaman & Nicobar                    |                     360 |                     301 |                     308 |
| 31        | Chandigarh                           |                     297 |                     153 |                     202 |
| 32        | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu |                      60 |                       5 |                      28 |
| 33        | Ladakh                               |                       0 |                       0 |                      25 |
| 34        | Lakshadweep                          |                       0 |                       0 |                       0 |
| 35        | Delhi                                |                    1500 |                    1835 |                    1206 |
| 36        | Puducherry                           |                     956 |                     373 |                     690 |
| Total     | Total                                |                   77615 |                   76118 |                   57940 |

ANNEXURE-II

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) TO (D) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2286 FOR ANSWER ON 15.12.2023 BY SHRI MITESH RAMESHBHAI  PATEL  (BAKABHAI)  AND  SHRIMATI  SHARDABEN  ANILBHAI PATEL REGARDING PROGRAMMES FOR ORPHAN CHILDREN

STATE-WISE TOTAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN INCLUDING ORPHANS SUPPORTED  UNDER  NON-INSTITUTIONAL  CARE  OF  MISSION  VATSALYA SCHEME DURING THE LAST THREE YEARS

| Sl. No.   | States/UTs                |   FY 2020-21 |   FY 2021-22 |   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 |
| Total     | Total                     |        29337 |        29338 |        62675 |

## ANNEXURE-III

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) TO (D) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2286 FOR ANSWER ON 15.12.2023 BY SHRI MITESH RAMESHBHAI  PATEL  (BAKABHAI)  AND  SHRIMATI  SHARDABEN  ANILBHAI PATEL REGARDING PROGRAMMES FOR ORPHAN CHILDREN

## STATE-WISE  FUNDS  RELEASED  UNDER  MISSION  VATSALYA  SCHEME  FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS

(RS. IN LAKH)

| Sl. No.   | Name of the State                |   2020-21 |   2021-22 |   2022-23 |
|-----------|----------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh                   |   1827.84 |    476.46 |   3677.98 |
| 2         | Arunachal Pradesh                |    293.55 |    487.92 |   2936.49 |
| 3         | Assam                            |   3159.17 |    864.69 |   3734.67 |
| 4         | Bihar                            |   2203.71 |   2203.21 |   3454.25 |
| 5         | Chhattisgarh                     |   2281.81 |   1870.35 |    765.05 |
| 6         | Goa                              |    129.9  |      3.43 |      5.77 |
| 7         | Gujarat                          |   2590.93 |    697.24 |   2329.53 |
| 8         | Haryana                          |   2391.14 |    931.24 |   2938.82 |
| 9         | Himachal Pradesh                 |   1457.39 |   1453.9  |   3091.73 |
| 10        | Jammu & Kashmir                  |   1490.55 |   1929.69 |   2822.85 |
| 11        | Jharkhand                        |   1425.26 |   1248.02 |    743.48 |
| 12        | Karnataka                        |   2897.87 |   4252.11 |   5856.93 |
| 13        | Kerala                           |   1135.84 |    607.45 |   1284.89 |
| 14        | Madhya Pradesh                   |   3531.26 |   3057.44 |   4690.78 |
| 15        | Maharashtra                      |   3433.13 |   5467.46 |   7132.66 |
| 16        | Manipur                          |   3468.9  |   3606.76 |   4826.75 |
| 17        | Meghalaya                        |   2014.36 |   1005.91 |    333.07 |
| 18        | Mizoram                          |   2243.71 |   1957.58 |   1503.31 |
| 19        | Nagaland                         |   2125.64 |   1842.69 |   2630.86 |
| 20        | Orissa                           |   3302.54 |   4019.15 |   3755.49 |
| 21        | Punjab                           |    558.41 |    172.57 |   1069.08 |
| 22        | Rajasthan                        |   3221.96 |   1542.75 |   6600.22 |
| 23        | Sikkim                           |    612.81 |    807.59 |   1047.25 |
| 24        | Tamil Nadu                       |   9636.91 |   7669.71 |   5102.93 |
| 25        | Telangana                        |    431.61 |   3850.65 |   2824.95 |
| 26        | Tripura                          |   1075.65 |    977.46 |    159.54 |
| 27        | Uttar Pradesh                    |   5235.63 |   4553.91 |   6604.67 |
| 28        | Uttarakhand                      |    712.37 |    507.9  |    365.91 |
| 29        | West Bengal                      |   4375.63 |   3970.45 |   2663.81 |
| 30        | Andaman & Nicobar Island         |    282.97 |      7.5  |    374.79 |
| 31        | Chandigarh                       |    169.21 |    162.83 |    523.78 |
| 32        | Dadra & Nagar Haveli Daman & Diu |     55.96 |    142.98 |    389.9  |
| 33        | Delhi                            |    656.76 |    794.51 |   1506.95 |
| 34        | Lakshadweep                      |      0    |      5.05 |      0    |
| 35        | Ladakh                           |    153.18 |    126.17 |    142.44 |
| 36        | Puducherry                       |    393.97 |    271.5  |    584.46 |
| Total     | Total                            |  70977.5  |  63546.2  |  88476    |