Lok Sabha Question No. 70 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-02
Subject: Rehabilitation of Orphaned Girl Child
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Rajiv Pratap Rudy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.70

TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.02.2024

## REHABILITATION OF ORPHANED GIRL CHILD

70. SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY:

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

- (a) whether a large number of young girl children are orphaned in the country due to unforeseen circumstances, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  there  are  orphanages  run  by  Government/individuals/NGOs  and private entities for girl children across the country;
- (c) if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the schemes of the Government to help orphaned girl children; and
- (e) the details of orphaned girl child beneficiaries, State-wise including Bihar?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (e) 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  noninstitutional care services which includes sponsorship, foster care and aftercare.

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 of adoption 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 etc., have been laid down. A child can now be adopted by the foster family after 2 years of foster care,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 Rule44 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 under 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.Similarly  under  non-institutional  care,  children  staying  with  their  relatives under kinship care are provided Rs. 4000/- per month for their boarding & lodging and other support.

The State-wise total number of CCIs including State of Bihar and number of beneficiaries (Institutional and Non-Institutional) funded under Mission Vatsalya  scheme during 2022-23 is at Annexure.

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## ANNEXURE

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (e) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  70  FOR  ANSWER  ON  02.02.2024  ASKED  BY HON'BLE MP SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY REGARDING REHABILITATION OF ORPHANED GIRL CHILD

| S. No.   | State                                |   Total CCIs | Number of Beneficiaries under Institutional Care   |   Number of Beneficiaries under Non-Institutional Care |
|----------|--------------------------------------|--------------|----------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh                       |           84 | 1504                                               |                                                   9150 |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh                    |           11 | 206                                                |                                                    840 |
| 3        | Assam                                |           67 | 1380                                               |                                                    858 |
| 4        | Bihar                                |           78 | 2088                                               |                                                    504 |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh                         |           83 | 1974                                               |                                                    288 |
| 6        | Goa                                  |           25 | 526                                                |                                                     27 |
| 7        | Gujarat                              |           78 | 1651                                               |                                                    506 |
| 8        | Haryana                              |           49 | 1239                                               |                                                   5155 |
| 9        | Himachal Pradesh                     |           38 | 805                                                |                                                   1347 |
| 10       | Jammu and Kashmir                    |           39 | 817                                                |                                                   1398 |
| 11       | Jharkhand                            |           50 | 1219                                               |                                                   3086 |
| 12       | Karnataka                            |          154 | 3182                                               |                                                   3875 |
| 13       | Kerala                               |           47 | 697                                                |                                                   1133 |
| 14       | Madhya Pradesh                       |          104 | 2292                                               |                                                   2377 |
| 15       | Maharashtra                          |          112 | 3654                                               |                                                   9844 |
| 16       | Manipur                              |           86 | 2121                                               |                                                   1120 |
| 17       | Meghalaya                            |           54 | 972                                                |                                                   1028 |
| 18       | Mizoram                              |           49 | 914                                                |                                                    591 |
| 19       | Nagaland                             |           44 | 493                                                |                                                    752 |
| 20       | Orissa                               |          140 | 4153                                               |                                                   1772 |
| 21       | Punjab                               |           27 | 607                                                |                                                    612 |
| 22       | Rajasthan                            |          156 | 2560                                               |                                                    239 |
| 23       | Sikkim                               |           23 | 526                                                |                                                    323 |
| 24       | Tamil Nadu                           |          221 | 7785                                               |                                                   2975 |
| 25       | Tripura                              |           34 | 829                                                |                                                    305 |
| 26       | Uttar Pradesh                        |          100 | 3238                                               |                                                   1766 |
| 27       | Uttarakhand                          |           33 | 700                                                |                                                    847 |
| 28       | West Bengal                          |          164 | 6220                                               |                                                   1670 |
| 29       | Telangana                            |           62 | 1129                                               |                                                   6454 |
|          | Andaman & Nicobar Islands            |           10 |                                                    |                                                      0 |
| 30 31    | Chandigarh                           |            8 | 308 202                                            |                                                    199 |
| 32       | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu |            4 | 28                                                 |                                                    519 |
| 33       | Ladakh                               |            1 | 25                                                 |                                                     29 |
| 34       | Lakshadweep                          |            1 | 0                                                  |                                                      0 |
| 35       | Delhi                                |           39 | 1206                                               |                                                    980 |
| 36       | Puducherry                           |           30 | 690                                                |                                                    106 |
|          | Total                                |         2305 | 57940                                              |                                                  62675 |

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