Lok Sabha Question No. 2342 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-13
Subject: Effectiveness of Child Marriage Prevention Mechanisms
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Pushpendra Saroj

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2342 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.02.2026

## EFFECTIVENESS OF CHILD MARRIAGE PREVENTION MECHANISMS

## 2342.  SHRI PUSHPENDRA SAROJ:

Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state:

- (a)     the number of complaints/alerts/reports relating to child marriages received through Childline, district authorities/other reporting channels in Uttar Pradesh during the last three years, district-wise;
- (b) the number of cases where preventive action was taken before the marriage along with the number of cases where intervention occurred after the marriage had already taken place;
- (c) the  details  of  the  average  time  between  receipt  of  information  and  field-level intervention in such cases;
- (d) the number of instances where failures to act on prior information were recorded along with the accountability fixed on officials/institutions; and
- (e) the  details  of  the  steps  being  taken  to  strengthen  early-warning  systems,  interdepartmental coordination and time-bound response to prevent child marriages in the said State?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)

(a) to (e):   The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes data on cases of child marriage registered under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006 in its annual publication Crime in India. The report is available up to the year 2023, with details provided  crime-head  wise  and  State  and  UT-wise.  As  per  the  information  available  with NCRB, the number of cases registered, cases charge-sheeted, cases convicted, persons arrested, persons charge-sheeted, and persons convicted under the PCMA in Uttar Pradesh during 2021 -2023 is enclosed at Annexure .

The Government of India has enacted 'The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006' (PCMA) to prevent and curb child marriages and to take punitive action against those associated with the solemnisation of child marriages. Section 16 of the PCMA authorises the State Government to appoint for the whole State, or such part thereof as may be specified, an officer or officers to be known as the 'Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPO)' having jurisdiction over the area  or  areas  specified  in  the  notification.  This  section  also  specifies  the  functions  to  be discharged by CMPOs, which include preventing solemnisation of child marriages by taking such action as they may deem fit; to collect evidence for the effective prosecution of persons contravening the provisions of the Act; to advise the individuals or counsel the residents of the locality not to indulge in promoting, helping, aiding or allowing the solemnisation of child marriages; to create awareness about the ill effects of child marriages; and to sensitize  the community on the issue  of  child  marriages.  All  these  authorities  function  under  the  direct administrative control and supervision of respective State Governments and UT Administrations.

Further, to strengthen implementation of the Act and accelerate progress towards elimination of child marriage, the Government launched a national campaign 'Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat on 27th November 2024, with the objective of making India child-marriage-free. It is one of the most important imperatives to  promote education,  skilling,  enterprise  and  entrepreneurship among  girls  and  women  to  realise  the  vision  of  a  'Viksit  Bharat'  through  'whole  of government' and 'whole of society' approach. The campaign aims to  create  awareness  for prevention  of  child  marriage,  enhance  involvement  of  parents,  families,  and  communities, strengthen the role and capacity of CMPOs, encourage timely reporting of child marriage cases, and identify adolescent girls who are school dropouts or at risk of child marriage to ensure their education, skilling, and empowerment.

To commemorate the success of the campaign and further intensify efforts, a 100 Days Special Campaign under Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat was launched on 4th December 2025 to mobilise all stakeholders in a structured and time-bound manner. The 100 Days Special Campaign focuses on  targeted  outreach  to  institutions,  community  leaders  and  service  provider,  along  with mandatory uploading of details of Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs) on the BVMB Portal.

The campaign follows a spell-wise thematic implementation plan. Spell -I  (27th November, 2025  to  31st  December,  2025)  focuses  on  sensitisation  activities  in  schools,  colleges  and universities through debates, essay competitions and pledge ceremonies. Spell -II (1st January, 2026 to 31st January, 2026) focuses on engagement with religious institutions and marriagerelated  service  providers,  including  temples,  mosques,  caterers,  tent  houses  and  DJs,  to discourage  child  marriage  and  display  IEC  materials.  Spell -III  (1st  February,  2026  to  8th March, 2026) focuses on mobilisation of Gram Panchayats and Municipal Wards for passing resolutions declaring their jurisdictions as child-marriage-free.

A dedicated digital platform, the Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat portal (https://stopchildmarriage.wcd.gov.in), facilitates reporting of child marriage incidents, dissemination  of  information,  and  registration  of  pledges.  Citizens,  institutions,  and  public representatives can take the Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat pledge on the dedicated portal as well as through  the  MyGov  portal,  promoting  wide  participation.  As  on  11.02.2026,  awareness programmes have reached over 7.75 crore citizens, and more than 31.75 lakh pledges against child marriage have been registered on the portal, reflecting strong community engagement and active participation across the country. The BVMB portal serves as a centralised repository of more than 61,900 CMPOs across States and Union Territories. This provides citizens with an efficient reporting mechanism, where early reporting enables timely intervention to prevent child marriages. As on 12.02.2026, the total number of incidences reported on the portal are 2600 out of which 2353 i.e. more than 90 percent have been prevented.

Further, preventing child marriage is a critical mandate under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, wherein a child at imminent risk of marriage before attaining the  legal  age  is  defined  as  a  'child  in  need  of  care  and  protection.'  The  Child  Welfare Committees  (CWCs),  empowered  under  Sections  27 -30  of  the  Act,  are  entrusted  to  take decisions in the best interest of such children, ensuring their safety, dignity, and well-being. The Ministry of Women and Child Development, through its Centrally Sponsored Scheme Mission  Vatsalya,  supports  both  institutional  and  non-institutional  care  services,  including sponsorship, foster care, and after care, to safeguard vulnerable children.

The  Central  Government  undertakes  awareness  drives,  media  campaigns  and  outreach programs and issues advisories to the States and UTs from time to time to highlight evil effects of this practice. Further, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) implements the  Beti  Bachao  Beti  Padhao  (BBBP)  component  under  the  umbrella  scheme  of  'Mission Shakti',  wherein  creation  of  awareness  on  matters  pertaining  to  gender  equality  and discouraging  child  marriage  is  an  important  focus  area.  The  National  Commission  for

Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) also undertakes awareness programs and consultations with stakeholders from time to time in this regard. The National Legal Services Authority with its  States  and  District  arms  also  creates  awareness  about  the  ill-  effects  of  child  marriage. NALSA has issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to its functionaries for effective prevention of child marriages in coordination with the statutory officers and other authorities. It also has a dedicated helpline 15100 which provides free legal aid to the specified sections of citizens including women and children.

In addition, Government of India has introduced Child Helpline with short code 1098, a tollfree 24X7X365 telephone emergency outreach service for children in crisis which responds with suitable interventions to call for any form of assistance which a child requires, including for  prevention  of  child  marriages,  in  coordination  with  police,  CMPOs,  District  Child Protection Units etc. The Child Helpline has also been integrated with Emergency Response Support  System  (ERSS-112)  to  provide  for  24x7x365  emergency  response,  resources  and services. In addition, the services of Women Helpline (181), which is integrated with the ERSS is also available round the clock to provide emergency and non- emergency assistance.

While the Ministry provides policy and schematic support, the responsibility to prohibit and prevent  child  marriages  lies  primarily  with  the  respective  State  Governments  and  Union Territory  Administrations,  as  'Police'  and  'Public  Order'  are  State  subjects under  the Constitution, making them competent to act against such offences under existing laws.

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (E) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2342  FOR  ANSWER  ON  13.02.2026  REGARDING 'EFFECTIVENESS OF CHILD MARRIAGE PREVENTION MECHANISMS'.

Cases  Registered  (CR),  Cases  Charge-sheeted  (CCS),  Cases  Convicted  (CON),  Persons Arrested  (PAR),  Persons  Charge-sheeted  (PCS)  and  Persons  Convicted  (PCV)  under Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 in Uttar Pradesh during 2021-2023

|   Sl. |   No.YearsCRCCSCONPARPCSPCV |    |    |    |    |    |    |
|-------|-----------------------------|----|----|----|----|----|----|
|     1 |                        2021 |  6 |  4 |  0 | 13 | 16 |  0 |
|     2 |                        2022 | 17 | 15 |  1 | 48 | 61 |  1 |
|     3 |                        2023 | 15 | 13 |  0 | 61 | 73 |  0 |