Lok Sabha Question No. 3537 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-13
Subject: Children's Home
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Ashok Kumar Rawat

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3537 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.03.2026

## CHILDREN'S HOME

## †3537. SHRI ASHOK KUMAR RAWAT:

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

- (a)       the number of Children's Homes (Baal Grihas) functioning under the Child Protection Services;
- (b)       whether there is any mechanism for time bound monitoring of the said institution, if so, the details thereof; and
- (c)       the details of the new initiative taken by the Government to prevent child trafficking and child labour?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a) : The number of Children's Homes (Baal Grihas) financially supported under the Mission Vatsalya  (erstwhile  Child  Protection  Services)  for  Financial  Year  2024-25  is  placed  at Annexure.

(b)  &  (c)  :  As  per  Section  2  (14)  (ii)  and  (ix)  of  Juvenile  Justice  (Care  and  Protection  of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act), a child who is found working in contravention of labour laws for  the  time  being  in  force  or  is  found  begging,  or  living  on  the  street  and  who  is  found vulnerable and is likely to be inducted into drug abuse or trafficking is included as a 'child in need of care and protection', among others.

The JJ Act, 2015 mandates a security net of service delivery structures to provide Institutional and non-Institutional care to these children. The primary responsibility of execution of the Act,  as  such,  lies  with  the  State  and  UTs.  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  is implementing Mission Vatsalya Scheme for care, protection, rehabilitation and reintegration of  children  in  difficult  circumstances.  Under  Mission  Vatsalya,  financial  assistance  is provided  to  State  Governments  and  UT  Administrations  for,  inter-alia,  undertaking  a situational analysis of children in difficult circumstances, for setting up and maintenance of various types of Child Care Institutions (CCIs) for providing various rehabilitative services through institutional and non-institutional care.

Mission Vatsalya Scheme guidelines envisage monitoring mechanism at the State and District levels. The agencies responsible for monitoring and implementation of the Scheme include the State Child Protection Society, State Adoption Resource Agency, State Child Welfare and Protection Committee at State level and District Child Protection Unit, District Child Welfare and  Protection  Committee  and  Child  Welfare  Committee  at  the  District  level.  District Magistrates have been empowered as the nodal authority at the district level for the welfare of children in need of care and protection. Further, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) at national level and State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) at State level respectively monitor the implementation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (Section 109).

The Ministry of Women and Child Development and Ministry of Railways have jointly taken up  an  initiative  to  ensure  the  care  and  protection,  security  and  well-being  of  run  away, unaccompanied and trafficked children who may come in contact with Railway. The scheme also supports 24x7x365 outreach child helpline service for children in distress. This service is available through a dedicated toll-free number, 1098 which can be accessed by children in crisis or by adults on their behalf from any place in the geographical location of India.

Further,  the  Ministry  has  developed  an  integrated  unified  Mission  Vatsalya  Portal  in consultation and coordination with States and UTs. The TrackChild portal for Missing/Found Children, and Khoya-Paya application for Missing/Sighted Children have been integrated with this unified Mission Vatsalya Portal. The TrackChild portal is implemented with support and involvement of various stakeholders namely Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Railways, State  Governments  and  UT  Administrations,  Child  Welfare  Committees,  Juvenile  Justice Boards,  National  Legal  Services  Authority,  etc.  Standard  operating  procedure  have  been issued in this regard. Advisories have also been issued to all States and UTs including Director General of Police of all States & UTs and other stakeholders regarding implementation of TrackChild. It is also integrated with the Crime and Criminal Tracking & Network Systems (CCTNS) of the Ministry of Home Affairs which allows interoperability in terms of matching of F.I.Rs of missing children with data base of TrackChild to trace and match missing children by the State and UT police concerned. Further, through Khoya Paya module any citizen can report about any missing or sighted children.

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ANNEXURE

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3537 FOR ANSWER ON 13.03.2026 BY SHRI ASHOK KUMAR RAWAT REGARDING CHILDREN'S HOME

## STATE-WISE NUMBER  OF  CCIs  FINANCIALLY  SUPPORTED  UNDER  THE MISSION VATSALYA SCHEME DURING THE YEAR 2024-25

|   S. No. | State                              |   Total CCIs |
|----------|------------------------------------|--------------|
|        1 | Andhra Pradesh                     |           98 |
|        2 | Arunachal Pradesh                  |           11 |
|        3 | Assam                              |           58 |
|        4 | Bihar                              |           91 |
|        5 | Chhattisgarh                       |          105 |
|        6 | Goa                                |           23 |
|        7 | Gujarat                            |           81 |
|        8 | Haryana                            |           31 |
|        9 | Himachal Pradesh                   |           48 |
|       10 | Jammu and Kashmir                  |           62 |
|       11 | Jharkhand                          |           46 |
|       12 | Karnataka                          |          127 |
|       13 | Kerala                             |           45 |
|       14 | Madhya Pradesh                     |          102 |
|       15 | Maharashtra                        |          107 |
|       16 | Manipur                            |           87 |
|       17 | Meghalaya                          |           53 |
|       18 | Mizoram                            |           66 |
|       19 | Nagaland                           |           57 |
|       20 | Orissa                             |          142 |
|       21 | Punjab                             |           26 |
|       22 | Rajasthan                          |          140 |
|       23 | Sikkim                             |           27 |
|       24 | Tamil Nadu                         |          313 |
|       25 | Telangana                          |           67 |
|       26 | Tripura                            |           31 |
|       27 | Uttar Pradesh                      |          164 |
|       28 | Uttarakhand                        |           44 |
|       29 | West Bengal                        |          207 |
|       30 | Andaman &Nicobar                   |           10 |
|       31 | Chandigarh                         |            9 |
|       32 | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu |            4 |
|       33 | Ladakh                             |            9 |
|       34 | Lakshadweep                        |            0 |
|       35 | Delhi                              |           39 |
|       36 | Puducherry                         |           29 |