Lok Sabha Question No. 1276 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-08
Subject: Child Labourers
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Shri Partha Bhowmick

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1276

TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.12.2025

## CHILD LABOURERS

1276. SHRI PARTHA BHOWMICK:

Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

- (a)the details of the number of children under 14 years working in the country;
- (b)the details of the number of children under 16 years working in hazardous industries in the country; and
- (c)the details of the number of child labourers rehabilitated during the
- last five years and the current year in the country, year-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE)

(a) to (c): The Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 provides for the complete prohibition of work or  employment  of  children  below  14  years  in  any  occupation  and process  and  adolescents  in  the  age  group  of  14  to  18  years  in hazardous occupations and processes. The Act provides for  strict punishment of employers for violation of its provisions and makes the offences under the Act cognizable.

The Ministry of Labour & Employment had been implementing  National  Child  Labour  Project  (NCLP)  Scheme  for rescue & rehabilitation of child labourers under which the children in the age group of 9-14 years were rescued from work, enrolled in the NCLP Special Training Centres (STCs) and were provided with bridge education before being mainstreamed into formal education system. The  NCLP  scheme  has  been  subsumed  with  Samagara  Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), a scheme of Ministry of Education with effect from 01.04.2021. The details of the number of children rescued / withdrawn from  work,  rehabilitated  and  mainstreamed  under  NCLP  scheme state - wise, during 2018-19 to 2022-23 is at Annexure.

*                                                  *****

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  TO  (c)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1276   FOR 08.12.2025 RAISED BY SHRI PARTHA BHOWMICK REGARDING CHILD LABOURERS

No. of children rescued / withdrawn from work, rehabilitated and mainstreamed under NCLP Scheme during 2018-19 to 2022-23.

| Sl. No.   | State          | 2018-19   | 2019-2020   | 2020-2021   | 2021-22   | 2022-23   |
|-----------|----------------|-----------|-------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh | 778       | 1049        | 622         | 2090      | 441       |
| 2         | Assam          | 4562      | 6175        | 2800        | 0         | 1291      |
| 3         | Gujarat        | 101       | 341         | 531         | 50        | 0         |
| 4         | Haryana        | 171       | NA          | NA          | NA        | --        |
| 5         | Jharkhand      | 1225      | 2940        | 3239        | 755       | 410       |
| 6         | Karnataka      | 763       | 363         | 275         | 230       | 0         |
| 7         | Madhya Pradesh | 4910      | 4010        | 29179       | 1268      | 172       |
| 8         | Maharashtra    | 8122      | 9337        | 2031        | 2537      | 337       |
| 9         | Odisha         | NA        | 6           | 495         | 76        | 1415      |
| 10        | Punjab         | 915       | 483         | 1307        | 986       | 2504      |
| 11        | Rajasthan      | NA        | 1712        | NA          | 301       | 18        |
| 12        | Tamil Nadu     | 2534      | 3928        | 1456        | 2183      | 2628      |
| 13        | Telangana      | 935       | 214         | 300         | 618       | 935       |
| 14        | Uttar Pradesh  | 8020      | 10371       | 9383        | 1833      | 339       |
| 15        | West Bengal    | 17137     | 13879       | 6671        | 5207      | 3270      |
| 16        | Uttarakhand    | NA        | 62          | --          | 3         | 1         |
| 17        | Nagaland       | 111       | 24          | --          | --        | --        |
|           | Total          | 50,284    | 54,894      | 58,289      | 18,137    | 13,761    |

Source: Ministry of Labour & Employment

*****