1. Gurupadswamy Committee
  2. Action taken on Gurupadswamy Committee
  3. What is National Child Labour Project (NCLP)?
  4. What is INDO – US DOL (INDUS PROJECT)?

Gurupadswamy Committee

  • Way back in 1979, Government formed the first committee called Gurupadswamy Committee to study the issue of child labour and to suggest measures to tackle it.

Recommendations of Committee

  • As  long as poverty continued, it would be difficult to totally eliminate child labour
  • and hence, any attempt to abolish it through legal recourse would not be a practical proposition.
  • Therefore in the given circumstances, the only alternative left was to ban child labour in hazardous areas and to regulate and ameliorate the conditions of work in other areas.

Action taken on Gurupadswamy Committee

1986
  • Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act was enacted.
  • It prohibits employment of children in certain specified hazardous occupations and processes and regulates the working conditions in others.
1987
  • National Policy on Child Labour was formulated
1988
  • National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme was launched in 9 districts of high child labour endemicity in the country.

What is National Child Labour Project (NCLP)?

  • Based on the recommendations of Gurupadaswamy Committee, the Act
  • In consonance with the above approach, a in 1987.
  • Started in 1988,
  • Under this project, the child labour withdrawn from work and sent to special schools run by NGOs. (District Collect gets the funds and he allocates it to the NGOs)
  • these children are provided formal/non-formal education along with vocational training, a stipend of Rs.100 per month, supplementary nutrition and regular health check ups so as to prepare them to join regular mainstream schools

What is INDO – US DOL (INDUS PROJECT)?

  • project has been being developed as a follow-up of the Joint Statement on “Enhanced Indo-US Cooperation on Eliminating Child Labour” signed between the Ministry of Labour and the US Department of Labour in August, 2000
  • implemented in ten hazardous sectors in 21 districts across five states namely, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh An estimated 80,000 children will be withdrawn and rehabilitated in this project.

Major components INDUS Project

  1. Withdrawing children in the age group 8-14 from hazardous occupations and providing them meaningful transitional education.
  2. Making provision for systematic Vocational education/training of adolescents.
  3. Providing viable income generating alternatives for families of children withdrawn from work.
  4. Strengthening public education of child workers (to be implemented through the Department of Education, MHRD)