National Policy for Children, 2013: Provisions and Implementation

India has many laws for children. Each law covers one part of a child’s life. The National Policy for Children, 2013, ties them into one plan. It tells every government what a child is owed. This article explains the policy, the laws behind it, and how it works on the ground.

1What is the National Policy for Children, 2013?

1.1 Why did India need a new policy?

India’s first National Policy for Children came on 22 August 1974. It called children a supremely important national asset. But forty years later, the world had changed. India had joined the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992. New laws on education and abuse had also come. The old policy no longer matched them.

1.2 What does the 2013 policy say?

The Government adopted the new policy on 26 April 2013. The Ministry of Women and Child Development framed it. It treats every person below eighteen years as a child. It covers every child within India’s territory. It also says children’s needs cut across sectors. So it asks for convergence across ministries and levels of government.

• Replaces the 1974 policy.
• Child means anyone below 18.
• Binds national, State and local governments in spirit.
• It is a policy, so courts do not enforce it directly.

2What are its four priority areas?

2.1 What are the four priority areas?

The policy picks four areas for focused attention. The Press Information Bureau lists them as survival, health and nutrition; education and development; protection; and participation. Each area answers a simple question about a child’s life.

• Survival, health and nutrition: Will the child live and grow well?
• Education and development: Will the child learn and develop?
• Protection: Will the child be safe from abuse and exploitation?
• Participation: Will the child be heard in matters that affect them?

2.2 Why does participation matter?

Older policies treated children as people to be looked after. The 2013 policy treats them as holders of rights. A child has a voice. Adults must listen to it in homes, schools and courts. This view comes from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

3Which laws and rights stand behind it?

3.1 What does the Constitution say?

The Constitution backs the policy in several places. Article 21 protects life and personal liberty. Article 21A gives free education to children aged six to fourteen. Article 15(3) lets the State make special laws for children. Article 24 bars work in factories and mines below fourteen. Article 39(e) and (f) tell the State to protect children from abuse and give them a healthy childhood.

• Article 15(3): special laws for children.
• Article 21A: free education, ages 6 to 14.
• Article 24: no hazardous work below 14.
• Article 39(e)-(f): Directive Principles on child welfare.

3.2 Which laws turn the policy into rules?

A policy cannot punish anyone. Laws do that. Four laws matter most. The Right to Education Act, 2009 makes schooling a legal right for ages six to fourteen. The POCSO Act, 2012 punishes sexual offences against children. The Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 covers children in conflict with law and children needing care. The Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005, created the child-rights watchdogs.

• RTE Act, 2009: education.
• POCSO Act, 2012: protection from sexual offences.
• JJ Act, 2015: care, protection and justice.
• CPCR Act, 2005: the NCPCR and State commissions.

3.3 What is the NCPCR?

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is a statutory body. It works under the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It checks that laws for children are followed. It looks into complaints. States can set up their own commissions too.

4Which schemes carry it out?

4.1 What does Mission Vatsalya do?

Mission Vatsalya is the Ministry’s main child-protection scheme. It prefers family care to institutions. Its guidelines give Rs 4,000 a month per child for sponsorship, foster care or after-care. After-care helps young people leaving a child care home. Support can run from age 18 up to 21, and can be extended to 23.

4.2 Which schemes cover nutrition and labour?

Poshan Abhiyaan began in 2018 to fight child under-nutrition. It now runs as Mission Poshan 2.0. On child labour, the Child Labour Amendment Act, 2016, bans work for children below fourteen, with narrow exceptions for family help after school. It also bars adolescents from hazardous work. In 2017 India ratified ILO Conventions 138 and 182 on minimum age and worst forms of child labour.

• Mission Vatsalya: protection and family-based care.
• Poshan Abhiyaan, 2018: nutrition.
• Child Labour Amendment, 2016: work below 14 banned.
• ILO 138 and 182 ratified in 2017.

4.3 What changed in the 2021 amendment?

The Juvenile Justice Amendment Act received assent on 7 August 2021. It lets District Magistrates issue adoption orders. Earlier, only courts did this. The aim is to cut delay. District Magistrates also oversee Child Welfare Committees and other bodies in their district.

5How well is it working?

5.1 What did the government plan?

A policy needs a plan to be real. The Ministry drafted a National Plan of Action for Children. Its purpose was to track what each ministry already does for children. The draft went to ministries and States for comment. A National Coordination and Action Group was to monitor progress. In April 2015 the Minister told the Lok Sabha that the draft was still to be revised.

5.2 What should a balanced answer say?

A good answer gives credit and names gaps. Credit goes to the wider laws, the wider schemes and the strong watchdogs. Gaps usually named are weak coordination between ministries, thin State capacity, and poor data on children. A policy also carries no legal penalty. Examiners reward answers that stay balanced.

• Strength: one framework for many ministries.
• Strength: backed by RTE, POCSO and the JJ Act.
• Gap: a policy is not enforceable in court.
• Gap: convergence depends on State action.

6How has this topic been asked in exams?

6.1 What did the exams ask?

6.2 What is the exam angle?

• Date: 26 April 2013. The earlier policy is 22 August 1974.
• Fact: Child means anyone below 18.
• Fact: Ministry of Women and Child Development framed it.
• Trap: A policy is not a law. Do not call it enforceable.
• Method: Mains answer: provisions, then laws, then gaps.