Child Labor in India: Perspective and Policy Imperatives

Abstract

This study relates to the problem of child labor in India. Previously many scholars and economist have tried to analyses the problem of child labor with respect to various factors contributing towards its cause. This study tries to take a lead from their work and goes deeper into the concepts previously surfaced. It was known that Child labor is the function of poverty, illiteracy, overpopulation, poor health facilities and infrastructure etc. But for the last few years India has seen a transitional change after the liberalization policy. Now India is the 2nd largest growing economy in the world after china. All this has tried to improve the economic and infrastructural condition in the country. India is on the global set up of the world. But surprisingly such vast infrastructural development has not been able to contribute to the cause of child labor. Certain global economic models suggest that both economic development and child labor have an inverse relationship. Countries which have the least incidence of child labor are those which are economically developed. On the other hand the countries which have the highest incidence of child labor are economically weak and under developed. In this study we try to study the association between economic development and child labor. We also try to analyses the efficiency, reach and applicability of several government initiatives and the efforts of various national and international agencies working towards this cause. Our research model is based on both primary data collected from the states of Punjab and Delhi and secondary data taken from the census report of 1991-2001 for the 15 major states. Further more we analyses the awareness level of people and their approach towards the problem of child labor, through secondary research we have taken 7 economic growth parameters such as per capita income, literacy rate, infant mortality rate, life expectancy, Gross enrollment ratio, Government expenditure on child labor with corresponding effect on child labor. Through this analysis we have brought out certain cause and consequences regarding child labor and in addition we have suggested certain policy implication for eradicating the problem of child labor vis-à-vis child care development.