1.

Mid-day Meal Scheme

National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education, popularly known as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDM) was started in 1995 in an attempt to enhance enrolment, retention and attendance while simultaneously improving nutritional levels among children in school. It currently covers nearly 12 crore children. The main objectives of the scheme (as per the 2006 revision) are to: Improve the nutritional status of children in classes one through five in government schools and government aided schools To encourage children from disadvantaged backgrounds to attend school regularly and help them concentrate in school activities. As well as provide nutritional support to students in drought- ridden areas throughout summer vacation. In October 2007 the scheme was revised to cover children in the upper primary section as well i.e. classes VI to VII. The Scheme estimates a cooked mid-day meal with a minimum of 300 calories and 8-12 grams of protein to all children studying in classes I - V. Upper Primary meals consist of 700 calories and 20 grams of protein by providing 150 grams of food grains (rice/wheat) per child/school day. The central government supplies state and union territory government with free food grains (wheat/rice) at 100 grams per child per school day from the nearest Food Corporation of India (FCI) go-down and compensation of the cost of transporting the food grains from the nearest FCI to the Primary school. The scheme provides assistance for meeting the cooking cost of Re 1 per child per school day. The programme is being carried out by local authorities with assistance from village panchayats, village education committees, school management committees, parent teacher associations, etc. In rural areas the cooking is being done by women self-help groups. In urban areas, some NGOs have taken responsibility for cooking the food and bringing it to the primary schools. Free mid-day meals can achieve a great deal with regard to child education and health. They promote the participation of the child in school, reduce classroom hunger, facilitate the healthy growth of a child, promotes good eating habits like washing ones hands, finishing ones food, etc, and fosters social and gender equality as all children get the same food and must eat together. It has been estimated that 8.41 crore Primary students and 3.36 crore Upper Primary Students i.e. a total of 11.77 crore students have benefited from MDM Scheme during 2009-10

2. Integrated Child Development Scheme

The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) comes under the purview of the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD). Recently MWCD released their annual report (2008-2009) on child development. According to this report the ICDS which was launched in 1975 has been working diligently to eliminate hazards to child health and development. The following are the objectives of ICDS. To advance the nutritional and health standing of children in the age-group 0-6 years. To create a system that tackles the proper psychological, physical and social development of the child.

To fight the rate of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school dropout. To have all the various ministries and departments work in a coordinated fashion to achieve policy implementation and create an effective ECCE system. To support the mother and help her become capable of providing of the necessary nutritional and development needs of the child and aware of her own needs during pregnancy. The scheme aims at providing an integrated package of services. These services include supplementary nutrition, immunization, medical check-ups, recommendation services, pre-school non-formal education and nutrition & health awareness. The purpose of providing these services as a package is because each of these issues is dependent on the other. In order to ensure that the overall care and education of the child is addressed the MWCD envisions the scheme as a complete parcel of provisions. The structure of ICDS is that it is a centrally funded scheme implemented through the States and Union Territories. Originally, financially it was 100% backed by the central government, except the supplementary nutrition, which must be provided by the State's resources. But in 2005-2006 it was noted that many of the States were not capable of providing adequately for supplementary nutrition in view drought, economic slowdown, etc. Hence it was decided to support the States up to 50% of their economic norms or to support 50% of expenses acquired by them on supplementary nutrition, whichever is less. The reason for the Central assistance for Supplementary nutrition is to ensure that all beneficiaries are receiving the supplements for 300 days of the year as has been laid out in the norms of the scheme. Another modification in the financial responsibility of state and central has been that instead of 100% support in non-supplementary expenses the central government is now only responsibly for 90% in all States and Union Territories. In the 2009-2010 financial year the sharing pattern of supplementary nutrition in respect of North-eastern States between Centre and States has been changed from 50:50 to 90:10 ratio. In other States and UTs, with regard to supplementary nutrition, the pattern continues to be a 50:50 ratio sharing. Anganwadi's are set up according to the population in a given area. The population norms are as follows. For Rural/Urban Projects ( Anganwadi Centres- AWC) 400-800 800-1600 1600-2400 Thereafter in multiples of 800 For Mini AWC 1 AWC 2 AWCs 3 AWCs 1 AWC

150-400

1 Mini AWC

For Tribal/Riverine/Desert, Hilly and other difficult areas/Projects 300-800 For Mini AWC in above areas 150-300 1 Mini AWC 1 AWC

ICDS also outlines the amount in calories that the beneficiaries should receive. A child between the ages 6-72 months should receive 500 calories of food with 12-15 grams of protein. This should cost Rs. 4 per child/ per day. A child severely malnourished on medical advice after health check-up (6-72 months) should receive 800 calories of food with 20-25 grams of protein. This should cost Rs. 6 per child/ per day. Lastly pregnant and lactating mothers should receive 600 calories of food with 18-20 grams of protein. This should cost Rs. 5 per beneficiary/ per day. ICDS is no longer only available to below the poverty line beneficiaries; hence states are responsible to register all eligible beneficiaries. In accordance with this development the third phase of the ICDS scheme has begun. The GOI has sanctioned 792 additional Projects, 213286 additional Anganwadi Centres and 77102 Mini-Anganwadi Centres. This expansion aims especially to reach SC/ST and minority population in remote rural areas. To support these increases the eleventh Five Year Plan has set aside Rs.51,400 crores for ICDS which includes Rs.9000 Crores for Conditional Maternity Benefit Scheme. The ICDS scheme receives aid from various other non-government bodies. Three of the main contributors are Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE), UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP). Pre-school education (PSE) has come under the purview of the MWCD along with pre-primary education. The MWCD does not specify much information about this area, simply that it will continue as planned under the ICDS scheme. The Non-formal education offered as per the Ministry of Human Resources (MHR) consists of providing a learning environment to children between the ages of 36. PSE is supposed to be implemented through a medium of play to allow for social, emotional, cognitive and physical development of the child as well as prepare him for primary education in the formal system.

3. Integrated Child Protection Scheme In 2006 the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) proposed the adoption of the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS). In 2009 the central government take the scheme its approval and has begun the extensive task of providing children with a protection and safe environment to develop and flourish. The purpose of the scheme is to provide for children in difficult circumstances, as well as to reduce the risks and vulnerabilities children have in various situations and actions that lead to abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment and separation of children.

The specific objectives of the scheme are: To institutionalize essential services and strengthen structures To enhance capacities at all systems and persons involved in service delivery To create database and knowledge base for child protection services To strengthen child protection at family and community level To coordinate and network with government institutions and non-government institutions to ensure effective implementation of the scheme To raise public awareness about child rights, child vulnerability and child protection services. Within care, support and rehabilitation services the scheme will provide CHILDLINE services, open shelters for children in need in urban and semi-urban areas, offer family based solutions through improving sponsorship, foster-care, adoption and after-care services, improve quality institutional services, and general grant-in-aid for need based/ innovative interventions. Within statutory support services the scheme calls for the strengthening of CWCs, JJBs, SJPUs, as well as seeing to the set up of these services in each district. Beyond this ICPS also outlines the need for human resource development for strengthening counselling services, training and capacity building, strengthening the knowledge-base, conduct research studies, create and manage a child tracking system, carry out advocacy and public education programmes, and monitoring and evaluation of the scheme. In order to ensure the objectives and approaches of ICPS are met, the scheme also calls for the establishment of new bodies within a service delivery structure. At the district level there are: District Child Protection Society (DCPS) District Child Protection Committee (DCPC) Sponsorship and Foster Care Approval Committee (SFCAC) Block Level Child Protection Committee Village Level Child Protection Committee At the state level there are: State Child Protection Society (SCPS) State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA) State Child Protection Committee (SCPC) State Adoption Advisory Committee

At the regional level there are: Child Protection Division in the four Regional Centres of National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) Four Regional Centres of CHILDLINE India Foundation (CIF) And lastly at the national level there are: CHILDLINE India Foundation- Headquarters Child Protection Division in the National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) The scheme outlines a specific implementation plan. It discusses the need of convergence of services to give the child the integrated plan. This is achieved through coordination of all department and ministries and NGOs involved. The annexure of the scheme lays out guidelines on how to achieve each service provided in the scheme.

4. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

SSA is an effort to universalise elementary education by community-ownership of the school system. It aims at changing the current school system in order to improve the quality of the education provide in the country. The SSA programme is also an effort to provide an equal opportunity for children to grow and develop knowledge and skills through community-owned quality education system. It considers itself an opportunity for promoting social justice through basic education. It aims at successfully involving Panchayati Raj Institutions, School Management Committees, Village and Urban Slum level Education Committees, Parents' Teachers' Associations, Mother Teacher Associations, Tribal Autonomous Councils and other local level organisations in the administration of elementary schools. It aims at achieving an efficient partnership between central, state and local governments, while still proving the state with the autonomy of developing its own mission in regard to elementary education. The main mission of SSA is to provide "useful and relevant elementary education for all children in the 6 to 14 age group by 2010". SSA means to remove all social, regional and gender disparities in the education system through the active participation of the community. Realising the importance of early childhood care and education, SSA works with all children ages 0-14. The main objectives of SSA are as follows: All children should either be in a school or an education guarantee centre of an alternate school, or an' Back-to-School' camp by 2003 All children of the appropriate age will fulfil five years of primary schooling by 2007 All children of the appropriate are will fulfil eight years of elementary schooling by 2010

Focus is on elementary education of satisfactory quality which will be considered to be beneficial for life To bridge all gender and social class gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at elementary education level by 2010 Have universal retention in schools both primary and elementary by 2010 The SSA uses a number of strategies to reach their goal such as: reforming the delivery of education so as to positively affect the quality of education, searching for sustainable financing of the school system, facilitating decentralization by including participation of the community and community organization, improving mainstream education administration, emphasizing education of girls, STs, SCs and other marginalized minorities and groups, creation of district level plans, etc. SSA also has provisions for private-public partnerships but has not clearly defined this area.

5. Operation Blackboard Operation Blackboard is a centrally sponsored programme which was started in 1987 immediately after the Rajiv Gandhi NPE of 1986 was released to supply the bare minimum crucial facilities to all primary schools in the country. The objective of the scheme is providing students studying in primary settings with the necessary institutional equipment and instructional material to facilitate their education. There is a provision to provide salary for an additional teacher to those primary schools that have an enrolment of more 100 students or for a consecutive period of two years. In the ninth five year plan the scheme was extended to all upper primary schools as well. In attempt to improve the implementation of this scheme a few additional provision have been added. All teachers will be trained in using the materials provided by the scheme under a particularly designed teacher preparation programme. The state will provide for replacement of broken or non-functioning materials. At the local level, there will be some flexibility for purchasing additional items and teaching aids, which are applicable to the local situation. At least fifty percent of the teachers will be women, which in turn will affect the girl enrolment in school. School building will be designed according to local needs. The central government provides funds for school equipment and the buildings; the state government also raises funds through the Jawahar Rojgar Yojna scheme. An amount of Rs. 12.80 lakhs has been spent on the scheme from 1987 to1994.

6. Integrated Programme for Street Children

The Integrated Programme for Street Children was started as initiatives to help children living on the street fulfil their rights. The programme provides for shelter, nutrition, health care, education, recreation

facilities to street children, and seeks to protect them against abuse and exploitation. The programme aims at building society's awareness of the rights of the child enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. This can be achieved though capacities building of the government organisations, NGOs and the larger community these children live in. The target group of this programme is children without homes and family ties i.e., street children and children especially vulnerable to abuse and exploitation such as children of sex workers and children of pavement dwellers. This scheme does not include children who live with families and in slum areas. State Governments, Union Territory Administrations, Local Bodies, Educational Institutions and Voluntary Organisations are eligible for financial assistance under this programme. Up to 90% of the cost of the project is provided by the Government of India and remaining has to be borne by the Organisation/Institution concerned. Under this integrated programme projects can receive up to Rs 1.5 million per annum. Programmes that can receive funding under this scheme are as follows: City level surveys; Documentation of existing facilities and preparation of city level plan of action; Contact programmes offering counselling, guidance and referral services; Establishment of 24 hours drop-in shelters; Non-formal education programmes; Programmes for reintegration of children with their families and placement of destitute children in foster care homes/hostels and residential schools; Programmes for enrolment in schools; Programme for vocational training; Programmes for occupational placement; Programmes for mobilizing preventive health services; Programmes aimed at reducing the incidence of drug and substance abuse, HIV/AIDS etc; Post ICDS/Aganwadi programmes for children beyond six years of age; Programmes for capacity building and for advocacy and awareness building on child rights; The Integrated Programme for Street Children is now under the umbrella ofICPS programmes.

7. Kishori Shakti Yojana KSY aims at empowering adolescent girls so that they may become responsible citizens. It looks at all aspects of adolescent girl development. The large objective of the scheme is to advance the nutritional, health and development status of adolescent girls, support increasing knowledge of health, hygiene, nutrition and family care, and to integrate them with opportunities for learning life skills, going back to school, helping girls grow to understand their society and become prolific members of the society. The scheme functions in the existing ICDS infrastructure. Under this scheme adolescent girls are offered non-formal education in life education aspects including physical, developmental and sex education. The girls are congregated at anganwadi centres. Girls can also be given basic health supplements such as IFA and de-worming tablets. Girls can also be given vocational training at the centres.

8. Wheat Based Nutrition Programme (WBNP) The Wheat Based Nutrition Programme is project tied to ICDS. Food grains delivered from this scheme are used for the preparation of supplementary nutrition to be distributed among the beneficiaries of the ICDS Scheme. During the 2008-09 financial year, the Department of Food & Public Distribution has allocated 4.80 lakh Megatons (MTs) of wheat and 3.30 lakh MTs of rice out of which 4,26,510 MTs of Wheat and 2,90,235 MTs of Rice have been billed to various States/UTs

9. Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPAG) The Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls was launched in 2002-03 to address nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers. Under this scheme, 6 kg. of food-grains were given to under nourished adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers according to their weight It was initially started as a pilot project in 51 districts of the country and was taken up again in 2003-04. It was stopped for a year in 2004-05 but taken on as a full project, in 2005-06, to be implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The scheme was started in 51 backward districts and was restricted to only undernourished adolescent girls. The scheme continues on a pilot project basis. The funds are provided by the central government to the state government in the form of 100% grants. The food is meant to be provided through the public distribution system for no cost to the families identified in this scheme. The scheme targets girl children between the ages of 11 -19 who are less than 35 kgs.

10. Rajiv Gandhi National Crche Scheme For the Children of Working Mothers In today's economy there has been a rising need for women to add to the household income of the family in order to keep them afloat. Hence there have been a larger number of opportunities for the employment of women. Working women require support with regard to the care of their younger children especially infants. Day care is essential to the needs of both mothers and young children. According to the scheme, crches should have a minimum of 6-8 sq feet per child. It should be well lit, with proper ventilation and a fan should be provided where electricity is available. The crche should have a play area, toilet facilities and sleeping equipment suitable for young children. Essential educational material for pre-school should also be available. Cooking areas must be monitored and separated from children areas. The food provided to the young children should be of nutritional value appropriate to their age. It is important for the crche to be linked to local health centres and Anganwadis for health concerns of the children. The crche may charge families a maximum of Rs 20 for BPL families and Rs. 60 for other families. BPL families must be given priority. Crche services are mainly carried out by NGOs who are given grants under this Scheme. The implementing agencies in each state are the Central Social Welfare Board, the Indian Council for Child Welfare and the Bhartiya Adim Jati Sevak Sangh. Under this scheme workers in the crches are given training in childcare, health-first aid, Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation with children, emergency, handling hygiene, pre-school education, child nutrition, psychosocial care, etc. To ensure proper services, independent bodies will do monitoring of the crches.

11. Balika Samriddhi Yojana (BSY)

The Balika Samriddhi Yojana started in 1997 is an important initiative of the government to raise the status of the girl child. The scheme's aims at changing the negative attitude of families and communities towards the girl child, to increase enrolment and retention of girls in schools, to raise the marriage age of girls and to create income opportunities and activities. A series of incentives are incorporated into the Yojana, such as a gift of Rs. 500/- to the mother on delivery of a baby girl and the condition of an annual scholarship for the girl child education. In 1999-2000 the scheme was changed to benefit the girl child. Hence now the girl child can receive: A post birth grant amount of Rs. 500/ Eligible for annual scholarships for education according to class Class Amount of Annual Scholarship

I-III IV V VI-VII VIII IX-X

Rs. 300/- per annum for each class Rs. 500/- per annum Rs. 600/- per annum Rs. 700/- per annum for each class Rs. 800/- per annum Rs. 1000/- per annum for each class

Part of the money given to the girl child at birth or in scholarships can be put aside for paying the premium on an insurance policy in the name of the girl child under the Bhagyashri Balika Kalyan Bima Yojna. Under this scheme the girl child can withdraw the scholarship amount and interest when she turns 18. If she marries or dies before she is eighteen the amount incurred in interest bearing account will be withdrawn.

12. Initiatives to combat trafficking of Women and Children The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) in an attempt to stop the trafficking of women and children has undertaken a number of initiatives. National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Women and Children 1998, was formulated with the aim of mainstreaming and reintegrating victims of trafficking. Central Advisory Committee (CAB) was constituted to advise on methods and tactic to address the problem. Pre-rescue, Rescue and Post-rescue operations of child victims of trafficking for the purpose of Commercial Sexual Exploitation protocol was published as guidelines for all stakeholders The MWCD in collaboration with NIPCCD and UNICEF has developed three manuals for 'Judicial Handbook on combating Trafficking of women and Children for Commercial Sexual Exploitation'; 'Manual for Medical Officers for Dealing with Child Victims of Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation'; and 'Counselling services for Child survivors of trafficking'. Ministry of Home Affairs has set up of a dedicated nodal Cell in the MHA for prevention of trafficking. The cell is responsible for providing state governments with the necessary research, studies and information.

The ministry organises workshops for NGOs on issues relating to trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation. A special module for counsellors of trafficked victims has been formulated. Suggested amendment of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 to widen its scope, focus on traffickers, human rights of victims and focus on proper implementation. Training to all stake holders such as police, government officials, etc. to better understand the situation and hence respond properly to a suspicious activity or person. The MWCD runs Shelter based homes Short Stay Homes, Swadhar Homes for women in difficult circumstances Three pilot projects were implemented i)Pilot project to combat trafficking women and children for commercial sexual exploitation under the sanction of tradition ii) Pilot project to combat trafficking of women and children for commercial, sexual exploitation in source areas and iii) Pilot project to combat trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation in destination areas. The projects are in the process of being converted into a full scheme. With the Ministry of External Affairs, MWCD has endeavoured to create special task forces to combat cross border trafficking. Tackle trafficking of women and girls by addressing issues of poverty, illiteracy, lack of access to education and schools, lack of vocational skill and employment opportunities, prevalence of age old evil practices like child marriages, low status of women and girls in society etc.

13. Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA)

The purpose of CARA is to ensure that every orphan, destitute and surrendered child has a loving and caring family. It currently comes under the purview of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. CARA was established in 1990 under the Ministry of Welfare. Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment conferred onto CARA the responsibility of upholding the Hague Convention on Protection of Children & Cooperation in respect of Inter-country Adoption of 1993. It became an autonomous body in 1999 by registering it under the Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. After the passing of the Juvenile Justice Act 2000 and its amendment in 2006, CARA was transferred to the MWCD. In India a child can be placed with a family under theHindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956, Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 and Juvenile Justice Act, 2000. Other agencies concerned with the process of adoption both in India and internationally are as follows: Recognised Indian Placement Agencies (RIPAs) Enlisted Foreign Adoption Agencies

Adoption Coordinating Agencies (ACAs) Shishu Grehs Licensed Adoption Placement Agencies (LAPAs) Indian Federation of Adoptive Families Associations (IFAFA) CARA has set out both the In-country and Inter-country guidelines and procedures for adoption. Procedures for in-country adoption are as follows: Stage I Prospective adoptive parent(s) should register themselves with the local RIPA / LAPA or Adoption Coordinating Agency or with the State Adoption Cell. Stage II A home study report of the prospective adoptive parents will be prepared by the social worker of the Agency. To allay the fears and apprehensions of the prospective adoptive parent(s), pre-adoptive counselling sessions will be undertaken by the social worker during the preparation of the home study report. Assessing the ability of a couple to parent a child not born to them is of crucial importance in a successful adoption. Therefore, their suitability to care for an unrelated child is assessed through this home study and counselling. Documents relating to the financial and health status of the prospective parent(s) will be part of the Home Study Report. In case of Inter-State adoption applications by parent(s), they will be accompanied by Home Study prepared by a qualified social worker working in a RIPA/LAPA. Where State Govt.'s have officially delegated such work for its Officials, the Home Study Report could be prepared by the concerned Official. Criteria for eligibility of parent(s) will be adhered to, as stated in Para 1.1.7. The Agency will make a suitable reference from amongst the admitted children legally free for adoption. If no suitable child is available, the family will be referred to the ACA. Stage III After a Home Study has been accepted and approved, a child will be shown to the parent(s). The agency will take care to match a child meeting the description, if any, desired by the parent(s). In case of placement of older children (above the age of 6), both written and verbal consent of the child will be obtained. Stage IV Once a successful matching has been done, the agency will file a petition in the Court/JJB for obtaining the necessary orders under the relevant Act. The above process will normally be completed in 6-8 weeks.

CARA now comes under the umbrella of the ICPS agencies.

14. Shishu Greha Scheme

Scheme of Assistance to Homes (Shishu Greh) for Children to promote In-Country Adoption is implemented by CARA. The purpose of the scheme is to regulate adoption in the country, to provide institutional care for orphaned, destitute and surrendered children prior to adoption and to promote incountry adoption. Under this scheme NGOs can register to run a Shishu Greh. 90% of funding will come from the Government of India and 10% must be covered by the organisation. 100% grants will be afforded to agencies but only up to Rs. 6,00,000/- a financial year. Under this scheme NGOs and Voluntary organisations can undertake the following activities: Opening of Homes for destitute infants in the age group of 0-6 years with the strength of 10 children with a view to finding adoptive families for them. Such destitute infants could be abandoned/surrendered who are legally free for adoption. Homes, which are already running on funds available from other sources, can also apply for separate grants for specific purposes such as purchase of medicines and utensils, library books, cradles, mattresses, learning materials, which could include toys also. Such other activities as may be specified by the Ministry in accordance with the objectives of the scheme The Shishu Greh Scheme now comes under the umbrella of the ICPSprogrammes.

15. CHILDLINE services CHILDLINE 1098 is India's first 24 - hour, free, emergency phone outreach service for children in need of care and protection. Any concerned adult, or a child in need of help can dial 1098, the toll free number to access our services. We not only respond to the emergency needs of children but also link them to services for their long-term care and rehabilitation. 1098 is not a mere number. 10 - 9 - 8 or CHILDLINE is a countdown to a better life for the street child. A friendly or sympathetic 'didi' or 'bhaiya' who is always there for them 24 hours of the day, 365 days of the year. CHILDLINE reaches out to all children in need of care and protection. These include: street children, child labourers, children who have been abused, child victims of the flesh trade, differently-abled children, child addicts, mentally ill children, and children infected by HIV/AIDS - any child who needs our help Children / concerned adults call CHILDLINE for medical assistance, shelter, missing children, Repatriation, Protection from abuse, Emotional support and guidance, Death, information about CHILDLINE, Volunteers, Information and referral to services, Silent calls, Chat calls etc. It

intervenes in case of sickness, death and abuse of children, runaways and child labour, always focusing on the marginalized child. After the initial crisis intervention, CHILDLINE links these children to long-term services. Initiated as an experimental project in 1996 CHILDLINE is currently operational in 83 cities of India spread across 25 states, with a vision to reach out to every child in distress in each city/district of India. Nationally, CHILDLINE has responded to over 17 million calls till date. Today CHILDLINE endeavours to expand to over 590 cities. With government support through the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), CHILDLINE is on its way to achieve the ambitious task of scaling the CHILDLINE 1098 service to cover 305 districts by 2012 and the remaining districts of the country by the end of the 12th Plan. To achieve this momentous goal CHILDLINE has begun to explore the various cities and towns where our services can be set up. The challenge in setting up a CHILDLINE service lies in researching the ground realities for children in the area, connecting and collaborating with various existing organizations such as the telecommunications department, the local police, and local organizations working with children, and hence eventually setting up prepared and well-equipped CHILDLINE call centres.

16. Reproductive and Child Health Programme The Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) Programme was launched in October 1997. The main aim of the programme is to reduce infant, child and maternal mortality rates. The main objectives of the programme in its first phase were: To improve the implementation and management of policy by using a participatory planning approach and strengthening institutions to maximum utilization of the project resources To improve quality, coverage and effectiveness of existing Family Welfare services To gradually expand the scope and coverage of the Family Welfare services to eventually come to a defined package of essential RCH services. Progressively expand the scope and content of existing FW services to include more elements of a defined package of essential Give importance to disadvantaged areas of districts or cities by increasing the quality and infrastructure of Family Welfare services RCH-I had a number of successful and unsuccessful outcomes. Base line statistics were recorded in 1998-99 and compared to 2002-03. Percentage of women receiving any ANC rose by about 12 % to reach 77.2%. But use of government health facilities has declined. Use of contraceptives increased by 3.3 % to 52.0 %, while family planning due to spacing method rose by 3.3% to 10.7 %. Use of permanent methods did not change. Infant mortality came down from 71(SRS 1997)

to 63 (SRS 2002) but the aim of universal immunization was far from reach. Polio though reduced has not met the eradication target. Not enough attention was paid to awareness of diarrhoea management and Acute Respiratory Infection danger signs hence resulting in a rise of case incidents. The child health programmes is now its second phase: RCH-II. Following are the aims of the programme: Expand services to the entire sector of Family Welfare beyond RCH scope Holding States accountable by involving them in the development of the programme Decentralization for better services Allowing states to adjust and improve programmes features according to their direct needs. Improving monitoring and evaluation processes at the District, state and the Central level to ensure improved program implementation. Give performance based funding, by rewarding good performers and supporting weak performers. Pool together financial support from external sources Encourage coordination and convergence, within and outside the sector to maximize use resources as well as infra structural facilities In 2007 a Joint Review Mission (JRM), under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, reviewed the progress of RCH-II and found with a number of key concern areas. The JRM found that child health was being limited to immunization and other aspects were being ignored. Proper guidelines for implementation needed to be put in place for the states. There need to be more training programmes to meet the need for qualified personnel. Many innovative techniques and methods that are being implemented need to be evaluated before expansion takes place. Uttar Pradesh requires additional attention with regard to infrastructure and implementation of RCH and NHRM. There is a need to increase family planning services to meet the target of on average only 2.1 children in each family/household.

17. Scheme for Working Children in need of care and protection The purpose of the Scheme for Working Children in Need of Care and Protection is to provide working children with essential educational services such as non-formal education, and vocational training. The training must aim at entering or re-entering children in the mainstream formal education system in cases where they have never attended school and where children

have discontinued school. The programme aims at preventing and stopping the exploitation of working children and safeguarding their right to education. The target of this scheme is projects in urban areas that are not covered by other schemes, especially those targeting children who are often left out of schemes such as children of slum/pavement dwellers/drug addicts, children living on railway platforms/ along railway lines, children working in shops, dhabas, mechanic shops etc., children engaged as domestic workers, children whose parents are in jail, children of migrant labourers/sex workers, leprosy patients etc. The programme will lend financial support to projects that focus on the programmes objectives of entry/re-entry in mainstream formal education, provide family counselling and necessary vocational courses. NGOs who can qualify under this scheme must be registered, have adequate managerial body, have published aims and objectives, is self governing, and is a non-profit. All organisation activities under this scheme will be subject to external audits, inspection, monitoring and evaluation. The Scheme for Working Children in Need of Care and Protection now comes under the umbrella of ICPS programmes

18. National Child Labour Project In order to tackle the problem of child labour in India and Ministry of Labour and Employment took a three prong approach. First was to set up a legal framework for prohibition and regulation of child labour. Second was to use various development programmes to address the needs of working children. And third was to set up the National Child Labour Project (NCLP). The objective of this project is to eliminate child labour in hazardous industries by 2010. The complete elimination of labour is a gradual aim of the project. Under this scheme, the target group is all children below 14 years of age who are working in occupations and processes listed in the Schedule to the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 or occupations and processes that are harmful to the health of the child. As per the 10th plan the following activities were taken up under the purview of NCLP: Ensuring enforcement of child labour laws Formal and Non- formal education initiatives like Special Schools (Child Labour Rehabilitationcum-Welfare Centres). These schools should offer stipends, nutritional services, and health services to children and proper training for teachers. The purpose of the school is to prevent children from working in hazardous industries and mainstreaming them into the formal education system. Provision of Vocational Training

Creating awareness of the harmful effects of child labour on the development of a child Income and employment generation activities for families Direct rehabilitation of child labour Raising of public awareness Survey and evaluation During the 10th plan the following strategies were adopted to ensure the expansion and implementation of the NCLPs: Expansion of the NCLPs to additional 150 districts during the Plan. Ensuring that NCLPs have clearly defined targets for their areas Linking child labour elimination with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to ensure child's right to education Strengthening the quality and quantity of formal school system in order to help tackle the problem of drop outs and lack of access to schools. Creating a more effective monitoring method of child labourers Coordinating between departments and ministries to ensure that no child is allowed to slip through the system Assistance of voluntary organisation in running NCLP schools.