An official website of the United States government.
Here’s how you know
Here’s how you knowThe .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.
The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.
In 2023, India made moderate advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The government extended its Fast Track Special Courts, which expedite the trial process for sexual offense cases, including the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The Railway Protection Force and Government Railway Police rescued 858 children from railway platforms, preventing them from being exploited for labor exploitation or sex trafficking. Several states provided rehabilitation and financial assistance to 654 adult bonded labor survivors and their immediate families. However, despite these efforts, the government's existing hazardous work prohibitions do not include all occupations in which children work in unsafe and unhealthy environments, and penalties for illegally employing children are insufficient to deter violations. Prosecution rates for crimes related to the worst forms of child labor, including child trafficking, remain low and the mistreatment of child labor victims by the police remains a concern. Through the enhanced enforcement of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, the government continued to revoke the licenses of nongovernmental organizations and civil society organizations, some of which work to address the worst forms of child labor.
I. Prevalence and Sectoral Distribution of Child Labor| Children | Age | Percent of Population |
|---|---|---|
| Working | 5 to 14 | 1.0% (2,119,846) |
| Hazardous Work by Children | 15 to 17 | Unavailable |
| Attending School | 5 to 14 | 90.7% |
| Combining Work and School | 7 to 14 | 0.4% |
† Determined by national law or regulation as hazardous and, as such, relevant to Article 3(d) of ILO C. 182.
‡ Child labor understood as the worst forms of child labor per se under Article 3(a)–(c) of ILO C. 182.
Children at Higher Risk
In India, migrant children, low-caste children, and religious minorities are vulnerable to child labor, commercial sexual exploitation, and familial debt bondage. Girls from such disadvantaged communities are vulnerable to forced and bonded labor in the home-based garment sector. Caste-based discrimination and poverty renders Dalit children especially vulnerable to child labor. Children are vulnerable to labor exploitation in sectors in which adults from marginalized castes face labor exploitation, such as shrimp processing in Adhra Pradesh, where children reportedly accompany their families in debt bondage. In some cases, girls from the Dalit community are particularly vulnerable to exploitation. Furthermore, climate change in India is pushing more children into child labor as children drop out of school to help their parents make up livelihoods lost to extreme weather events. Maoist groups reportedly forcibly recruit children in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand to handle weapons, serve as human shields, and for use as cooks, porters, and informants in armed conflict. Reports indicate that some non-state armed groups recruit girls for sexual exploitation, including practices indicative of sexual slavery.
Barriers to Education Access
In India, school budgetary constraints, inadequate transportation for children in rural areas, a lack of separate and sanitary washrooms for female students, and inadequate infrastructure in existing schools present barriers to education access. Limited direct recruitment for teaching jobs and a cumbersome teacher recruitment process has led to high pupil-teacher ratios, severe teacher vacancies, and a non-availability of teachers with subject matter expertise, adversely impacting quality of education. Lower-caste Hindu children, members of tribal communities, and religious minorities face discrimination and harassment by education officials. Lower-caste children in some schools are segregated from other students, given less food than higher-caste students, relegated to seats in the back of classrooms, and assigned tasks like cleaning toilets during the school day.
II. Legal Framework for Child Labor* Country has no conscription
India's new criminal code, the Bharatiya Nayaya Sanhita, went into effect in 2024. India's hazardous work regulations for children ages 14 to 18—established in the country's Occupational, Safety, Health, and Working Conditions (OSH) Code—do not include all sectors in which children are known to work, including spinning mills, garment production, and carpet making, which expose children to dangerous machinery and difficult working conditions, including long hours. The OSH Code has not been universally adopted at the state level and the deadline for state-level adoption remains unknown, rendering children in some states vulnerable to child labor. The OSH Code only applies to institutions with 10 or more employees, leaving workers in smaller workplaces unprotected. India's child trafficking laws do not meet international standards as they require the use of force, fraud, or coercion to establish child trafficking offenses. Although sources report that the minimum age for voluntary recruitment into India’s Armed Forces is age 16 and that individuals must be age 18 to be deployed, these legal provisions are not publicly available and could not be verified.
III. Enforcement of Laws on Child Labor| Overview of Enforcement Efforts | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Has a Labor Inspectorate | Yes |
| Able to Assess Civil Penalties | Yes |
| Routinely Conducted Worksite Inspections | Unknown |
| Unannounced Inspections Permitted | Yes |
| Has a Complaint Mechanism | Yes |
| Imposed Penalties for Child Labor Violations | Unknown |
| Conducted Criminal Investigations for Worst Forms of Child Labor Crimes | Yes |
| Imposed Penalties for Worst Forms of Child Labor Crimes | Unknown |
It is unknown how many labor inspectors conducted worksite inspections, or whether child labor violations were found. In addition, although investigations into suspected cases of the worst forms of child labor were conducted, the total number of investigations is unknown. However, the Government of India reported that 609 prosecutions were initiated, and 181 perpetrators—including cases pending from previous years—were convicted for suspected worst forms of child labor crimes.
IV. Coordination, Policies, and ProgramsFor information about USDOL’s projects to address child labor around the world, visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/ilab-project-page-search
† Program is funded by the Government of India.
In India, workers face obstacles forming and maintaining unions. These obstacles include provisions requiring at least 100 workers or 10 percent of the workforce (whichever is lower) is represented in the union; a lack of collective bargaining rights for civil servants; the illegality of strikes in Kerala; and the illegality of strikes regarding essential services in Tamil Nadu.
