The CCL team was invited to be a part of the Campaign Against Child Labour’s National Consultation on the Draft Child Labour System (Abolition, Prevention and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2017 on November 1, 2022. Drawing on over twenty years of experience, CCL made submissions on the importance of strengthening and expanding the right to education as a strategy in the eradication of child labour, as opposed to abolition through bans. These submissions resulted in the ‘Draft National Policy on Universal Attainment of Education and Reintegration of Out-of-School Children’. The policy note proposes the expansion of the right to education until the age of 18, the uniformization of the definition of ‘child’ across various laws, reintegration of out-of-school children, expansion of social security and nutrition/health initiatives, and the mobilization of local government bodies in monitoring these efforts.
The draft policy can be accessed here.
The project seeks to ensure food security for marginalised people in India. The Centre conducted the the first phase of the project from August 2018 – September 2021. The second phase will be conducted over a three-year period.
About The Project
The first phase of the project aimed at ensuring food security for the marginalised people through enabling progressive implementation of the National Food Security Act, (NFSA) 2013. A systems strengthening approach was adopted and the capacities of the stakeholders were built along with highlighting the key issues and gaps in implementation of the law. The Centre conducted studies in the following areas:
- The role of the State and Judiciary in ensuring food and nutrition security in light of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Response of state food commissions in the context of COVID-19
- Policy alternatives for food and nutrition security in India apart from manuals for members of Panchayat Raj institutions, Bal Vikas Samitis, vigilance committees, State food commissions and civil society organisations.
In the second phase, the project will focus on engagement with the community to strengthen their capacities and make use of the grievance redressal mechanism under NFSA. This is being done along with strengthening capacities of the officials who are discharging these duties under the Act.
Team
The project is led by Dr Neetu Sharma, Coordinator of Centre for Child and the Law and Programme Head of the Right to Food Programme. The other members on the team are Ms Jyotsna Sripada, Ms Shruthi Raman, Mr Kumaraswamy T and Ms Sudha S.
