Abstract

Child labour refers to the employment of children in any work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful. Of an estimated 215 million child laborers around the globe: approximately 114 million (53 per cent) are in Asia and the Pacific; 14 million (7 per cent) live in Latin America; and 65 million (30 per cent) live in sub-Saharan Africa. Global number of children in child labour has declined by one third since 2010, from 246 million to 168 million children. More than half of them, 85 million, are in hazardous work (down from 171 million in 2010). Asia and the Pacific still has the largest numbers (almost 78 million or 9.3% of child population), but Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region with the highest incidence of child labour (59 million, over 21 per cent). (International Labour Organization, 2022). Today in India, there are more than 10.12 million children who are spending their childhood learning carpet-weaving, beedi-rolling, domestic labour, agriculture, firework and apparel manufacture and countless other occupations instead of going to school and receiving quality education (Bhalotra S. 2001). The present paper highlights the characteristic and causes for child labour in India with special reference to Dhanbad District, bonded child labour, consequences and exploitation of child labour. It mainly focused on policy initiatives of government of India to protect child labour in the region of Dhanbad district. Most child laborers are male with a family size of 5-8 members, never attended any school and living in a family whose monthly income is less than 8000 Indian Rupees and the major reason of work was low family income and poverty.

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