According to the Census, 2011, 10.1 million children (3.9% of the children population) are employed as workers in India. Despite legislative measures like Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 and various constitutional provisions under articles 21A, 24, and 39, child labour continues to exist in the country.
Different determinants of the occurrence of child labour in India are as follows:

• Poverty: The main and most prominent reason behind children being forced into work and away from education is poverty. For many poor families in India who are struggling to meet their basic needs, seeking employment for their children is a means to more income.
• Inequality: The incidence of child labour is significantly higher in districts with higher per capita district domestic product (PCDDP), in case of urban areas. The increase in PCDDP is not evenly distributed leading to high inequality. This, consequently, contributes to the continuation of child labour in urban areas.
• Caste discrimination: There is positive correlation between socially disadvantaged caste group and incidence of child labour in rural areas.
• Mother’s education: There is a crucial positive impact of a mother’s education on the well-being of the child. Higher the percentage of mothers having at least middle school level of education, lower is the incidence of child labour.
• Demand for labour in agriculture and household industries (HHI): Agriculture and HHI demand work that requires engagement of the entire family to cut down on costs of hiring labourers. This necessitates the involvement of children in these particular sectors.
• Poor quality of government schools: Education provided in government schools, especially in the rural areas, is of inferior quality. Hence, parents may find it more beneficial for their children to join the labour force instead of continuing with their education there. This is more so the case in the households where the decision-making parents are not educated.

Measures to tackle the issue of child labour in India

• Educate the mothers: Given the important role that mother’s education plays in mitigating child labour, schemes to promote education among females that are already in place need to be improved. It will also provide employment opportunities for them.
• Improve educational infrastructure; Better quality of government schools, particularly in rural areas, needs to be ensured. Although policies such as midday meals and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan have come a long way, efforts must be directed towards imparting quality education such that the parents find it beneficial to send their children to school.
• The positive impact of reservation of seats in education and public employment is probably the reason behind lower incidence of child labour in urban areas with higher SC/ST children population. Thus, steps need to be taken to ensure that people belonging to the backward castes in rural areas are also made aware of their rights.
• Equitable growth: Policies must be focused not only on increasing per capita income but should also guarantee its equitable distribution, especially in urban areas. Pro-poor growth would help mitigate the incidences of child labour.
• Strengthening legislative framework and strict labour inspections: The government should enforce and strengthen existing laws related to child labour. Moreover, effective monitoring and enforcement of labour laws are essential.

The Indian government must continue to crack down on employers that take advantage of child labourers and ignore the law while, at the same time, improve the education system in order to break these cycles of poverty.