Unemployment is a pressing problem. This is a headache for any country. According to the recently released 'Centre for Monitoring of Indian Economy' data, India's unemployment rate in March rose for the second consecutive month to 7.8 percent, ranking fifth in the world. Although there are many reasons for this problem, the lack of implementation of proper planning is considered to be the main reason. Today is being observed as the World Day Against Child Labour all over the world. Observed on June 12th, World Day Against Child Labour is intended to serve as a catalyst for the growing worldwide movement against child labour. Emphasizing the link between social justice and child labour, the slogan for the World Day in 2023 is ‘Social Justice for All. End Child Labour!’.By endorsing the 138th Convention of the International Labour Organization on fixing the minimum age of child labour and the 182nd Convention on the Prohibition and Abolition of Child Labour to eradicate this abhorrent practice and thereby create public awareness, since 2002, this day is celebrated all over the world on June 12 every year. This day is also celebrated in our country with much fanfare. For this, the government and many institutions are organizing many programs by spending a lot of money. But there is a need to gauge the extent to which the program is benefiting those at the grassroots level.

Some government measures are sometimes blamed for increasing the unemployment problem. For example, to identify , rescue and rehabilitate child labourers from the age group of 6 to 14 years engaged in various workplaces, to provide education, and to include them in the mainstream ,the world's largest National Child Labour Project was functioning in our country since 1988. Millions of child labourers and employees were benefited by this project, which was run in different districts of the country at an annual cost of only 190 crore rupees. But in the budget of the last year 2022, the government stopped the scheme without considering anything in relation to this scheme. As a result, this had a direct impact on the livelihood of the vulnerable child labour and workers of the project. In the absence of this project for two long years, millions of child labour and many families of workers of the country came to the streets. The project by which the child labour could be rescued, mainstreamed and popularized are now forced to rededicate their lives as labour in the workplace. What is the benefit of observing Child Labour Day today? The department to which the government has given responsibility for the said project has not started any program for survey and rehabilitation of child labour till date. Although this program has been started in neighbouring states, it has not been able to take root in our state. On a day like today, for one wrong decision to implement the plan, we have promoted both unemployment problem and social disorders like increase in child labour. Even though 12 years have passed since the census was held in our country, we are still counting that data. In the meantime, two years have passed since the National Child Labour Project was closed and even though the situation in the country is on the alert for epidemics like Covid, magnitude of child labour has not yet been assessed. Apart from the census, the program of identifying child labour which was going on by the National Child Labour Project once in three years, for decades, was completely stopped due to the lock in the project. So do we have to wait for census data to know the status of child labour in our country?

The government has identified 20 blocks of districts like Kalahandi, Nuapada and Balangir as migration prone areas. A number of schemes have also been implemented to eliminate the problem in that area. Still, migrant labour with children are often rescued in these areas. A few days ago it was published in the newspaper that the children were raising money during the summer holidays to pay for their studies. Whether it is the World Day Against Child Labour on June 12 or the International Day of Missing Children on May 23, the main focus is to protect children and therefore raise public awareness along with parents and guardians. So it is time to celebrate this day and focus on identifying and treating child labour and how to eliminate this abominable disease from the society. Before taking any action regarding children, the government should consult with the intellectuals of the entire country.