Parliament Question: Identification, protection, and rehabilitation of homeless children

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 636 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.02.2026 IDENTIFICATION, PROTECTION, AND REHABILITATION OF HOMELESS CHILDREN 636. SHRI BABUBHAI JESANGBHAI DESAI: Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state: (a) whether any special scheme or program is being implemented by Government to identify homeless/nomadic children living in public places such as roads, sidewalks, railway stations and bus stands and provide protection and social security to them and their families, if so, the main features and current status thereof; and (b) the State-wise/Union Territory-wise number of children identified and the number of children who have been admitted to shelters or rehabilitation centres along with their families and the details thereof, during last three year and current year? ANSWER MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI) (a): The Ministry of Women and Child Development is the nodal Ministry for the administration of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act, 2015) which is the primary law for care and protection of children in the country. As per Section 2 (14) (vi) of the JJ Act, a child who does not have parents and no one is willing to take care of and protect or who is abandoned or surrendered is included as a “child in need of care and protection.” The Act provides a security net of service delivery structures including measures for institutional and non-institutional care to ensure comprehensive well-being of children in distress situations. Mission Vatsalya scheme is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) which is implemented through States and Union Territories to deliver services for Children in Need of Care and Protection (CNCP) and Children in Conflict with Law (CCL) which include Institutional Care and Non-Institutional Care. Under the scheme Institutional Care is provided through Child Care Institutions (CCIs), as a rehabilitative measure. The programmes and activities in homes inter-alia include age-appropriate education, access to vocational training, recreation, health care, counselling etc. Under the Non- Institutional Care component, support is extended for Adoption, Foster Care, After Care and Sponsorship. Further Mission Vatsalya also provides for “After care” services after the age of 18 years to help sustain them during the transition from institutional to independent life.Under Mission Vatsalya Scheme, States and Districts are mandated to implement a 24x7x365 Child Helpline service (1098) for children as defined under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015. Child Helpline has been integrated with the Emergency Response Support System-112 (ERSS-112) helpline of Ministry of Home Affairs and is functional in all 36 States and Union Territories. States and Union Territories are also mandated to establish Child helpdesk at Railway Stations and Bus Stands as part of Child helpline. b) The primary responsibility of execution of the JJ Act and implementation of Mission Vatsalya Scheme lies with the States and Union Territories. The State-wise and Union Territory-wise number of children admitted to CCIs during last three years and current year as on 31.12.2025 is at Annexure. *****ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF THE RAJYA SABHA UN- STARRED QUESTION NO.636 FOR ANSWER ON 04.02.2026 BY SHRI BABUBHAI JESANGBHAI DESAI THE STATE-WISE AND UNION TERRITORY-WISE NUMBER OF CHILDREN ADMITTED TO CHILD CARE INSTITUTIONS DURING LAST THREE YEARS AND CURRENT YEAR AS ON 31.12.2025 S. State Beneficiaries No. FY FY FY FY 2025-26 as on 2022- 2023- 2024- 31.12.2025 23 24 25 1 Andhra Pradesh 1504 1546 2152 2284 2 Arunachal Pradesh 206 206 420 222 3 Assam 1380 1241 1615 1246 4 Bihar 2088 2227 2958 3228 5 Chhattisgarh 1974 1843 1876 1632 6 Goa 526 461 519 405 7 Gujarat 1651 3195 2393 2987 8 Haryana 1239 963 946 960 9 Himachal Pradesh 805 926 1390 1312 10 Jammu and Kashmir 817 1104 1385 1870 11 Jharkhand 1219 1238 1995 1765 12 Karnataka 3182 3110 4587 2853 13 Kerala 697 776 1345 1370 14 Madhya Pradesh 2292 2597 2303 2392 15 Maharashtra 3654 3495 3667 4185 16 Manipur 2121 2295 2296 2555 17 Meghalaya 972 1031 990 993 18 Mizoram 914 1172 1348 1742 19 Nagaland 493 562 621 663 20 Odisha 4153 4431 4627 6536 21 Punjab 607 533 506 543 22 Rajasthan 2560 2733 3958 4499 23 Sikkim 526 468 660 675 24 Tamil Nadu 7785 10118 12438 11217 25 Telangana 1129 2243 2485 2455 26 Tripura 829 948 1085 1235 27 Uttar Pradesh 3238 3226 5420 5125 28 Uttarakhand 700 589 868 909 29 West Bengal 6220 4744 7615 7725 30 Andaman & Nicobar 308 274 263 264 31 Chandigarh 202 222 344 37032 Dadra & Nagar Haveli and 28 36 64 58 Daman & Diu 33 Ladakh 25 84 77 96 34 Lakshadweep 0 0 0 0 35 National Capital Territory 1206 1216 1012 1570 of Delhi 36 Puducherry 690 739 654 673 ******