Parliament Question: Welfare and Rehabilitation of Children engaged in Begging

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1386 TO BE ANSWERED ON 28.07.2026 WELFARE AND REHABILITATION OF CHILDREN ENGAGED IN BEGGING 1386. DR. MOHAMMAD JAWED: Will the Minister of SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has any data on the number of children engaged in begging in cities and major towns across the country, if so, the details thereof, State and age group-wise; (b) the details of such children, indicating the number identified during surveys, rescue operations, or any other official exercise, age and gender-wise; (c) the details of children engaged in begging who have been rescued, rehabilitated, reunited with their families, or provided institutional care along with the details of rehabilitation measures extent to them during the last five years, State-wise; (d) whether the Government is implementing any welfare schemes specifically for children engaged in begging, if so, the details thereof, including the number of beneficiaries covered and if not, the reason therefor; and (e) whether the Government proposes to formulate a dedicated scheme for their rescue, rehabilitation, education, and reintegration into society, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT (SHRI B.L.VERMA) (a) to (c): Yes, The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is implementing the Central Sector Scheme, Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise (SMILE) - Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in the act of Begging, since 23.10.2023 in 216 major cities and towns across 33 States/Union Territories, Under the Scheme, data relating to persons, including children, identified as engaged in the act of begging is collected during surveys and rescue operations undertaken by the Implementing Authorities. The Scheme accords special attention to children identified as engaged in the act of begging. Such children are reunited with their families, wherever feasible, or provided appropriate support through Anganwadi Centres and Schools. Children requiring institutional care are produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and linked to Child Care Institutions (CCIs) under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.As on 30.06.2026, a total of 2824 children have been identified, rescued and rehabilitated under the Scheme. Of these, 1549 children have been reunited with their parents/families, 309 children have been admitted to Anganwadi Centres, 290 children have been produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), and 676 children have been admitted to Schools. The State-wise details are given at Annexure-I. Age-wise and gender-wise data of identified children are not maintained separately under the Scheme. (d): The Government is not implementing any scheme specifically for children engaged in the act of begging. However, the Central Sector Scheme SMILE-Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in the act of Begging contains specific provisions for the identification, rescue, rehabilitation and mainstreaming of children engaged in the act of begging through family reunification, admission to schools and Anganwadi Centres, or institutional care through Child Welfare Committees and Child Care Institutions, wherever required. The Scheme has specific and focused provision for rehabilitation of children engaged in beggars. The framework provides for 100% rehabilitation and mainstreaming of children surveyed, profiled and rescued from beggary. (e): Since there is a specific focus on rehabilitation and mainstreaming of children rescued from beggary under the ongoing SMILE-Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons engaged in the act of Begging Scheme, there is no need for a separate scheme.Annexure-I State-wise details of children identified and rehabilitated under the Central Sector Scheme SMILE-Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in the Act of Begging (as on 30.06.2026) S| eer | Children Reunited Admitted to Handed Admitted| Children No. Identified Anganwadi to School | Rehabilitated Parents CWC Andhra l Pradesh 191 177 0 4 10 191 Arunachal | 2 Pradesh 37 31 0 0 6 37 3 {Assam 94 56 17 4 17 94 4 |Bihar 91 0 37 0 54 91 5 |Chandigarh 313 153 74 51 35 313 6 {Chhattisgarh l 0 0 1 0 1 7? Delhi 233 185 16 0 32 233 8 Gujarat 160 98 6 4 52 160 Himachal 9 Pradesh 1 1 0 0 0 | Jammu & 10 Kashmir 76 17 0 57 2 76 11 (Karnataka 76 71 5 0 0 76 12 Kerala 14 11 3 0 0 14 Madhya 13 Pradesh 156 56 26 | =—28 46 156 14 (Maharashtra 208 31 53 1 123 208 15 {Mizoram 2 0 2 0 0 2 16 |Odisha 102 68 8 21 5 102 17 |Puducherry 7 7 0 0 0 7 18 [Punjab 21 10 11 0 0 21 19 |Tamil Nadu ~ 111 105 6 0 0 111 20 \Telangana 3 l 0 0 2 3 21 (Uttar Pradesh 927 47] 45 119 292 927 Total 2824 1549 309 290 676 2824 oF 8 2 OK ok