ABSTRACT
The strength of India lies in its youth. If the country is able to take care of the basic needs of the younger population, that is, the children, it is expected that India, like China, is going to be a very prosperous country and will definitely be elevated to the list of developed countries. However, this requires concerted efforts by all relevant authorities. It is very important to ensure effective implementation of all welfare schemes related to children, in addition to ensuring education, nutrition and medical care for them and strengthening the school education system. Improvement of the quality of education by appointing qualified and trained teachers is a prerequisite for producing knowledgeable and skilled manpower. The present chapter examines the status of children in India and the protection of their civic and legal rights with special reference to the rights to education, nutrition, medical care and safety. Further, the chapter discusses various challenges in implementing government policies and programs for the welfare of children. The chapter, based on secondary data, proposes to review and examine data available from local- and national-level studies in addition to consulting reports. Finally, the chapter proposes a number of measures and provides a model for the protection of the civic and legal rights of children in India.
