ABSTRACT
The chapter looks into the varied categories of children deprived of nurturing care and developmental opportunities owing to intersecting factors of poverty, social status, gender, caste, class, geography and abilities. It looks into the specific issues faced by children in poor households, those exposed to climate change induced vulnerabilities, belonging to marginalised communities such as scheduled castes and tribes, the girl child, children with disabilities and children who do not fit into the normative gender framework. It also brings attention to those further invisibilised, including children growing up in conflict zones, children of devadasis, sex workers and bar dancers. The chapter calls for the universal provisioning of ECD as an important component of social protection and ensuring greater focus on the most disadvantaged.
