Ending child labour in India? It will take 100 years!

With child labour decreasing at a dismal rate of only 2.2 per cent per year it would take more than a century to end the menace, a report said on Thursday.

An analysis of census data by Child Rights and You has revealed that child labour has been decreasing at a mere 2.2 per cent per year over the last decade, contrary to popular perception of its substantial reduction.

Stating that over a crore (10 million) children continue to be a part of the country's workforce, the report said at this pace it would take more than a century to end the menace.

The analysis also points out to a dangerous trend.

Child labour in urban areas has increased by 53 per cent during 2001-2011.

"This is of utmost concern especially since enforcement machinery is primarily based in urban regions and the implementation of child protection structures is stronger in urban India.

“This increase in urban child labour could be attributed to increased migration including seasonal migration for employment as well as trafficking of unaccompanied minors," says Komal Ganotra, Director, Policy & Research, CRY.

Overall, 80 per cent of the working children are based in rural areas and 3 out 4 of them work in agriculture as cultivators or in household industries, most of which are home-based employments, the report said.

Interestingly, more than half of working children in India are concentrated in five states namely Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

These states account for more than 55 lakh (5.5 million) of child workers.

Out of these five states, only Uttar Pradesh has witnessed a growth in child labour by 13 per cent with one out of five child labourers in India belonging to the state, the report said.

This photograph by Dipak Chakraborty/Rediff.com is used for representational purpose only