Govt plans national periodic survey to map children's welfare needs

MoSPI to collaborate with MoWCD for a periodic national child survey aimed at mapping the needs of children and creating a child index under the Mission Vatsalya scheme

In a bid to provide policymakers with timely and reliable statistics to ensure better protection of children’s rights, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is set to conduct a national child survey in collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD).

 

The survey will map the needs of children under Mission Vatsalya—a scheme for children in need of care and protection, and children in conflict with law. The periodic survey will be used to prepare a child index.

 

“MoSPI has initiated a discussion to collaborate with MoWCD for conducting a national child survey to map the needs of children covered under the Mission Vatsalya scheme through a periodic survey. The main focus of the child survey is the preparation of a child index under Mission Vatsalya,” the statistics ministry told a parliamentary panel in response to its suggestion of developing a child index.

 

 

The Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by Lok Sabha member Bhartruhari Mahtab, tabled the report in Parliament on Thursday.

 

In earlier reports, the committee had urged the ministry to develop a system to capture statistics on children working in the informal sector, children out of school, or those living on the streets. 

 

“The committee recommends conducting a regular child survey and developing a national child index in synergy with MoWCD. The committee also suggests the ministry tie up with state governments to engage panchayats and municipal bodies to help facilitate data collection for the survey,” the House panel said.

 

Presently, MoWCD is exploring the requirements in terms of indicators to be considered and the frame to be used in the survey. Once the requirements are received from MoWCD, the feasibility of conducting the survey will be explored, subject to recommendations of technical groups and the steering committee.

 

Separately, the parliamentary panel noted that the results of the seventh Economic Census have not been published by the statistics ministry due to concerns over data accuracy, mainly arising from the Covid pandemic.

 

“In the meeting taken by the Cabinet Secretary on 13 July 2023, it was recommended that ‘it may not be feasible to publish the results of the seventh Economic Census.’ The eighth Economic Census is being implemented in close coordination with the states and Union Territories, as they have the role of fieldwork, training, and finalisation of results,” the ministry told the House panel in response to a query on the progress of the Economic Census.