Children have been recognized by policy makers as one of the supreme national assets. India is home to 472 million children upto the age of 18 years and comprise 39 percent of the country’s population. The objective of Mission Vatsalya is to secure a healthy and happy childhood for every child in India; foster a sensitive, supportive and synchronized ecosystem for development of children; assist States/UTs in delivering the mandate of the Juvenile Justice Act 2015; achieve the SDG goals.

Components under Mission Vatsalya will include

• statutory bodies;
• service delivery structures;
• institutional care/services;
• non-institutional community based care;
• emergency outreach services;
• training and capacity building.

Its importance in child protection

• Mission Vatsalya, which has been operationalised, is one of the new triad of schemes along with Mission Shakti, and Poshan 2.0, that aims at securing a healthy and happy childhood for every child.
• It has functioned as a public-private partnership between the government and civil society organisations to provide a first-responder safety net, and kick start the process of rescue and rehabilitation of children.
• Foster a sensitive, supportive and synchronized ecosystem for development of children;
• Assist States/UTs in delivering the mandate of the Juvenile Justice Act 2015;
• Achieve the SDG goals.

Issues

• Because of the necessity to “preserve data sensitivity,” ChildLine (1098), a 24-hour toll-free helpline for children in distress, will be operated by the Home Affairs Ministry under Mission Vatsalya.
• Although no detailed implementation plan has been released, it is expected that police officers would respond to the call initially, with NGOs taking over afterwards.
• This is troublesome since youngsters are hesitant to confide in police officers.

The government must assess the matter from the standpoint of the scheme’s primary benefit, the kid, and secure his or her safety, security, and pleasure.

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/the-child-at-the-centre-the-hindu-editorial-on-mission-vatsalya/article65296613.ece

How to structure:

1. Give an intro about crimes against children in India
2. Explain in detail about Mission Vatsalya
3. Analyse how it improves child protection and mention the need
4. Suggest further measures
5. Conclude