<div>The Child Labour law has been revamped, and major changes have been cleared. The age restrictions for working, the penalties for violations and the industries deemed fit for working have all been overhauled. According to the Union Cabinet which was chaired by the Prime Minister, these changes have been made considering the social fabric of the country. The definition of adolescence has also been changed to incorporate the age group of 14 to 18. </div><div> </div><div>The child activists and many NGOs working for the development of children and eradication of child labour in the country are not very happy with the changes that have been proposed. Critics are very vocal in pointing out that enough loopholes have been left in the current provisions that can exploited and will impede the eradication of child labour. </div><div> </div><div>Activists who are working at the grassroot level and are closely associated with the menace believe that these exceptions will only push children to work in industries that are not deemed ‘hazardous’, like carpet manufacturing, or working in paper mill, and which in turn will slow down the entire process of eradication of child labour.</div><div> </div><div>Also the clause of ‘Business run by the family’ has enough soft points to be taken undue advantage of, as in almost all the cases of violations previously, the children who were employed had the consent of their family, and there is no hesitation in the employer to address the parents as his family, or the business as a ‘family enterprise’ and in many occasions due to lack of any identity proof, the rampant violations do take place. </div><div> </div><div>According to the recent proposal the children can work during vacations, or after their school or classes, and many child activities question how such a clause will be regulated, and that this will only lead to an increase in drop-outs.</div><div> </div><div>However, the punishments for violations have been made more stringent, ranging from hefty fines to even jail terms, but the question of regulation of all the above statements is a primary issue that needs serious attention, if the evils of Child Labour is to eliminated from the society.</div>
