SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir received Rs 78.54 crore under the Centre’s Mission Vatsalya scheme over the last two financial years for child protection services and awareness programmes, the Union Government informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Minister of State for Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur, in a written reply, said the Union Territory received Rs 44.75 crore in 2024–25 and Rs 33.79 crore in 2025–26 under the centrally sponsored scheme aimed at strengthening child protection mechanisms and capacity-building at the grassroots level.
The Centre said it had taken cognisance of incidents of violence, sexual abuse and other forms of abuse against children in schools and educational institutions across the country and had issued measures to strengthen safety and protection systems.
According to the reply, the Department of School Education and Literacy issued School Safety and Security Guidelines on October 1, 2021 for government, aided and private schools. The guidelines mandate accountability of school managements, adopt a zero-tolerance policy, and lay down procedures for reporting abuse, counselling victims and taking corrective action.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has also circulated a Manual on Safety and Security of Children in Schools and operates a grievance redressal mechanism through which complaints are forwarded to state and district authorities and monitored through follow-ups and review meetings.
On the implementation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, the government said it continued to strengthen mandatory reporting, child-friendly investigation and trial procedures, victim support and rehabilitation, institutional accountability and stakeholder training.
The reply noted that Section 19 of the POCSO Act makes it mandatory for every person, including school authorities, to report offences to the police or Special Juvenile Police Unit, while Section 21 provides penalties for failure to report, with stricter punishment for those in charge of institutions.
The Centre said the POCSO Rules, 2020 provide for care and protection through Child Welfare Committees, appointment of support persons, emergency medical aid and interim compensation to victims, while NCPCR monitors implementation through the POCSO Tracking Portal and POCSO e-Box for online reporting of child sexual abuse.
The ministry added that 202 awareness and capacity-building programmes were conducted during 2025–26, including 30 virtual programmes, along with the development of information and awareness material on the POCSO Act and online child sexual abuse.
