Youth in India

As per the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2012, 96.5% of all rural children between the ages of 6-14 were enrolled in school.

[7] States of India have introduced tests and education assessment system to identify and improve such schools.

The Indian government has also banned child labour in order to ensure that the children do not enter unsafe working conditions.

[9] However, both free education and the ban on child labour are difficult to enforce due to economic disparity and social conditions.

[9] 80% of all recognised schools at the elementary stage are government run or supported, making it the largest provider of education in the country.

The prevalence of underweight children in India is among the highest in the world, and is nearly double that of Sub Saharan Africa with dire consequences for mobility, mortality, productivity and economic growth.

Research has conclusively shown that malnutrition during pregnancy causes the child to have increased risk of future diseases, physical retardation, and reduced cognitive abilities.

Also, other Indians are strictly vegan, which means, they do not consume any sort of animal product, including dairy and eggs.

[21] The rates of malnutrition are exceptionally high among adolescent girls and pregnant and lactating women in India, with repercussions for children's health.

[a][22] The Midday Meal Scheme is a school meal programme of the Government of India designed to improve the nutritional status of school-age children nationwide,[23] by supplying free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes in government, government aided, local body, Education Guarantee Scheme, and alternative innovative education centres, Madarsa and Maqtabs supported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and National Child Labour Project schools run by the ministry of labour.

[24] Serving 120,000,000 children in over 1,265,000 schools and Education Guarantee Scheme centres, it is the largest such programme in the world.

[28] The child labour problem is not unique to India; worldwide, about 217 million children work, many full-time.

Children between age of 14 and 18 are defined as "Adolescent" and the law allows Adolescent to be employed except in the listed hazardous occupation and processes which include mining, inflammable substance and explosives related work and any other hazardous process as per the Factories Act, 1948.

[42] India has an estimated one hundred thousand or more street children in each of the following cities: New Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai.

[43] Mainly because of family conflict, they come to live on the streets and take on the full responsibilities of caring for themselves, including working to provide for and protecting themselves.

The International Center for Research on Women-UNICEF publications have estimated India's child marriage rate to be 47% from a sample surveys of 1998,[47] while the United Nations reports it to be 30% in 2005.

However, in the British colonial times, the legal minimum age of marriage was set at 14 for girls and 18 for boys.

Under protests from Muslim organizations in the undivided British India, a personal law Shariat Act was passed in 1937 that allowed child marriages with consent from girl's guardian.

For example, the state of Haryana introduced the so-called Apni Beti, Apna Dhan program in 1994, which translates to "My daughter, My wealth".

It is a conditional cash transfer program dedicated to delaying young marriages by providing a government paid bond in her name, payable to her parents, in the amount of ₹25,000 (US$290), after her 18th birthday if she is not married.

In the past, child widows were condemned to a life of great agony, shaved heads, living in isolation, and being shunned by society.

In other cases, children are tricked into the hands of traffickers by being presented an opportunity for a job, when in reality, upon arrival they become enslaved.

Because of the nature of this crime; it is hard to track; and due to the poor enforcement of laws, it is difficult to prevent.

[71] There are many different causes that lead to child trafficking, with the primary reasons being poverty, weak law enforcement, and a lack of good quality public education.