Mission Vatsalya

Mission Vatsalya

  • Context: 

  • The Supreme Court recently directed the Union government to instruct all States to appoint nodal officers to handle cases of missing children.  

  • The court ordered that the contact details of these officers be uploaded to the Mission Vatsalya portal to ensure prompt action and better coordination in tracing missing children 

  •  Mission Vatsalya portal: 

  • Mission Vatsalya is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) 

  • The Nodal Ministry is Ministry of Women and Child Development 

  • Funding Pattern: The cost is shared between the Centre and States 

  • 60:40 for most States and UTs with a legislature 

  • 90:10 for North-Eastern States, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu & Kashmir 

  • 100% Central share for UTs without a legislature 

  • Components of Mission Vatsalya 

  • Institutional Care:  

  • It is provided through Child Care Institutions (CCIs), which offer support like age-appropriate education, vocational training, healthcare, and counselling 

  • Non-Institutional Care:  

  • This includes services like sponsorship, foster care, and after-care for children in need 

  • Online Portal:  

  • The Mission Vatsalya portal serves as a unified online platform to trace missing children.  

  • It has integrated two earlier platforms, TrackChild and Khoya-Paya.  

  • Any citizen or parent can use the portal to report a missing child 

  • Implementation Framework 

  • The scheme is implemented in partnership with State/UT governments 

  • Child welfare and protection functions are assigned to existing committees within Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies 

  • District Magistrates are tasked with encouraging individuals and organizations in the public or private sector to sponsor a child, a group of children, or an institution 

  • Legal Framework 

  • The mission's implementation is based on the provisions of two key laws: 

  • The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 

  • The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 

  • Alignment with SDGs 

  • Mission Vatsalya is designed as a roadmap to achieve child protection priorities that are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) like SDG3, SDG4 and SDG5.