NCPCR tracks data on orphans

• Supreme Court is suo motu examining ways to protect children who have suffered personal loss and trauma due to the pandemic.
• In this regard, On May 28, the Court directed the Centre to state welfare measures for the children orphaned by the pandemic.
• The NCPCR and the States were also asked to compile data identifying children in need of immediate care.

Based on Bal Swaraj, an online tracking portal, NCPCR made the following submissions:

1. Nearly 10,000 children in the country are in immediate need of care and protection.
2. They include children aged between zero and 17 orphaned or abandoned during the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020.
3. These children ran a high risk of being pushed into trafficking and flesh trade.

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)

• It was established in March 2007 under the 'Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005'.
• It works under the administrative control of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

• The Commission’s Mandate is to ensure that all Laws, Policies, Programmes, and Administrative Mechanisms are in consonance with the Child Rights perspective as enshrined in the Constitution of India and also the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Structure

• This commission consists of a chairperson and six members, of whom at least two must be women.
• All the members are appointed by the central government, and their term is three years.
• The maximum age of the chairman of the commission is 65 years and the maximum age of the members is 60 years.