Mission Vatsalya

Mission Vatsalya is a centrally sponsored scheme for the child protection in India which was launched in April 2022. Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing the Mission Vatsalya with an objective of securing a healthy and happy childhood for each and every child in the country. It is a roadmap to achieve development and child protection priorities aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Mission Vatsalya makes sure it follows international child protection laws as India is a signatory of the United Nations Convention on Rights of Child and Hague convention on Adoption of children which mandates systemic development and strengthening of juvenile justice system in the country.

Mission Vatsalya is a new form of Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) which was implemented in 2009-2010. Prior to ICPS, there were three different schemes for the child protection and welfare. All three schemes of Programme for Juvenile Justice for Children, Integrated Programme for street children and Scheme for assistance to homes for children (Shishu Greh) were merged into a single scheme called ICPS. It was renamed as “Child Protection Services” (CPS) in 2017 and from 2021-2022 onward CPS has been subsumed under Mission Vatsalya.

Mission Vatsalya is a scheme with central and state partnership. The fund sharing pattern is in the ratio of 60:40 between Centre and State or Union Territories respectively. For Union Territories without legislature like Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman Diu, Lakshadweep and Ladakh, 100 % of the share will be provided by Centre.

For the 8 North-Eastern States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura and two Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, it would be a fund sharing pattern of 90:10.

The State Child Protection Societies in the states which was established under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, shall ensure the implementation of Mission Vatsalya in the states.