Retired at Eighteen: Political Economy of Child Labour in the Textiles and Allied Industries in India PDF Download

Author: Abhijit Mukhopadhyay
Publisher: Observer Research Foundation
ISBN: 9390159520
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 78

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Book Description
This report analyses the use of child labour[1] in the textiles and allied industries in India, and the drivers that lead to its prevalence. India, home to one-fifth of the world’s children, has the highest rates of child labour: an estimated 33 million children under the age of 18 are engaged in work in various sectors across the country, from domestic service and agriculture, to textiles and mining. The textiles and allied industries are the second largest employers in India after agriculture, with 40 million direct and 60 million indirect employees. As a traditionally labour-intensive industry—where flexible and low-cost labour has driven growth and pushed India’s global competitiveness in the sector—the textiles sector is enabled by the massive use of child labour. The continuing practice of child labour has the potential to jeopardise India’s push for incentivising foreign investments into the sector and integrating into global supply chains. This report seeks to address key facets of the issue and provide holistic policy solutions. It is divided into three sections: Chapter 1 reviews key literature about child labour in India, particularly its causes and impacts. The second chapter provides an analysis of child labour in India within the garment and textile industry, using data from 88 sub-state regions (a collection of districts) covered by the National Sample Survey (NSS) of 2011-2012. The final chapter tests the hypothesis that labour costs are the main drivers of global competitiveness in the textiles and allied industries. This is done through an analysis of NSSO unit-level data from the Enterprises Survey 2015-16, of ten sub-state regions.[a]