Various programmes / schemes under Government of India are in force to protect and promote child rights.These programmes / schemes focus on education, nutrition and measures for reduction of poverty which would be helpful for elimination of child labour. The convergence of these services is a matter of priority now. The Converging Against Child Labour Project is a step towards this. Some of the Government of India Programmes are elaborated below.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) :

The Campaign for Universalization of Elementary Education, (part of the 'Education for All' Movement) is India’s flagship programme to universalize elementary education (grades 1 to 8) by the year 2010. Operating under the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resources and Development, it was introduced in 2004 and provides additional funding to States for the purpose of enrolling out-of-school children and improving school quality. States use these funds to improve infrastructure, provide salaries for additional teachers to reach a pupil-teacher ratio of 40:1; establish alternative schools and resource centres, conduct bridge courses for dropouts, provide in-service training for teachers, and grants for teaching-learning materials. SSA also includes demand-side measures to close caste and gender gaps in education. These include free textbooks to all female and low caste students, special facilities for girls and grants to Districts to support students with disabilities. SSA also funds a national component covering capacity building, technical support, financial management, monitoring and evaluation.

Mid-Day Meal Scheme:

This programme, also sponsored by the Department of School Education and Literacy, provides every child (about 100 million children) in grades one to five in all Government Schools, Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) and Alternate Innovative Education (AIE) centres with a nutritious, cooked mid-day meal. It is seen as a means of overcoming social discrimination in the classroom.

Residential Hostel Schemes:

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment are implementing several schemes to benefit the Scheduled Castes. An important programme is the residential schools for boys and girls who are admitted on the basis of merit and provided free education, as well as boarding, lodging, textbooks, stationery, medical care and other requirements.

India’s 75 tribal communities, whose low levels of technology and literacy and declining population, signal the need for special assistance, are benefiting from the Integrated Tribal Development Projects which were introduced in 1998-99. Tribal girls’ and boys’ hostels provide them with residential facilities while they pursue their education.

Skills Development Initiative Scheme (SDIS):

The Directorate General of Employment and Training, Ministry of Labour and Employment, launched the Skill Development Initiative Scheme (SDIS) in 2007 to implement vocational skills training programmes based on Modular Employable Skills (MES). The main objectives of the scheme are (1) to provide vocational training to school leavers, existing workers, graduates of Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) and other institutes by optimally utilizing the infrastructure available in government, private institutions and industry; and (2) to build capacity through development of competency standards, course curricula, learning material and assessment standards as well as to test and certify skills.

Programme for Juvenile Justice:

This scheme was launched in 1986 to provide State Governments/Union Territory Administrations with funds to establish and maintain institutions for juveniles in conflict with the law as well as children in need of care and protection. The concern was that these children not be placed in regular prisons, quality standards were adhered to, and adequate prevention and rehabilitation services provided.

National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS):

A long-standing demand of the right to food campaign (and of the labour movement in India) was partially met in mid-2005 with the enactment of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA 2005) administered by the Department of Rural Development & Administration (DRDA). Under this Act, any adult willing to do casual labour at the minimum wage is entitled to employment on local public works within 15 days, subject to a limit of 100 days per household per year. The adult gets minimum daily wage of around INR 100, with a preference given to a female adult family member. The scheme is open to all rural poor who are in need of wage employment and willing to do manual and unskilled work in and around their village. Unlike many other schemes, eligibility is not restricted to those that fall in the Below Poverty Line (BPS) category. The NREGA is a landmark in the history of social security legislation in India – and globally - and promises to be a major tool in the struggle to secure the right to food.

Swarnjayanthi Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY):

A programme of the Ministry of Rural Development, the SGSY provides additional wage employment to poor families (Swarozgaries) in order to provide food security and improve nutritional levels, as well as to contribute to the creation of durable social and economic infrastructure in rural areas. This objective is achieved by organizing the rural poor into Self Help Groups (SHGs) through social mobilization, training and provision of income-generating equipment.

Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY):

A similar programme under the Department of Urban Development & Administration, the SJSRY seeks to provide gainful employment to the urban poor (living below the urban poverty line) through self-employment ventures or wage employment. Inputs under the scheme are delivered through community structures set up for urban basic services for the poor and urban local bodies.

Aaam Admi Bima Yojana: The Unorganised Sector Workers Social Security Bill 2007 provides legislative backing to all social security schemes such as the ‘Aaam Admi Bima Yojana’, National Old Age Pension Scheme and the Health Insurance Scheme. These have begun on a pilot basis and are expected to benefit an estimated 60 million Below Poverty Line families over a period of five years (2008-09 to 2012-13).