India has witnessed an increase in the number of Child Care Institutions (CCIs) supported under Mission Vatsalya over the past three years. However, government data reveals a significant decline in the number of children receiving institutional care through this scheme.
In response to a query by BJP’s Mansukhbhai Vasava in Parliament regarding the number of orphanages and their residents, Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Savitri Thakur, reported that there are currently 3,010 CCIs under Mission Vatsalya.
What is Mission Vatsalya? Mission Vatsalya is a centrally sponsored scheme implemented through state and union territory governments, with a predefined cost-sharing arrangement between the central and state governments. It aims to provide various services for children in difficult circumstances, including both institutional and non-institutional care. The scheme supports Children in Need of Care and Protection (CNCP) and Children in Conflict with Law (CCL) for their rehabilitation and reintegration into mainstream society.
According to the data, the number of CCIs in India increased from 2,245 in 2021-22 to 3,010 in 2024-25. Despite this rise, the number of children supported under institutional care through Mission Vatsalya has decreased significantly. In 2021-22, 76,118 children were housed in these care homes. This number dropped to 57,940 in 2022-23 and 62,592 in 2023-24, with the same number supported in 2024-25.
States like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh have seen a decline in the number of children supported through these centers. Conversely, northeastern states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Mizoram have experienced an increase. The fund-sharing pattern in most states follows a 60:40 ratio between the center and the state. However, the eight northeastern states—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura—along with the two Himalayan states, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, follow a 90:10 ratio.
