Child Exploitation Annually Generates 21 Lakh Crore in India: Report

NEW DELHI: At the end of the day it all boils down to money. Child exploitation, through child domestic labor and commercial sexual exploitation is a "lucrative industry", reveals a report by child rights organization, Global March Against Child Labor, as between 2-21 lakh crore ($35-360 billion) is generated through it in India every year.

To put things into perspective, the report, which was released June 12 on the World Day Against Child Labor, says that this illegal monetary pool accounts for 2-20 percent of India's GDP. In 2012, India's GDP was 110 lakh crore.

Titled "Economics Behind Forced Labor Trafficking", the report relied on 420 cases of child domestic labor and 196 cases of commercial sexual exploitation and holds significance because it is one of the first comprehensive studies on the subject in the country that reveals the lure of big money behind child exploitation, the extensive network of beneficiaries from such exploitation and ultimately the reason why this vicious cycle continues to spin.

"It is a shocking revelation that 21 lakh crore is generated by enslaving (mostly) young girls in brothels and homes that is equivalent to one-fifth of the country's GDP. This black money propels capital corruption and most heinous crimes against girls and women," Kailash Satyarthi of the NGO said.

"The dream of development and child slavery cannot coexist. Time is running out," he added.