New Delhi, July 23: The Union Cabinet tonight approved adoption of a national charter for children to ensure their protection and all round development. The charter would incorporate all issues of priority pertaining to children and form the basis for programme formulation, an official spokesman said. The objectives of the charter are to secure for every child its inherent right to be a child and enjoy a healthy and happy childhood, address the root causes that negate the healthy growth and development of children, seek the partnership of the community in order to protect children from violation of their rights and make state and community jointly responsible for protecting children's interest and welfare.

Though in successive national plans, government had provided resources for growth of children and for creating an environment in which they could develop, these had not been adequate and growth indicators of health, education and nutrition had not showed the expected level of progress, the spokesman said.
In formulating programmes in different sectors, priority would be given to preventive and promotive aspects of child health, nutrition for infants and children in the pre-school age along with nutrition for nursing and expectant mothers, maintenance, education and training of orphan and destitute children, creches and other facilities for the care of children of working or ailing mothers and care, education, training and rehabilitation of handicapped children, he said.
Bureau Report