Child labour can disrupt 'Make in India', Satyarthi tells PM Modi

Kolkata: Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi feels that Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's 'Make in India' programme will prove to be a "big disaster" if child labour laws are not strengthened.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Satyarthi has said, "If investors are coming from foreign countries to manufacture in India and if your laws are so weak in child labour in comparison to international standards then it will become a big disaster".

He says that the 'Make in India' programme is a great move, but it also exposes a serious weakness of the country.

"Make in India" cannot be successful on the toil, miseries and abuses of young children in the manufacturing sector," the 62-year-old founder of 'Bachpan Bachao Andolan' told PTI.

Giving the example of Apple, he said the US-based company faced a lot of criticism after allegations that child labour in China was being used to manufacture their products.

"In India, child labour is working because your law allows it. These big brands will be dependent on local producers who are free to employ children. But the international media and human rights organisations are not going to spare us," said the child rights activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 along with Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai.

He was in Kolkata to support the Rotary India Literacy Mission.