Government to rank orphanages across the country

The government plans to rank orphanages or child care institutes in the country, a senior official said today.
The move follows a study carried out by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) which revealed that more than half of the total 9,000 child care institutes surveyed were not registered under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
Following this survey, WCD minister Maneka Gandhi wrote to state governments to ensure that orphanages were registered and infrastructure at these institutions was improved.
"We will be ranking child care institutes in the country. We are yet to decide on the parameters for awarding ranks," WCD secretary R K Shrivastava said.

The better institutions were those with "good facilities, toilets, cleanliness and happy children", he added.
Under the law, "All institutions, whether run by a state government or by voluntary or non-governmental organisations, which are meant, either wholly or partially, for housing children in need of care and protection or children in conflict with the law, shall be registered under this Act," regardless of whether they are funded by the state or central government.