India’s Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat campaign has completed two years, strengthening legal enforcement, community awareness and girls’ empowerment to eliminate child marriage.

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• The Ministry of Women and Child Development launched Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat on November 27, 2024, targeting a child marriage-free India by 2030.
• According to NFHS-6, 20.1% of women aged 20–24 were married before 18, declining from 23.3% recorded in NFHS-5.
• The campaign has organised 6.85 lakh awareness programmes, reached 12.47 crore participants and collected 42.01 lakh pledges nationwide.
• Child marriage exposes girls to early pregnancy risks, domestic violence, interrupted education, restricted economic opportunities and persistent gender inequality.
• The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, replaced the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, establishing stronger legal safeguards against child marriage.
• Under the Act, males below 21 years and females below 18 years are considered children, and marriages involving either fall within its definition.
• Child marriages are generally voidable at the option of the affected party, who can approach the District Court within the prescribed period.
• The Act provides penalties including imprisonment up to two years and fines up to ₹1 lakh for specified offenders, subject to statutory provisions.
• District Magistrates and Child Marriage Prohibition Officers are responsible for preventive action, awareness programmes, evidence collection and reporting suspected child marriages.
• Judicial Magistrates can issue injunctions to prevent impending child marriages, while authorities focus on early intervention during festivals and mass marriage occasions.