Question:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state :

(a) status of the use of the real-time portal to monitor child care homes and how it
will inform budgetary changes in case of infrastructural lapses;

(b) the details of insights into the Monitoring App for Seamless Inspection (MASI)
portal and its role in tracking infrastructural lapses at child care homes, how will
the information gathered on the MASI platform be utilized to prepare the
budgetary recommendations; and
(c) how does the Ministry determine the suitability of space for CWCs in child care
homes, what steps will be taken if existing facilities do not meet the required
standards or if there is no children’s home in a district?

Answer

MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
(SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) & (b) : As informed by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
(NCPCR), NCPCR has developed an application ‘MASI’ – Monitoring App for Seamless
Inspection for real time monitoring of the Child Care Institutions (CCIs) and their
inspection mechanism across the country. The effective and efficient functioning of the
mechanism for inspection of CCIs provided under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 (as
amended in 2021) and synchronous monitoring of the system is the rationale behind
developing this comprehensive application. The app is linked to the monitoring Portal
where the automatic reports are generated. ‘MASI’ enables unified inspections by
Child Welfare Committees (CWCs), State Inspection Committees, District Inspection
Committees, Members of Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) and State Commissions for
Protection of Child Rights (SCPCRs) as laid down under the JJ Act, 2015. It serves as
a single platform for inspections of all the CCIs across the country by any of the above
stated authorities. Regular follow-up is done before and after the completion of cycle
of inspection. The complete reports are automatically generated on the Portal as soon
as the questionnaire is filled and submitted by the authority. 4268 inspections, as on
24.07.2023, have been completed on MASI Portal by 32 States/UTs.(c) The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, makes it
mandatory to establish at least one Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in each district as
the authority to dispose of cases for the care, protection, treatment, development and
rehabilitation of children in need of care & protection and to provide for their basic
needs and protection of human rights. The composition and functioning of the CWC is
in accordance with the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
and Rules thereof. Mission Vatsalya Scheme provides infrastructure and financial
support to the States/UTs for facilitating setting up of CWC in every district and to
ensure their effective functioning. The CWC performs functions and Roles as laid down
in Juvenile Justice Act, 2015/ Rules as amended from time to time.

As per Mission Vatsalya Scheme Guideline, financial support of Rs.9,25,800/- is
provided for setting up of two rooms of 300 sq. ft. for the CWC in the Children Home /
Vatsalya Sadan (an Integrated Home Complex of CCIs (Children Home, Observation
Home, Special Home, Place of Safety) along with offices for JJB and CWC within single
premises for implementation of the JJ Act) for which grants for construction are sanctioned
under the Scheme. Where an existing Children Home has the required space available
within the premises, the same is provided to the CWC. However, in district where there is
no Children Home or the existing Children Home has no space for the CWC, funds are
provided under the Mission Vatsalya Scheme for renting suitable premises for the CWC.
CWC holds its sittings in one room while the other room is used as a waiting area for
Children and their families.