Working Group on Development of Children for the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012): (Volume One)

Nineteen per cent of world’s children live in India. India is home to more than one billion people, of which 42 per cent are children, defined as persons under 18 years of age. In international comparisons of the status and condition of children, India continues to rank poorly on several key counts. The world’s tenth largest economy unfortunately ranks 127 on the Human Development Index (HDI). If all child rights indicators were to become a critical measure for HDI, India would fare even worse, because of its low levels of achievement on accepted national goals for the survival, development and protection of its children.