On 6 November 2026 the Press Information Bureau issued a backgrounder, "Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat: Two Years of Collective Action Towards a Child-Marriage-Free India", ahead of the National Observance on 27 November 2026. The campaign, run by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD), was launched on 27 November 2024 with a national goal: a child-marriage-free India by 2030.
The headline is a fall in the national figure. According to the National Family Health Survey, the share of women aged 20 to 24 who were married before they turned 18 has dropped from 23.3 per cent in NFHS-5 (2019-21) to 20.1 per cent in NFHS-6 (2023-24). This is progress, but one in five young women is still affected. The release is a good occasion to pull together the law, the machinery, the court rulings and the numbers in one place, since each of them is examinable.
Reading the headline number
The NFHS indicator is carefully worded, and the wording is where the exam traps are. It does not count how many girls married last year. It asks women aged 20-24 whether they were married before 18, so it describes the years in which those women were teenagers, not the present moment.
| Survey | Period | Women aged 20-24 married before 18 |
|---|---|---|
| NFHS-3 | 2005-06 | about 47% |
| NFHS-4 | 2015-16 | about 27% |
| NFHS-5 | 2019-21 | 23.3% |
| NFHS-6 | 2023-24 | 20.1% |
Between the last two surveys the fall is 3.2 percentage points, which is a relative decline of about 14 per cent (3.2 divided by 23.3). A percentage-point fall and a percentage fall are different things, and CDS papers do test the difference. Our explainer on NFHS-6 and India's health and demography indicators covers the survey itself.
What the law says: who is a child, and what happens to the marriage
The governing statute is the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA), in force from 1 November 2007. It replaced the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, popularly called the Sarda Act after Harbilas Sarda, who steered it through the Central Legislative Assembly. The change in the title tells the story: the 1929 law tried to restrain child marriage, the 2006 law tries to prohibit it and to protect the child who is already married.
Who is a child. A male under 21 and a female under 18. A child marriage is one in which either party is a child. The 1929 Act originally set the limits at 14 for girls and 18 for boys; the girls' limit was raised to 15 in 1949, and the limits reached 18 and 21 by an amendment in 1978.
Status of the marriage.
- It is voidable at the option of the party who was a child, who can petition the District Court, generally within two years of attaining majority (Section 3).
- It is void in specified circumstances, such as where the child was trafficked, taken away by force or deceit, or used for immoral purposes (Section 12).
Offences and penalties.
- Offences under the Act are cognizable and non-bailable (Section 15).
- An adult male who marries a child, and anyone who performs, conducts, abets, promotes or attends a child marriage, including parents and guardians, can face rigorous imprisonment of up to two years and/or a fine of up to ₹1 lakh.
- Women offenders are not liable to imprisonment.
Protection for the girl and the children.
- The Act provides for maintenance, residence and custody arrangements.
- Children born of a child marriage are legitimate.
Prevention. A Judicial Magistrate can issue an injunction to stop an impending child marriage (Section 13). District Magistrates and Child Marriage Prohibition Officers play the main role in prevention, particularly around mass marriage occasions and festivals such as Akshaya Tritiya.
The age rule also appears in other marriage laws. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Special Marriage Act, 1954 both fix 21 for the groom and 18 for the bride. The PCMA applies to citizens of every religion, though how it sits beside personal laws has been argued in the courts. A proposal to raise the minimum age for women to 21, by the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill introduced in December 2021, was sent to a Parliamentary Standing Committee. The age for women under the law in force today remains 18.
The federal angle
Marriage is not a Union-only subject. Entry 5 of the Concurrent List covers "marriage and divorce; infants and minors", which is why both Parliament and the States can legislate on it, and why the appointment of enforcement officers is left to the States. The Constitution also supports the policy from several directions: Article 15(3) allows special provisions for women and children, Article 21 protects life and personal liberty (which courts read to include health and bodily autonomy), and the Directive Principles in Article 39(e) and (f) require the State to protect children from abuse and to give them opportunities to grow up in conditions of freedom and dignity. Revise these through our notes on the Directive Principles.
The Child Marriage Prohibition Officer
The Act's most practical idea is the Child Marriage Prohibition Officer (CMPO). Under Section 16, State Governments appoint CMPOs by notification in the Official Gazette. Their statutory duties are to:
- prevent the solemnisation of child marriages;
- collect evidence for prosecution;
- counsel families and communities;
- create awareness and sensitise communities; and
- furnish periodic returns and statistics.
The weakness the PIB backgrounder itself points to is that enforcement after the event is not enough. The officer must act before the wedding, and that means being a known and reachable person. The Supreme Court's emphasis on dedicated, full-time officers reflects the concern that such a role can become an add-on to other duties.
The courts: 2017 and 2024
Two Supreme Court decisions shape the present framework.
- Independent Thought v. Union of India (2017). The Court read down the exception in the rape law that had allowed sex with a wife aged 15 to 18, holding that sexual intercourse with a wife under 18 is rape. It reconciled the criminal law with the PCMA's age of 18.
- Society for Enlightenment and Voluntary Action v. Union of India (18 October 2024). The Court issued a comprehensive framework for States and Union Territories. It stressed dedicated, full-time CMPOs at district and sub-district levels, special units for coordination, monitoring and grievance redressal, multi-sectoral awareness campaigns, training of key functionaries, and technology-enabled reporting with databases of areas at risk. The release describes the shift as one from punishment towards prevention, protection and empowerment.
The Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat campaign was launched about six weeks after that judgment, and its public officer directory and reporting portal fit the Court's stress on technology-enabled reporting.
The campaign: what Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat does
Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat (BVMB) was launched by MWCD on 27 November 2024. It brings together central ministries, States and Union Territories, local bodies, schools and colleges, frontline workers, civil society, faith leaders and young people. It aims to strengthen community-level prevention, make CMPOs easier to reach, increase reporting, and support girls at risk. Its goal is aligned with Sustainable Development Goal Target 5.3, which seeks to eliminate child, early and forced marriage by 2030.
MWCD has committed to fully funding the campaign and gives priority to 257 high-burden districts, identified from NFHS-5 data, where child marriage is at or above the national average.
The portal. The BVMB Portal (stopchildmarriage.wcd.gov.in) is the campaign's digital base. It makes CMPO details public, lets people report child marriage, allows States and field staff to record awareness activities, and hosts the pledge, which is also available through MyGov.
The 100-Day Campaign. To intensify the effort at the end of the first year, MWCD launched a 100-Day Intensive Awareness Campaign on 4 December 2025 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, implemented from 27 November 2025 to 8 March 2026. It ran in three spells:
| Spell | Period | Focus group | Key activities |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | 27 Nov to 31 Dec 2025 | Schools, colleges and universities | Sensitisation sessions, debates, essay competitions, pledge ceremonies |
| II | 1 to 31 Jan 2026 | Religious institutions, faith leaders, marriage-related service providers | Outreach to places of worship; caterers, tent houses and DJs; information material |
| III | 1 Feb to 8 Mar 2026 | Gram Panchayats and Municipal Wards | Community mobilisation; resolutions declaring Panchayat and Ward areas child-marriage-free |
The third spell is an example of cooperative federalism working at the grass roots: village councils and ward committees, which are the third tier of government, are asked to pass resolutions. Revise their role in our notes on local governance.
The campaign's numbers, and what they show
| Indicator (as reported) | Figure |
|---|---|
| Awareness programmes | 6.85 lakh |
| Participants reached | 12.47 crore |
| Pledges registered | 42.01 lakh (40.96 lakh on the portal + 1.05 lakh on MyGov) |
| CMPOs shown on the portal | 71,882 |
| CMPOs designated at Gram Panchayat level | 59,686 |
| Child marriage incidents recorded on the portal | 4,536 |
Working these out is more useful than memorising them:
- Pledges add up. 40.96 lakh plus 1.05 lakh gives 42.01 lakh.
- Grass-roots officers. 59,686 of 71,882 CMPOs is about 83 per cent, so most of the officer network sits at the Gram Panchayat level, closest to families.
- Reach per event. 12.47 crore participants over 6.85 lakh programmes is roughly 180 people per programme, which is a village or school gathering rather than a mass rally.
- Reporting. 4,536 recorded incidents is small against the scale of the problem, so it should be read as the portal's early usage, not as a count of child marriages.
Which States moved most
The PIB release notes that most States and Union Territories show a fall since NFHS-5. The biggest declines were in:
| State/UT | Fall since NFHS-5 (percentage points) |
|---|---|
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | 10.1 |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 7.4 |
| Assam | 6.5 |
| Bihar | 6.2 |
| Tripura | 6.1 |
28 States and Union Territories now do better than the national average, including Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram and Kerala. The release adds that prevalence is falling but unevenly, which is why the effort has to be sustained. Note that the biggest falls come from places that started high, such as Bihar and Assam, and that a large fall from a high base is easier to achieve than the last few points.
Law, scheme, campaign: how the pieces fit
The government's own framing is three layers: a law that prohibits and punishes (PCMA), a scheme that changes how girls are valued, and a campaign that brings the two together. The scheme is Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP), launched on 22 January 2015 to deal with the falling child sex ratio and the wider empowerment of girls. MWCD is its nodal ministry, working with Health, Education, Skill Development and Minority Affairs, and it is implemented as a component of Mission Shakti. The logic is that keeping girls in school and in the household's economic plans delays marriage; the law then protects the girl who is not yet protected by that change. Our explainer on Nirbhay Chetna shows another strand of Mission Shakti.
What to watch
- The 27 November observance. Expect new figures on CMPOs, pledges and portal use.
- Dedicated officers. How many States have moved from part-time to full-time CMPOs, as the 2024 judgment asks.
- Data quality. The release itself lists improving the quality and completeness of portal data as a continuing focus.
- The 2030 target. At the NFHS-5 to NFHS-6 pace of about 3 points over roughly four years, reaching zero by 2030 would need the pace to quicken sharply.
🔑 Revision block
The news. 6 Nov 2026 PIB backgrounder: two years of Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat (MWCD; launched 27 Nov 2024); National Observance 27 Nov 2026; goal child-marriage-free India by 2030 (SDG 5.3).
The trend. Women aged 20-24 married before 18: 23.3% (NFHS-5, 2019-21) to 20.1% (NFHS-6, 2023-24); fall of 3.2 percentage points (about 14% relative).
The law. PCMA 2006 (in force 1 Nov 2007) replaced the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 (Sarda Act). Child: male under 21, female under 18. Marriage voidable at the child's option (District Court, generally within 2 years of majority); void if trafficking, force or deceit. Offences cognizable and non-bailable; up to 2 years' rigorous imprisonment and/or ₹1 lakh fine; women not imprisoned. Magistrate can injunct; children legitimate.
CMPO. Section 16: States appoint by gazette notification; prevent, gather evidence, counsel, spread awareness, file returns.
Courts. Independent Thought (2017): sex with a wife under 18 is rape. SEVA v. Union of India (18 Oct 2024): framework for dedicated full-time CMPOs, special units, technology-enabled reporting; shift from punishment to prevention.
Campaign. 257 high-burden districts; portal stopchildmarriage.wcd.gov.in; 100-Day Campaign (27 Nov 2025 to 8 Mar 2026), three spells; 6.85 lakh programmes, 12.47 crore participants, 42.01 lakh pledges, 71,882 CMPOs (59,686 at Gram Panchayat level), 4,536 incidents.
States. Biggest falls: DNH & DD (10.1 pts), A&N (7.4), Assam (6.5), Bihar (6.2), Tripura (6.1); 28 States/UTs better than national average.
Link. BBBP (22 Jan 2015; part of Mission Shakti) works on attitudes; Concurrent List Entry 5 (marriage; infants and minors).
🎯 Practice MCQs
Q1. Under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, a "child" means:
(a) a male under 18 and a female under 16
(b) a male under 21 and a female under 18
(c) a male under 21 and a female under 21
(d) a male under 18 and a female under 18
→ (b)
The Act fixes the limits at 21 for males and 18 for females. A marriage is a child marriage if either party is a child.
Q2. A child marriage under the 2006 Act is:
(a) voidable at the option of the party who was a child
(b) valid in all circumstances
(c) void from the start in every case
(d) valid only if both families consent
→ (a)
The child can petition the District Court, generally within two years of attaining majority. The marriage is void only in specified circumstances such as trafficking, force or deceit.
Q3. Child Marriage Prohibition Officers are appointed under Section 16 of the Act by:
(a) the Supreme Court
(b) the Election Commission
(c) the National Commission for Women
(d) the State Governments
→ (d)
Section 16 empowers State Governments to appoint CMPOs by notification in the Official Gazette.
Q4. According to the NFHS-6 (2023-24), the share of women aged 20-24 who were married before 18 stood at:
(a) 3.2 per cent
(b) 10.1 per cent
(c) 20.1 per cent
(d) 23.3 per cent
→ (c)
20.1 per cent, down from 23.3 per cent in NFHS-5. The figure 3.2 is the fall in percentage points.
Q5. Consider the following statements about the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006:
1. Offences under it are cognizable and non-bailable.
2. It replaced the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
→ (c)
Both are correct. The 1929 law is the Sarda Act, and the 2006 Act moved from restraining child marriage to prohibiting it.
Q6. Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat was launched by which Ministry?
(a) Ministry of Women and Child Development
(b) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
(c) Ministry of Education
(d) Ministry of Panchayati Raj
→ (a)
MWCD launched the campaign on 27 November 2024, with priority to 257 high-burden districts.
Q7. The national campaign's goal of ending child marriage by 2030 is aligned with which Sustainable Development Goal target?
(a) Target 1.1
(b) Target 3.4
(c) Target 4.1
(d) Target 5.3
→ (d)
SDG Target 5.3 calls for eliminating child, early and forced marriage by 2030.
Q8. Marriage and divorce, and infants and minors, fall under which list of the Seventh Schedule?
(a) Union List
(b) Concurrent List
(c) State List
(d) None of the three
→ (b)
Entry 5 of the Concurrent List covers both, so Parliament and State legislatures can make laws on them.
📋 How this gets asked (PYQ pattern)
Questions on this theme come in four forms.
The first is the definitions: who is a child, what age limits apply to men and women, and what the statute calls the marriage. The common trap is to answer 18 for both sexes.
The second is the legal status: voidable against void, who can seek annulment, and what happens to the children. Statement-type questions place a true detail beside a false one, often about who is liable to imprisonment.
The third is the institutions: who appoints the officer, which court hears the petition, and which ministry runs the campaign. These are asked as simple one-line recall.
The fourth is the data hook: the latest NFHS figure and the direction of change. For this cycle the hooks are 20.1 per cent (NFHS-6), 23.3 per cent (NFHS-5), the 27 November 2024 launch and the 2030 goal. We describe the recurring pattern, not any specific past question.
Preparing for CDS? Social-legislation questions are scoring when you hold one table of the Act's key provisions: age, status of the marriage, punishment, officer and court. Revise the constitutional anchors through our notes on the Directive Principles and local governance, follow the daily CDS current affairs, and learn with experienced faculty in the upcoming Cavalier courses in Delhi.
Source: PIB Backgrounder / Ministry of Women and Child Development, "Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat: Two Years of Collective Action Towards a Child-Marriage-Free India", 6 November 2026. Earlier NFHS rounds, the commencement date of the 2006 Act and the history of the 1929 Act were cross-checked with independent sources. Percentage calculations by The Cavalier.
✍️ Written by Hitendra Deswal — Polity & current-affairs faculty at The Cavalier. Reviewed by the Cavalier Faculty Desk.