Context:

• National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said the Commission will act against anyone who promises to facilitate child marriage in Rajasthan in the run-up to the Assembly elections.
• Rajasthan has the highest prevalence of child marriages in the country.
• The National Family Health Survey 4 (2015-16) showed that one out of every four women— or 26.8 percent — aged 20-24 years in India was married off as a minor.
• In Rajasthan, the prevalence is 65 percent.

Prohibition of Child Marriage Act:

• The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act presently allows for child marriages, between a boy of under 21 years and a girl under 18 years of age.
• The Act has been grossly inadequate in preventing child marriages.
• A proposal by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, seeking the Union Cabinet’s approval to an amendment to the Act and make child marriages void, has been pending.

About NCPCR

• It was set up in March 2007 under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005, an Act of Parliament (December 2005).

Source:IE