Jammu and Kashmir has extended welfare support to 6477 vulnerable children under the Union Government’s Mission Vatsalya scheme in 2024-25, according to data tabled in the Lok Sabha.

This includes 1385 children living in child care institutions and 5092 beneficiaries covered through non-institutional care such as sponsorship, foster care and aftercare.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development said the countrywide framework for child protection is governed by the Juvenile Justice Act 2015, under which Child Welfare Committees and Juvenile Justice Boards oversee care, protection, rehabilitation and reintegration of orphaned, abandoned and surrendered children. These bodies also monitor child care institutions and decide on foster care, adoption and other support mechanisms.
Mission Vatsalya, implemented in all States and Union Territories, provides both institutional and non-institutional care. Institutional care covers education, health care, counselling, vocational training and recreational facilities for children in child care institutions. Under non-institutional care, eligible children receive support through sponsorship, foster care, adoption and aftercare services aimed at eventual family-based reintegration.
During 2024-25, the Centre released Rs 1405.53 crore to States and Union Territories for implementing the scheme. At the national level, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of children supported in non-institutional care, while Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Odisha had the highest institutional care numbers.
The Ministry also noted that rehabilitation and skill development are integral components of Mission Vatsalya, with child care institutions required to provide age-appropriate education, vocational training and counselling to help vulnerable children transition into independent adulthood.