The labour ministry is likely to soon ratify two key international conventions on child labour, marking an important step towards total eradication of child labour from the country. The move follows amendment to the Child Labour Act, which now completely prohibits children below 14 years of age from any kind of work. A senior labour ministry official told ETthat the ministry will shortly take up the pending child labour related conventions to the International Labour Organization (ILO) for ratification after getting it approved at the upcoming 48th Indian Labour Conference. The ratification of conventions 138 and 182 will make it legally binding to comply with the provisions of the conventions, the official said, requesting not to be identified. According to the 2001 census, there were 12.6 million child workers between the ages of five and 14 in India. In 2011, this number fell to 4.35 million. The National Sample Survey Office’s survey of 2009-10 put the number at 4.98 million. The Union cabinet has already approved ratification of the two conventions to address concerns related to child labour. While Convention No. 138 sets minimum age for admission to employment, the Worst Form of Child Labour Convention (No. 182) concerns prohibition and stipulates immediate action for elimination of the worst forms of child labour. So far, Convention 138 has been ratified by 169 countries and Convention 182 has been ratified by 180 countries. Hence, by ratifying these two core conventions, India will join majority of the countries that have adopted the legislation to prohibit and place severe restrictions on the employment and work of children. India has so far ratified 45 conventions of the ILO, of which 42 are in force. Out of these four are fundamental or core conventions. Complete elimination of all forms of child labour is also crucial for the attainment of United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The government has taken up a multi-pronged strategy, including both stringent legislative and project-based approach, to address the concerns related to child labour. The amendment to the Child Labour Act proposes complete prohibition of employment of children up to the age of 14 years while banning employment of children between 15-18 years in hazardous works, in sync with the Right to Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. Besides, the amended law provides for a fine of Rs 60,000 to an employer who hires children below the age of 14 years or an imprisonment of up to two years. Even the parents are liable to be fined Rs 5,000 and imprisonment of six months to one year if they force children below 14 years into labour for the second time after they are rescued.