In 1979, the Government formed the first committee called the Gurupadswamy Committee to study the issue of child labour and to suggest measures to tackle it.
The National Policy for Children, 1974, declared children to be a 'supreme national asset'.
Based on the recommendations of the Gurupadaswamy Committee, the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act was enacted in 1986.
The Act prohibits the employment of children in certain specified hazardous occupations below the age of 14 years.
The law does not protect children who perform domestic or unreported labour.
Through a recent notification, child domestic workers up to 14 years of age working in hotels and dhabas have been brought within the purview of the Act.