Last Updated: 29 September 2026

Law to be tightened: Punjab Prevention of Beggary Act, 1971 to be amended for stricter enforcement against child begging (announced June 2025)^[1]

Project Jeevanjyot: Punjab Govt's mission to end child begging - rescue, rehabilitate & send children to school^[2]
-- Launched in 2024; Phase 2 from July 2025 with DNA tests & strict action against begging gangs^[3]

IMPACT (June 2026)^[2:1][4]
-- 1,163 children rescued in 2,067 special rescue drives (since July 2024)
-- 409 children enrolled in schools/educational institutions
-- 54 children linked to sponsorship schemes; 15 to healthcare services
-- 15 children reunited with families after DNA tests

¶ Phase 1 (Sept 2024 – June 2025)^[3:1]

• 753 raids across districts; 367 children rescued
• 350 reunited with families; 17 whose parents could not be traced placed in Child Care Homes (Bal Ghar)
• 150 children from other states safely sent back to their families

¶ Phase 2: Jeevanjyot-2 (July 2025)^[3:2][5]

DNA tests of children found begging with adults to verify if they are really their parents
-- Till results come, children stay in child protection homes

• 41 children rescued in raids at 18 locations in first 2 days^[5:1]
• Parents forcing children to beg are first counselled; if they continue, they can be declared "unfit guardians" and children put up for legal adoption^[5:2]
• Gangs using children for begging/trafficking face 5 years to life imprisonment^[5:3]

¶ Support to stop children going back to begging^[5:4]

• ₹4,000 per month to children for education under sponsorship scheme
• Rescued children monitored to prevent re-involvement in begging

¶ Law

Report child begging to District Child Protection Units or Child Helpline 1098^[6]

• Juvenile Justice Act 2015, Section 76: forcing a child to beg = up to 5 years jail & ₹1 lakh fine; 10 years & ₹5 lakh fine if the child is harmed^[6:1]

References:

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1. https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/national/2025/06/21/des76-pb-child-begging.html (PTI) ↩︎

2. https://www.babushahi.com/full-news.php?id=222294 (Punjab Govt Press Release, 9 June 2026) ↩︎ ↩︎

3. https://www.babushahi.com/full-news.php?id=207753 (Punjab Govt Press Release, 18 July 2025) ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

4. https://brightpunjabexpress.com/under-dr-baljit-kaurs-leadership-project-jeevanjyot-emerges-as-a-model-initiative-against-child-beggary/ ↩︎

5. https://www.babushahi.com/full-news.php?id=207744 (Punjab Govt Press Release, 18 July 2025) ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

6. https://www.babushahi.com/view-news.php?id=197127 (Punjab Govt Press Release) ↩︎ ↩︎