India Accelerates Child-Marriage Effort With 100-Day Push as Telangana Flags 26 High-Risk Districts

Overview

• Union Women and Child Development Minister Annpurna Devi launched a 100-day intensive awareness campaign in New Delhi to mark one year of Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat.
• The Centre has issued notices to all states to join the drive, with Assam directing health, education, rural development and panchayat departments to mobilize.
• Telangana was spotlighted by the Just Rights for Children coalition, which identified 26 high-prevalence districts for an intensive yearlong intervention to help make 1 lakh villages child-marriage free.
• NFHS‑5 data cited in the initiative show 23.5% of women in Telangana were married before 18, with eight districts topping 30% and several others above the national average of 23.3%.
• District-level efforts are underway in Assam, where Dibrugarh marked the campaign’s anniversary and the Assam Centre for Rural Development pledged close coordination to support the 100-day plan.