Overview

• A network of 250 NGOs, Just Rights for Children, reports declines since 2022 of 69% for girls and 72% for boys, released at a UNGA side event.
• Assam shows the steepest fall—84% for girls and 91% for boys—with the group announcing a ‘Champions of Change’ award for the state’s chief minister.
• The findings draw on multistage sampling of 757 villages across five states and interviews with 1,042 frontline workers such as teachers and health staff.
• Arrests and FIRs are cited as the strongest deterrents, with 99% respondent awareness of the Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat campaign.
• Official SRS data for 2023 still counts 2.1% of weddings with a girl bride, higher in rural areas, with West Bengal and Jharkhand showing increases since 2019.