In India, a new law barring child labor has gone into effect. The law bans children from working in restaurants, hotels, resorts and private homes. The official number of child laborers in India is twelve million but it’s estimated to be as high as sixty million.

• Bihar State Deputy Sushil Modi: “The people need to be sensitized to the fact that the new law against child labour is in force now. This will raise awareness that employing a child under 14 years of age, whether it be as a domestic help or as a help in roadside eateries, is a punishable offence and will attract penalties and other legal actions.”

Critics of the law say it will not solve the problem of child labor and want the government to take a more active role in reducing poverty.