Giving a powerful new momentum to India’s goal to become child marriage free by 2030, Just Rights for Children (JRC) has announced an intensive drive to make one lakh villages child marriage free within the next one year. The announcement coincides with the first anniversary of the Government of India’s ‘Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat’ campaign, when the government launched a 100-day action plan as part of the nationwide campaign.

The identified villages span 450 districts across 25 states and union territories. Out of these, 15 districts show a prevalence of over 50 percent, 45 districts over 40 percent and 95 districts over 30 percent prevalence of child marriage. The remaining districts are either close to or slightly higher than national average of 23.3 percent or classified as highly vulnerable, with a strong likelihood of further deterioration without urgent intervention. The one lakh villages chosen from across the country include 41 districts in Uttar Pradesh, 39 in Madhya Pradesh, 38 in Bihar and Rajasthan each, 30 in Assam, 26 in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, 25 in Odisha, 24 in Jharkhand, 23 in West Bengal and 11 in Delhi.

Speaking at the event at Vigyan Bhawan, Bhuwan Ribhu, Founder of Just Rights for Children, said, “Extending complete support to the government’s campaign and sharing JRC’s roadmap for the year ahead, Bhuwan Ribhu, Founder of Just Rights for Children, said, “The role of community groups, faith leaders, panchayats and citizens is central to building a child marriage free India. The Government’s Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat campaign has become a model for the world. It also stands as a celebration of our collective work to end this crime against children. Last year, more than one lakh child marriages were stopped or prevented, showing that when society comes together, change is inevitable. Next year, together we pledge to make one lakh villages child marriage free so that every child has opportunities and a secure future. We will make every possible effort to completely eliminate child marriage from the country over the next three years, and we are confident that it is possible. This momentum matters as India moves toward the larger vision of a Viksit Bharat.””

Just Rights for Children is one of the largest networks working on child protection for years with its over 250 NGO partners in 451 districts. The network prevented over one lakh child marriages in the last one year with the coordinated efforts its partners, local administration, law enforcement agencies, community leaders and other stakeholders such as faith leaders, marriage-related service providers like caterers, tent providers, and florists.

Marking at the first anniversary of the Government of India’s Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat campaign, Union Minister for Women and Child Development (WCD) Annpurna Devi administered nationwide pledge to end child marriage and launched the 100-day action plan in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The Central government has asked all the state governments to issue notifications to their field functionaries and officials of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Ministry of Rural Development, Department of School Education and Literacy and Department of Higher Education to actively participate and make this campaign impactful.

The ‘100 Days Intensive Campaign Plan’ would conclude on 8th March, 2026 which also marks the International Women’s Day. The plan, divided into 3 phases, aims to eliminate child marriage from India by 2029 and will focus on awareness generation through schools, colleges and educational institutes in the first spell, religious places and marriage-related service providers including temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras, wedding halls, and band parties in the second spell and on gram panchayats and municipal wards to strengthen community-level engagement and ownership.