The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act- 2012, has come into effect from today and the government has notified the rules related to this Act. This was disclosed by the Women and Child Development Minister Mrs Krishna Tirath after inaugurating the five day Vatsalya Mela in New Delhi today.

Mrs Tirath said that the Act provides for stringent punishment graded as per the gravity of the offence, with a maximum term of rigorous imprisonment for life for certain offences, and fine. The Act defines a child as anyone below the age of 18 years and does not differentiate between a boy or girld child victim. It also provides precise definitions for different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography.The rules also lay down criteria for award of compensation by the Special Court, which includes the gravity of the offence, loss of educational opportunity or employment as a result of the offence and disability, disease or pregnancy suffered as a consequence of the offence. According to an official data, India has the largest child population in the world, and almost 42 per cent of its total population is under eighteen years of age Refering to the Vatsalya Mela, the Woman and Child Development Minsiter Mrs Tirath said that the Mela provides an opportunity to get a glimpse of the various policies, schemes , programmes activites run by the her Minsitry for the benefit of the women and children. This year the theme of this event is 'Safety and Protection of Women and Child Rights'.