1. With an estimated 1.03 billion citizens, of whom 260 million live in poverty, India is home to the majority of poor people in Southern Asia [1].

2. India has the largest number of working children in the world, with nearly a third of children below 16 working [2].

3. In the coming decade, an additional 8 million young people will enter India's labour force every year in search of employment [3].

4. Additionally, the lack of training programmes for women has become a factor contributing to women's continued disadvantage [4,5].

[1] World Development Indicator Database, April 2003
[2] Estimates from ECPAT
[3] Proposals for Vocational Training, Mothers Service Society, Pondicherry, India March, 2002.
[4] Disability World Report, March 2001
[5] Chandigarh Tribune, March 2002