Daily RC and Vocabulary 27th December

Social scourge

Child marriages lead to poor outcomes in health, education, poverty alleviation
India has committed to end child marriage by 2030 through the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and while it has made comprehensive strides, there are still miles to go to achieve the target. The Union government recently marked the first anniversary of its Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat Abhiyan with a 100-day awareness campaign for a country free of child marriage. It is a fact that child marriages have been consistently dropping, from 47.4% in 2005-06 to 23.3% in 2019-21, according to National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data. But in a diverse country of a population of 146 crore, the ground reality is that progress is varied and uneven across States and socio-economic demographics. While the highest child marriage rates among women aged 18 to 29 years are prevalent in West Bengal, Bihar and Tripura, States such as Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are not far behind. There is a direct co-relation between child marriage, poverty and education, as the UN Population Fund’s analysis of NFHS data shows. While 40% of girls from the lowest quintile of the household wealth index married before they became adults, in comparison to just 8% of those from the highest quintile, 48% of girls with no education were married below 18 years in comparison to only 4% among those with higher education.
The Prevention of Child Marriage Act, 2006, is the flagship law to end the practice, but figures from National Crime Bureau Records indicate infrequent application of the law and a low conviction rate. Also, the use of laws such as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, which are stringent and provide no leeway for consenting sexual adolescents, has led to other concerns. Afraid of triggering harsh punishments from the criminal justice system, many underage girls are turning to unregistered, unprofessional help, endangering their health further. Already, it is established that child marriages can lead to poor maternal and child health. In this backdrop, it is imperative to study why States such as West Bengal, which incentivises girls to study with a cash scheme, still has a high incidence of child marriage. The Centre’s ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ campaign has to do much more to reach the most vulnerable communities, and ensure that infrastructure, including clean toilets and safe public transport, are in place to keep girls at school. According to Girls Not Brides, a global partnership, at least nine of the 17 SDGs will not be achieved without ending child marriage. In India, unless the several factors driving child marriage — poverty, and education, health and gender inequality — are addressed, it will be impossible to bridge the gap between policy and practice.

📚 Top 10 Difficult Vocabulary from the Editorial

1. Scourge (Noun)
Meaning: A persistent and widespread cause of suffering or harm.
Example: Child marriage continues to be a major scourge affecting India’s social development.

2. Fragile (Adjective)
Meaning: Easily damaged, broken, or weakened; lacking strength or stability.
Example: Progress in reducing child marriage remains fragile in economically backward regions.

3. Prevalent (Adjective)
Meaning: Widespread or commonly occurring.
Example: Child marriage is more prevalent in States with high poverty levels.

4. Quintile (Noun)
Meaning: One of five equal groups into which a population is divided for statistical analysis.
Example: Girls from the lowest income quintile face a higher risk of early marriage.

5. Stringent (Adjective)
Meaning: Strict, precise, and rigid in enforcement.
Example: The stringent provisions of the law sometimes discourage reporting of adolescent relationships.

6. Infrequent (Adjective)
Meaning: Not occurring often; rare.
Example: The infrequent application of the law reduces its deterrent effect.

7. Inadvertently (Adverb)
Meaning: Without intention; accidentally.
Example: Harsh legal provisions may inadvertently push girls towards unsafe medical practices.

8. Imperative (Adjective)
Meaning: Absolutely necessary or crucial.
Example: It is imperative to address education and poverty to eliminate child marriage.

9. Incentivise (Verb)
Meaning: To motivate or encourage through rewards or benefits.
Example: Several States incentivise girls’ education through cash-transfer schemes.

10. Disparity (Noun)
Meaning: A great difference or inequality.
Example: There is a sharp disparity in child marriage rates across Indian States.


📘 High-Level Reading Comprehension (RC) MCQs
(Based strictly on the given editorial on child marriage)

RC Question 1
The editorial’s primary concern is best described as:
A. The failure of international agencies to support India’s fight against child marriage
B. The mismatch between India’s legal framework and the socio-economic realities sustaining child marriage
C. The constitutional limitations in criminalising child marriage
D. The overemphasis on education at the cost of health interventions

RC Question 2
What can be most reasonably inferred from the discussion on NFHS data?
A. Cultural practices are the sole determinant of child marriage in India
B. Economic status has little influence once education is provided
C. Poverty and lack of education reinforce each other in perpetuating child marriage
D. Urbanisation has eliminated child marriage in most States

RC Question 3
The reference to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act serves to highlight:
A. The success of stringent laws in deterring early marriages
B. The incompatibility between child protection laws and adolescent realities
C. Judicial reluctance in enforcing child protection laws
D. The superiority of civil remedies over criminal sanctions

RC Question 4
Why does the editorial cite West Bengal as a case requiring closer examination?
A. It has the highest number of child marriages in absolute terms
B. Its legal enforcement mechanisms are weaker than other States
C. High child marriage persists despite educational incentive schemes
D. It lacks central government support for gender-focused programmes

RC Question 5
According to the editorial, which of the following best explains why child marriage hampers achievement of multiple SDGs?
A. It directly violates international treaties
B. It increases population growth rates
C. It negatively impacts health, education, gender equality, and poverty outcomes
D. It weakens democratic participation

RC Question 6
Which of the following assumptions underlies the author’s argument?
A. Legal prohibition alone is sufficient to eliminate harmful social practices
B. Awareness campaigns are ineffective in rural India
C. Social infrastructure plays a critical role in sustaining girls’ education
D. State governments lack autonomy in addressing child marriage

RC Question 7
The phrase “bridge the gap between policy and practice” most nearly implies:
A. Replacing existing laws with stricter legislation
B. Improving coordination between the Centre and States
C. Translating formal commitments into effective ground-level outcomes
D. Increasing judicial oversight over welfare schemes

RC Question 8
Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the editorial’s argument?
A. Evidence showing that child marriage declines uniformly with economic growth alone
B. Proof that awareness campaigns have limited outreach
C. Data indicating low conviction rates under child marriage laws
D. Studies showing a correlation between early marriage and poor health outcomes



🧠 Explanations
Q1 Explanation
The editorial does not deny legal frameworks but emphasises their limited effectiveness due to socio-economic drivers like poverty, education, and gender inequality. Hence B.

Q2 Explanation
NFHS data show that poorer and less-educated girls are far more likely to marry early, indicating a reinforcing cycle of poverty and educational deprivation → C.

Q3 Explanation
The POCSO discussion highlights how strict criminalisation of adolescent consensual relationships can produce unintended harmful outcomes, not legal success → B.

Q4 Explanation
West Bengal is cited as a paradox: cash incentives for education exist, yet child marriage remains high, suggesting deeper structural issues → C.

Q5 Explanation
The editorial explicitly notes that child marriage affects health, education, gender equality, and poverty—core dimensions of multiple SDGs → C.

Q6 Explanation
The argument assumes that supportive infrastructure (toilets, transport, safety) is essential to keep girls in school, beyond laws or incentives → C.

Q7 Explanation
The phrase refers to the disconnect between formal commitments (laws, schemes, SDGs) and actual outcomes on the ground → C.

Q8 Explanation
If economic growth alone were sufficient to reduce child marriage, the editorial’s emphasis on education, health, gender inequality, and infrastructure would be undermined → A.