Why the state must share responsibility for childcare in the face of growing safety concerns in daycare centers
The increase in cases of abuse in daycare centers has occasionally been reported in the media. IT company Capgemini Technology Services’ daycare center in Bangalore drew significant public attention to this issue in July 2026. Although there were allegations of a targeted criminal conspiracy, after the emergence of Viral videos of caregivers mistreating young children In daycare, the issue of poor safety standards and regulation in daycare centers has been brought to the fore. Similar incidents have also been reported in Delhi And Punetriggering fears among Indian working mothers about the safety of their children.
Fragmented policies and the crisis of mothers’ reintegration into the labor market
Laws such as the Maternity Benefit Act 1961; Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MNREGA) Act, 2005 (now replaced by Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–G RAM G) Act, 2025); Construction and Other Construction Workers (Conditions of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 1996; Factories Act, 1948; and the Central Civil Services (CCS) Rules mandate crèche services at workplaces.
There are also programs and initiatives such as Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Anganwadis, Poshan Abhiyan, Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) and the Palna program. However, the framework is fragmented and implementation inconsistent weaken general accessenforceable safety standards and monitoring of child care provision. For example, the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961 does not contain provisions for child care for workers in the informal sector. The feasibility of childcare provision through MNREGA depended entirely on local administrative capacity. On the other hand, national systems either do not effectively involve private sector staff or do not enforce regulations to prevent child abuse in daycare centers.
There are no consistent, comprehensive frameworks or policies that regulate and enforce the operations of child care facilities and ensure public accountability. Existing regulations result in inconsistencies in safety standards, staff training and quality, control and grievance resolution in public and private facilities. Therefore, negligence and child abuse remain unchecked, Weakening of child protection despite widespread legal regulations.
As several news reports indicate, children in day care centers appear to frequently suffer physical and psychological abuse by being left unattended, subjected to intentional intimidation, and subjected to violence and suffering. However, the crisis does not just begin with the admission of children to daycare centers.
Mothers in the formal sector often find that the social and cultural infrastructure necessary for them to return to work is missing or unreliable, and mothers in the informal sector are either excluded from employment after having children or are forced to carry their infants in unsafe working conditions. The labor force participation rate of women in India is 32 percentwhich is much lower than several other Asian economies.
The unpaid care work and household responsibilities associated with childbirth and maternity result in large numbers of women leaving paid work. According to one Ashoka University Report73 percent of Indian women quit their jobs after having a child and have difficulty returning to the workforce. The lack of supportive policies, childcare facilities, cultural bias and motherhood penalty prevent women from returning to work and staying there after birth. This is prevalent in both the organized and unorganized sectors, leading to career setbacks in the former sector and pushing women out of work in the informal sector. However, the impact of this economic and cultural exclusion has yet to be recognized by legal scholars and academics.
The policy dilemma that arises is this: Why must mothers alone bear the brunt of a systemic and cultural failure?
Understand childcare as a shared responsibility
Major concerns relate to the safety of children, the reintegration of mothers into the workplace and society, and the role of the state. The father’s role in childcare is rarely acknowledged Patriarchy and gender roles Despite it Prevent shared childcare responsibilities in Indian households. It’s also important to consider that a large percentage of Gen Z women choose to do this remain childless or delay parenthood This is mainly due to the high cost of living and the contradiction between career growth and lifestyle adjustments after childbirth.
Indian mothers risk their careers and financial freedom if they choose to leave. This impossible bargain exposes the inadequacies of feminism in India, where childcare continues to be seen as the primary responsibility of mothers despite having implications for the country’s holistic development. The care crisis related to work-life balance shows how heavily the economy depends on care work and how unpaid work shifts costs onto families, disproportionately affecting women.
The fact that women’s care work has historically been relegated to the private sphere reinforces the idea that it is a biologically determined responsibility that falls exclusively to women. However, child care must be understood as a concern of social reproduction and gender equity that requires enforcement of accountability and legal-institutional protections.
This does not mean that parental responsibilities must be avoided entirely. Modern Indian society blames urbanization, migration and the transition to nuclear families for the weakening of the traditional child care system. However, there is a significant research gap in understanding the cultural support systems that existed within the shared family framework in a society where obstetric violence and son preference are prevalent.
In addition, the daycare system must ensure that employees have appropriate qualifications and training and receive fair pay. Ensuring flexible working hours and introducing decentralized and transparent grievance redressal systems will also go a long way in preventing child abuse. In order to do justice to the survivors, individual guilt must, above all, be thoroughly examined.
The role of the state and integrative framework conditions
A gender-responsive approach, particularly one that includes the voices of women from the formal and informal sectors and focuses on single parents and members of marginalized communities, is a good starting point. The state must be the facilitator of safe, affordable and accessible child care, and we must recognize parents as essential partners in this process.
Furthermore, since women do not form a homogeneous category, their childcare needs also vary. Formal sector employees may require full-time childcare services, while informal sector employees are likely to require services at specific times and in locally accessible locations. Providing affordable services requires specific budget allocations, regulatory authorities, regular monitoring and certified training agencies, as well as the active participation of both national and state governments.
The Philippines Early Childhood Care and Development System (ECCD) Act, 2025Recognizes the importance of early childhood care and assigns responsibility for children under five to the ECCD Council and for children between the ages of five and eight to the Ministry of Education. India could adopt this age-based division of responsibilities into existing national systems and departments for coordinated child care services.
India could also study the Swedish model publicly funded childcare through national programs and local institutions. The community responsibilities outlined in this model can be adopted by India to involve local authorities in identifying specific child care needs and coordinating with anganwadis and other crèches. While it may not be financially feasible to fully implement these models, India could still invest in phases, provide subsidies to low-income groups, and decentralize implementation with the participation of local governments and communities to ensure greater government accountability.
The question of who should be held responsible for child abuse in daycare centers must be clarified politically. Should working mothers bear sole responsibility for childcare or should the state also share responsibility? Overburdened working mothers cannot be expected to raise a healthy generation without shared domestic responsibilities and government accountability in care work. The state’s commitment to better childcare would indeed be a commitment to gender equality and the country’s future development prospects.
Dr. Parvathy Poornima teaches at St. Joseph’s University, Bengaluru. Her research areas includeDiaspora studies and the experiences of South Asians in the UK. She holds a PhD from JNU.She is a full-time mother who pursues her career and passion with perseverance.
