The problem of child labour has been prevalent in most economies, especially the developing ones. Children in the poor families are sent to work to supplement the family income and since the poor do not have enough resources to send them to schools, they send them to work instead of keeping them idle. Though India is signatory of various international conventions and agreements, there is growing number of child labour in India. Even though the magnitude of child labour in India is declining but still it exists in the society The present study sought to examine the socio-economic profile of child labour in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. Data was collected from child labour in ten villages of Gangadhara Nellore Mandal of Chittoor district. Small Land holdings in agricultural areas and caste system in rural areas is the main reason for child labour. The results revealed that majority (72%) of the respondents were engaged in Agriculture as agricultural labourers or working in their own fields. Almost all the respondents were engaged in work at an early age to supplement family income. The data concluded that Poverty is the main cause of sending their children to work. Illiteracy, unemployment, lack of good schools, awareness on the education of the girl child and growth of informal economy are considered as the other major causes and consequences of increasing the number of child labourers. A re-energized worldwide movement is necessary to create a political climate for enhanced national efforts. A stronger involvement of the social partners in the development of National Action Plans, corporate social responsibility initiatives, and in sectoral, workplace and community activities could further enhance capacity, and strengthen and re-energize the worldwide movement, as could better targeted and more ambitious advocacy efforts
