Penal policy has shifted from an emphasis on retribution, deterrence, and example to rehabilitating the offender through individualized sentencing. India has given priority to planning for social defense, in conjunction with social and economic development, in an effort to counter threats to social order in the course of economic and social change. India's States deal with juveniles under the Children Acts, which mandate the creation of juvenile courts to provide individualized treatment for juvenile offenders. Juveniles may be committed to institutions such as certified schools, approved schools, and special schools for treatment and training. An important step in prison reform involved the preparation of a Model Prison Manual and accompanying recommendations. In pursuance of one of the recommendations, the Federal Government established the Central Bureau of Correctional Services in 1961 to monitor progress toward the standards presented in the manual. Although a form of probation was authorized in India in 1898 and expanded in 1923, the courts have not adopted procedures that would permit the determination of facts about the personality, character, social circumstances, and prospects for rehabilitation of the offender. This has hampered effective individualized treatment. Aftercare services are an integral part of the social defense program in India. Services are provided by voluntary agencies in addition to the Government's Advisory Committee on Aftercare Program. One table and footnote are supplied.