The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), launched in 1975, could see minimum infrastructure standards introduced across Anganwadi centres, along with tighter checks on food supplies and more regular deliveries, a senior government official told ET.
Niti Aayog member M Srinivas recently chaired a high-level meeting with senior government officials, academics, international organisations and civil society representatives to discuss ways to strengthen the programme, with an emphasis on outcomes and the government’s long-term vision of a healthy and Viksit Bharat.
The plan is to transform Anganwadi centres into integrated hubs for early childhood care and women-led development by scaling up infrastructure and leveraging technology to provide comprehensive services to children and mothers.
ICDS is a flagship government programme aimed at improving the health, nutrition and development of children under six, pregnant women and lactating mothers. It operates through Anganwadi centres and provides beneficiaries with a package of services, including nutrition, education and health check-ups.
Despite its wide reach, the programme continues to face poor infrastructure, low remuneration for Anganwadi workers, irregular food supplies and high rates of child malnutrition.
Anganwadi workers (AWWs) are community-based voluntary frontline workers under the ICDS programme. The government is considering a long-pending demand to classify them as unorganised workers and bring them under social security schemes while also increasing their monthly remuneration to make the work more attractive.