Irani against cash transfers for Centre’s nutrition programme

NEW DELHI : Union minister of women and child development (WCD) Smriti Irani has expressed her reservations about the idea of cash transfers instead of take-home ration for pregnant women and lactating mothers as well as children between six months and three years of age under the multiministerial nutrition programme, Poshan Abhiyaan, according to officials.

At the fifth meeting of the National Council of Nutritional Challenges held on October 10, Irani said that the WCD ministry was not confident whether the cash would go to the intended beneficiaries — women and children. Irani, who chaired the meeting, said there was a fear that the cash benefit could be utilised by their families in other pursuits and could remain unused for the intended usage, which is to alleviate malnutrition, said WCD ministry officials present at the meeting.

Under the pilot scheme scheduled to be launched in two districts each in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, children below the age of six would get ₹8 per day, and pregnant women and lactating mothers would be given ₹9.50 per day by the anganwadis or rural child care centres.

The idea of cash transfers under the Anganwadi Services and Integrated Child Development Services was first mooted by the government think Niti Aayog in 2017 to plug alleged leakages in the Public Distribution System (PDS).

Irani’s predecessor Maneka Gandhi had expressed similar apprehension and written on more than one occasion to Niti Aayog, as well as the Prime Minister’s Office on the matter. It was eventually decided to roll out the scheme on a pilot basis in April last year.

In the meeting held last week, Irani suggested that the Niti Aayog may have a “relook” at the move, according to the minutes of the meeting reviewed by HT.

The decision to launch the pilot scheme was taken at a review meeting of the Scientific Steering Committee of the “Poshan Abhiyaan” or National Nutrition Mission in July this year.