DIRECT CASH FOR PREGNANT WOMEN UNDER ICDS LIKELY

NEW DELHI: To ensure that pregnant women and lactating mothers get healthy, nutritious food, the government is considering conditional transfer of money to their accounts instead of the current practice of giving them take-home rations at aanganwadi (child care) centres.

Aanganwadi centres serve as the last mile link between the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme — one of the world’s oldest nutrition programme that India launched in 1975 — and its beneficiaries. Such centres provide supplementary nutrition to children under six years, pregnant women, and lactating mothers as per nutritional norms and guidelines of the ICDS.

A group of secretaries constituted by PM Narendra Modi to review government programmes and suggest budget ideas for 2017-18 on health, sanitation and urban development has recommended that the government replace take-home rations with conditional cash transfer.

The cash transfer should be given to only those lactating mothers and pregnant women who come for timely immunisation and health check-ups at the child centres, the group recommended. This will entail an investment of `11,000 crore per year to 7.5 crore Jan Dhan accounts of woman beneficiaries.

AANGANWADI CENTRES SERVE AS THE LAST MILE LINK BETWEEN THE ICDS SCHEME, ONE OF THE WORLD’S OLDEST NUTRITION PROGRAMMES THAT INDIA LAUNCHED IN 1975