Smt. Renuka Chowdhury, Minister for Women and Child Development has proposed to bring the implementation of Integrated Child Development Services Scheme (ICDS) under mission mode to ensure more focused approach. She said that it has also been decided to provide Anganwadi to the State on demand, as nutritional support to the children and women is a very high priority in the agenda of the Government. The Minister said that States have been requested to set up special monitoring cell and provide the feedback to the Central Ministry so that corrective steps could be taken immediately for the effective implementation of the ICDS while addressing the Editors’ Conference on Social Sector Issues – 2008 here today.
Briefing about the initiatives taken by the Ministry of Women and Children for the development of children and women, the Minister said that very soon a Bill to check the sexual harassment of the women at the workplace would be brought. Steps were being taken to provide skill upgradation training to women for self-employment in partnership with industrial association like CII, ASSOCHEM. More funds are being allotted to self-help groups and micro financing for the women, she said.
Besides setting up of child right commission, the Central Government has proposed an integrated child protection scheme which will be launched very soon to monitor programmes and policies related with the children at the grass root level. Under the programme, infrastructure would be created at the district level to see the implementation of the programmes and take appropriate action. Adoption laws are being simplified so that destitute and orphan children could get family care and juvenile justice act has amended to make it more children friendly. She expressed the hope very soon States would appoint Protection Officers to completely wipe out incidents of child marriage completely from the society.
NCJ/DT
(Release ID :35011)