Palna Scheme: National Programme on Anganwadi-cum-Crèche

Social Issues Health

24-Dec-23

Context: Recently, the Union Women and Child Development Ministry aims to establish 17,000 creches in Anganwadi centres across the country out of which 5,222 have been approved to date.

This is being done as part of Palna Scheme.

What is Palna?

Palna is intended to offer a safe and secure environment for the children of working women to function as a catalyst for increasing female labour force participation.
Palna is a Mission Shakti sub-scheme.
It was adopted for all States/UTs under the Ministry of Women and Child Development to provide daycare facilities and protection to children.

About Palna Scheme

Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Women and Child Development
Earlier Name: National Creche Scheme
Type: Centrally Sponsored Scheme

Component of: Samarthya which is a sub-component under Mission Shakti.
Target Group: Primarily urban areas where family-based childcare support is less available
The scheme focuses on children of 6 months to 6 years, of working women in rural and urban areas who are employed for a minimum period of 15 days in a month, or six months in a year.

Aim

To address the urgent need for quality day-care facilities /creches for the children of working women.
To improve nutrition and health status of children.
To provide quality childcare facilities through Anganwadi-cum-Crèches, enabling women’s participation in the workforce.

Focus of the scheme: The scheme focuses on two types of creches

Anganwadi-cum-Crèches: These centers combine existing Anganwadi services with dedicated crèche facilities. This approach aims to holistically address the needs of both mothers and children in one convenient location.
Stand-alone creches: The crèches which were running under the erstwhile National Creche Scheme have been included as Stand Alone Creches.

What is Anganwadi?

Anganwadi facilities are the world's greatest childcare institutions, committed to providing children with vital care and assistance.
The name 'Anganwadi' means “courtyard shelter” in English.
The Indian government established these in 1975 as part of the Integrated Child Development Services programme to reduce child hunger and malnutrition.
It is mostly aimed towards youngsters aged 0 to 6.

Integrated Child Development Services

Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), which began on October 2, 1975, is the only significant national programme that addresses the needs of children under the age of six.
It aims to provide an integrated package of services for young children, such as supplemental nutrition, health care, and pre-school education.
The programme also includes adolescent girls, pregnant women, and nursing mothers.

About Mission Shakti

Mission Shakti is the Government of India's Integrated Women Empowerment Programme.
It was launched as an Umbrella Scheme for Women's Safety, Security, and Empowerment, with implementation dates from 2021-22 to 2025-26.
'Sambal' and 'Samarthya' are the two sub-schemes of Mission Shakti.
While the “Sambal” sub-scheme is for women's protection and security, the “Samarthya” sub-scheme is for women's empowerment.