Centre approves three programmes aimed at empowering and protecting women and children

By: WE Staff | Thursday, 3 February 2022

The Union Cabinet has authorised three Ministry of Women and Child Growth umbrella projects aimed at empowering and protecting women and children, who account for 67.7% of India's population, as well as guaranteeing their healthy development in a safe and secure environment.

Mission Poshan, Mission Shakti, and Mission Vatsalya are the schemes that will be implemented in mission mode.

The ministry said in a news release that it was working to guarantee that children are well-nourished and happy, and that women are confident and self-reliant by providing them with an environment that was accessible, inexpensive, dependable, and free of all sorts of prejudice and abuse.

"The prime objective of the ministry is to address gaps in state action for women and children and to promote inter-ministerial and inter-sectoral convergence to create gender equitable and child-centered legislation, policies, and programmes,” it added.

Mission Poshan is a comprehensive nutrition assistance programme. Through a strategic shift in nutrition content and delivery, as well as the creation of a convergent eco-system to develop and promote practises that nurture health, wellness, and immunity, it aims to address the challenges of malnutrition in children, adolescent girls, pregnant women, and lactating mothers. Under the supplementary nutrition programme, Mission Poshan will work to improve the quality and distribution of meals.

Mission Shakti envisions a unified citizen-centric lifecycle support system for women that includes integrated care, safety, protection, rehabilitation, and empowerment to free women as they move through life's stages. 'Sambal' and 'Samarthya' are two sub-schemes of Mission Shakti.

While the "Sambal" sub-scheme is concerned with women's protection and security, the "Samarthya" sub-scheme is concerned with women's empowerment.

Children have been recognised by policymakers as one of the most valuable national assets under Mission Vatsalya. 472 million children under the age of 18 live in India, accounting for 39% of the country's population. The mission of Mission Vatsalya is to ensure that every child in India has a healthy and happy childhood; to foster a sensitive, supportive, and synchronised ecosystem for children's development; to assist States/UTs in carrying out the mandate of the Juvenile Justice Act 2015; and to achieve the SDG goals.

During the 15th Finance Commission's tenure, from 2021-22 to 2025-26, all three plans will be implemented.

Mission Poshan has a total financial impact of Rs 1,81,703 crore, with a central share of Rs 1,02,031 crore and a state portion of Rs 79,672 crore. With a central portion of Rs 15761 crore and a state share of Rs 5228 crore, Mission Shakti has a total financial impact of Rs 20989 crore. With a national portion of Rs 6928 crore and a state participation of Rs 3988 crore, Mission Vatsalya has a total financial impact of Rs 10916 crore.