Minister for Women and Child Development Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani conducted the National Conference that was held on 30th and 31st of August, 2021 at Kevadia, Gujarat.
The conference was attended by Ministers like Dr Mahendrabhai Munjpara, Minister of State for WCD, Ministers from many States, Principal Secretaries of States/UTs Women and Child Development / Social Welfare Department.
The main objective of this conference was to deliberate and discuss better implementation and governance of schemes. The three main missions of the conference were POSHAN 2.0, Mission Vatsalya and Mission Shakti. Smt. Irani inaugurated Poshan 2.0 and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants the empowerment of women in all fields and asked states to take up Nutrition Month, starting from September 1.
Addressing the press conference, Irani said, “According to a 2010 World Bank report, India suffered an economic loss of Rs 24,000 crore due to lack of toilets. According to the study of the year 2018, the GDP suffered a decline of four per cent due to malnutrition, but since 2018, even in the midst of the Covid-19 epidemic, a mass movement is going on against malnutrition. Carrying out 16 crore activities with public cooperation. All aspirational districtsof the country should be committed to establishing a ‘Poshan Vatika’ (nutrition garden) during the nutrition month.”
She further added, “The ministry will also organise awareness programmes to emphasise the importance of early breastfeeding, the need for good nutrition in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, and measures to reduce anaemia in young women and children.”
The National Conference began on August 31st, 2021, after a tribute to SardarVallabhbhai Patel. Irani emphasised the importance of recent amendments in the Juvenile Justice Act while explaining Mission Vatsalya. Moreover, she also suggested developing a convergent model for providing Working Women Hostels for women who have to migrate to different states for employment. Dr Mahendrabhai Munjpara also shared his view at the conference.
The National Conference represented the true spirit of our federal structure, resulting in coordinated and convergent efforts for the welfare of women and children in India.
