Integrated Child Development Services

Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) is a government programme in India which provides food, preschooleducation, and primary healthcare to children under 6 years of age and their mothers. The scheme was launched in 1975, discontinued in 1978 by the government of Morarji Desai, and then relaunched by the Tenth Five Year Plan.

enth five year plan also linked ICDS to Anganwadi centres established mainly in rural areas and staffed with frontline workers.[1] In addition to fighting malnutrition and ill health, the programme is also intended to combat gender inequalityby providing girls the same resources as boys.

A 2005 study found that the ICDS programme was not particularly effective in reducing malnutrition, largely because of implementation problems and because the poorest states had received the least coverage and funding.[1] During the 2012–13 fiscal year, the Indian central government spent ₹159 billion (US$2.4 billion) on the programme. The widespread network of ICDS has an important role in combating malnutrition especially for children of weaker groups.

Background

Majority of children in India have underprivileged childhoods starting from birth. The infant mortality rate of Indian children is and the under-five mortality rate is 93 and 25% of newborn children are underweight among other nutritional, immunization and educational deficiencies of children in India. Figures for India are substantially worse than the country average.

ICDS was launched in 1975 in accordance to the National Policy for Children in India.Over the years it has grown into one of the largest integrated family and community welfare schemes in the world.[5] Given its effectiveness over the last few decades, Government of India has committed towards ensuring universal availability of the programme.

Scope of Services

The following services are sponsored under ICDS to help achieve its objectives:

• Immunization
• Supplementary nutrition
• Health checkup
• Referral services
• Pre-school education
• Nutrition and Health information