Integrated Child Development Services

✦Key Features

• World's largest integrated early childhood program.
• Provides a package of six services: Supplementary Nutrition, Pre-school Non-formal Education, Nutrition & Health Education, Immunization, Health Check-up, and Referral Services.
• Implemented through a network of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) in villages and urban slums.
• Focuses on holistic development of children and empowerment of mothers.
• Launched in 1975, a landmark initiative for child welfare.

✓Eligibility Criteria

• Children below 6 years of age.
• Pregnant women.
• Lactating mothers.

★Benefits

• Supplementary nutrition to bridge the calorie-protein gap.
• Access to early childhood care and education.
• Improved immunization coverage for children and mothers.
• Regular health check-ups and referral services for illness.
• Health and nutrition education for mothers.

▶Application Process

• Visit the nearest Anganwadi Centre (AWC).
• Meet the Anganwadi Worker (AWW) or Helper.
• Register the child/mother by providing necessary documents.
• Enrollment is typically facilitated by the AWW through community outreach.

₹ Budget Allocation

20554

Funding Ratio (Centre:State): 60:40 for general states, 90:10 for NE/Himalayan states, and 100% for UTs without legislature

Historical Context

Launched on October 2, 1975, ICDS is one of the world's oldest and largest programs for early childhood development. In 2021-22, it was restructured and subsumed under 'Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0' to create a more robust ecosystem for nutrition and early childhood care.