Integrated Child Development Services Scheme – the Anganwadi Services Scheme was launched in 1975 as an innovative experiment to address maternal and child health, nutrition, and early childhood development. Aligned with the objectives to improve children’s health, nutrition, and development, reduce mortality, morbidity, and dropout rates, and empower mothers through counselling, the ICDS framework is designed to nurture holistic development. Through a lifecycle approach, it targets children aged 0-6 years, pregnant and lactating mothers, and adolescent girls, delivering supplementary nutrition, immunisations, health check-ups, non-formal preschool education, and nutrition counselling. Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) are the focal points for delivering ICDS services, and Anganwadi workers (AWWs) and helpers are the fulcrum of rendering these vital services through AWCs and home visits. Today, through a strong network of more than 1.4 million Anganwadi centres (AWCs) covering 100 million particularly vulnerable mothers and children, ICDS has emerged as the largest service delivery program for mother care and child development. As ICDS celebrates 50 years this year, it presents a valuable opportunity to celebrate its achievements, reflect on the gaps and challenges, and propose a way forward to align with the futuristic needs of Viksit Bharat.
Since this launch, ICDS boasts a robust framework that enables it to adapt and evolve meaningfully in the future. Its evolution to currently Saksham Anganwadi & Poshan 2.0, combines schemes Poshan Abhiyaan, Scheme for Adolescent Girls, and Poshan Bhi, Padhai Bhi, emphasising holistic development and real-time monitoring. Today, all AWCs and over 101 million beneficiaries are registered on the Poshan Tracker, enabling real
time tracking of service delivery and outcomes.
Over the years, ICDS has played a crucial role in equitably addressing malnutrition, early childhood care, and maternal health across India. India is moving in the right direction toward achieving the SDG 2030 targets for maternal and child mortality. Research has demonstrated that early childhood interventions targeting nutrition, education, and health can substantially enhance human capital, especially in developing countries. An IFPRI study published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organisation highlighted improvements in both equity and coverage of ICDS from 2006 to 2016, with increased service utilisation (58 per cent to 71 per cent), especially among Scheduled Castes and Tribes. Another study examining the linkages between utilisation of ICDS and underweight among children aged 6-59 months from 2015-16 to 2019-21, attributed improvements in ICDS utilisation to 9-12 per cent of the observed reduction in underweight children. A peer-reviewed study in The University of Chicago Press Journals found that children who were exposed to ICDS during the first three years of life completed 0.1-0.3 more grades of schooling than those who were not.
As India advances towards Viksit Bharat, ICDS must not only strengthen its existing interventions but also embrace transformative paradigm shifts to effectively address
emerging challenges, harness new opportunities, and align with the evolving aspirations of society.
Firstly, the pace of improvement in nutrition needs to be accelerated. Malnutrition rates remain high—stunting among children under five is 36 per cent, underweight at 32.1 per cent, and anaemia prevalence at 67 per cent, especially in comparison to global benchmarks. Sub-optimal Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices, where only 42 per cent of infants are breastfed within the first hour, and only 11 per cent of children aged 6–23 months receive an adequate diet. Anaemia among pregnant women (52 per cent), children (67 per cent), and women of reproductive age (57 per cent) is a public health emergency.
National Achievement Survey, 2021 indicates significant learning losses among children as they progress in school, as there is a secular decline in their performance in higher classes. Over 80 per cent of the brain development occurs before the child is three years old, and 85-90 per cent by 6 years of age. This early learning deficit highlights the need for improved foundational care during 0-6 years, especially among children under 3 years, with a focus on early stimulation and cognitive skills and development through parental engagement and improved Anganwadi workers’ capacities.
Adolescents—recognised as a second window of opportunity—face challenges such as unmet mental health needs (7.3 per cent) and early childbearing (6.8 per cent of girls aged 15–19), demanding a more holistic approach. An intensified focus on the first 1,000 days—from preconception through the first two years is critical. This period lays the foundation for lifelong health, learning, and productivity through optimal nutrition with a focus on local balanced diets within family budget, stimulation, and care.
Viksit Bharat can only be realised when women-led development takes centre stage. Although female labour force participation (FLFP) is 47 per cent, caregiving responsibilities disproportionately affect women—53 per cent citing it as a barrier to employment, compared to just 1.1 per cent of men. ICDS must represent a paradigm shift and be strategically leveraged to empower women and enable them to join the workforce. Currently, only 5 per cent of AWCs are being converted under the Palna Scheme or AWC-cum-creches, necessitating their expansion. Some states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Delhi have extended AWC hours to support working women. There is a need to develop diverse creche models that are high-quality, safe, accredited creches, aligned to the workplace, with trained, fairly compensated staff, tailored to urban and rural settings. Promising models include Haryana’s pioneering creche policy, Odisha’s community-run creches, Karnataka’s model of convergence with MNREGA and Panchayati Raj, MSME-cluster-based workplace creches, and incentivising women entrepreneurs to run subsidised childcare services. Critically, ICDS must move beyond mother-centric models to promote shared caregiving, using gender-sensitive and culturally relevant messaging to shift norms.
ICDS was designed predominantly with a rural focus. However, with 26 per cent of India’s 0–6 population in urban areas, projected to reach 50 per cent by 2047, redesigning it to focus and expand in urban areas is a national priority. Currently, only 10 per cent of AWCs are located in urban areas, and their utilisation remains low. While urban settings pose infrastructural challenges, they also offer opportunities: the presence of private actors, CSR engagement, NGOs, greater awareness, and better connectivity. ICDS can leverage these strengths to develop diverse and flexible models. Strengthening institutional capacity within Urban Local Bodies and partnering with Smart Cities initiatives can attract investments and improve service efficiency. Mobile Anganwadis, telehealth consultations, childcare centres using hub and-spoke models and fee-based structures should be explored.
Technology is a powerful enabler across ICDS operations—from monitoring to outreach. There is a huge opportunity to deploy artificial intelligence and blended tech-touch models to predict high-risk children and send alerts; analyse meal composition and facilitating nutritional support; optimise AWC placements based on projected population trends, provide personalised and tailored AWW and caregiver training, adapting to their individual needs; and generate personalised multimedia content for improving outreach, service delivery and learning outcomes. Pilots in Aurangabad, Gujarat, and Kerala show promising results. Further, AWCs must be made aspirational spaces that promote learning and well-being. Infrastructure upgrades, ICDS scorecards based on performance metrics, can drive healthy competition, fostering improvement. Linking every AWC to primary schools and integrating platforms like the Poshan Tracker with UDISE can ensure a lifecycle approach and continuity among children. Community engagement through community fairs, technology, as seen in Maharashtra’s Aarambh model, will encourage parents, especially fathers and grandparents participation and enable ICDS to become a household name. Strategic Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) must be prioritised, identifying key behaviours at centre, state, and household levels, with measurable KPIs set for 2047. Finally, AWW training should be linked to structured career progression pathways, enabling recognition and positioning them as frontline educators.
ICDS is not just a program—it is a cornerstone of India’s human development framework. It aligns with constitutional mandates (Article 45), the Sustainable Development Goals, and the National Education Policy 2020. Given the resources, the efforts made through the ICDS have been tremendous. However, there is scope for improvement going forward. As India stands at this transformative crossroads, strengthening ICDS is not just a policy imperative but a moral one. Unlocking its full potential will enable India to harness its demographic dividend and build a Viksit Bharat—where every child, every woman, and every family thrives in an equitable, empowered society.
Rajib Kumar Sen is Programme Director, NITI Aayog, and Vedeika Shekhar is Consultant, NITI Aayog. Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)
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