Ministry Of Women And Child Development

WCD ministry in 2025: Focus on grassroots empowerment, nutritional security

From addressing gaps in women's safety mechanisms to strengthening grassroots initiatives and nutritional security, the Women and Child Development ministry is set to focus on tackling systemic issues in the coming year. The year 2024 saw Annapurna Devi taking charge as the new Women and Child Development Minister and Savitri Thakur as her deputy. The operationalization of fast track special courts for handling cases of rape and crimes under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act will remain a critical focus in 2025. The ministry is expected to tighten its monitoring of state-level compliance and increase the utilization of central funds allocated for justice delivery, senior officials of the ministry said. With the Centre's scheme requiring fast track special courts to exclusively handle sensitive cases, 2025 is likely to see renewed efforts to operationalize additional courts and integrate them with support systems like one-stop centres, one of the officials

Punjab announces new policy for play schools, focus on health of children

The Department of WCD will compel all such schools to register in accordance with these rules, which will be put into effect over the course of the next six months

13.7 million activities reported across India in Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2024

The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has reported 1.37 crore activities in 752 districts of 35 states and Union territories by the sixth day of Rashtriya Poshan Maah. Leading contributors to the campaign include Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, an official statement said. Launched on August 31 at Mahatma Mandir in Gujarat's Gandhinagar, the seventh edition of Poshan Maah focuses on critical themes such as anaemia prevention, growth monitoring, complementary feeding and the integration of education with nutrition through the "Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi" initiative. The campaign also promotes environmental sustainability with the "Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam" initiative, with tree planting at over 13.95 lakh Anganwadi centres across the country. Among the reported activities, over 39 lakh focused on anaemia, 27 lakh on growth monitoring, 20 lakh on complementary feeding and 18.5 lakh on the "Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi" ...

WCD minister launches SHe-Box portal to ensure women's safety at workplace

Union Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi on Thursday launched a centralised platform designed to make workplaces safer for women by addressing and managing complaints of sexual harassment. The SHe-Box portal is a significant advancement in the government's ongoing efforts to safeguard women in the workplace, the ministry said in a statement. The launch event in Delhi also witnessed the introduction of a revamped ministry website. The ministry said the portal would function as a centralised repository for information related to internal committees and local committees across the country, covering both the government and private sectors. The portal will allow women to file complaints, track their status, and ensure that the grievances are processed in a timely manner. It also features a designated nodal officer to enable real-time monitoring of complaints, thereby providing a streamlined and assured redressal process, the statement said. Addressing the gathering, .

Bengal failed to implement schemes to deal with crimes against women: WCD

Amid uproar over the rape of a doctor in West Bengal, Union minister Annapurna Devi has said the situation of women in the state has been "deteriorating" and slammed the Mamata Banerjee government for failing to implement central government schemes such as fast track courts and emergency helplines to deal with crimes against women. It is ironic that it is the only state in the country that has a woman chief minister and still the situation of women in the state is deteriorating, Women and Child Development minister Devi told PTI. "There are states like West Bengal where we are trying to get the central government schemes implemented but it is not happening. There are central government schemes, such as fast track special courts and POCSO courts, that have been established to deal with crimes against women and children but the state (West Bengal) is lagging behind in it," Devi said. "We are sponsoring the scheme so you don't have to spend money but the state has to implement it. We .

WCD minister slams WB govt over delay in enacting women's safety measures

Lambasting the West Bengal government for its alleged failure to implement crucial safety measures for women and girls, Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi has said the state has not taken any step to start the remaining 11 fast track special courts in spite of a pendency of 48,600 rape and POCSO cases. In a letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Devi criticized the West Bengal government for failing to implement key emergency helplines such as the Women Helpline (WHL), Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) and Child Helpline. Asserting these services are essential for providing immediate assistance to victims of violence, she said the state has yet not integrated them despite multiple reminders from the Central government. This lapse, Devi argued, deprives the women and children in West Bengal of critical support in times of distress. In a pointed rebuke, she highlighted the state's inability to operationalize the Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) allocated t

WCD minister asks states to focus on nutrition, safety of women, children

Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi has urged the states and Union Territories to leverage the schemes of the ministry to focus on the nutrition and safety of women and children. Devi made the appeal on Saturday during a meeting with the ministers of women and child development and social welfare departments from various states as well as the administrators and lieutenant governors of Union Territories. To ensure their effective implementation, all major programmes of the ministry have been classified under three umbrella schemes -- Mission Poshan 2.0, Mission Vatsalya, and Mission Shakti. During the meeting, Devi emphasised the importance of collective efforts and strategic planning to enhance the effectiveness of the three schemes. She said the focus should be on the three verticals and sought regular reports from the states on them. "Our objective is to ensure that the benefits of our efforts reach the grassroots level. It is essential to work in collaboration w

Over 6,000 kids, 232 pregnant women living in Manipur's refugee camps: Govt

As many as 6,164 children aged between six months and six years, 2,638 adolescent girls, 232 pregnant women and 753 lactating mothers are residing in refugee camps in Manipur and they are linked to nearby anganwadi centres, the government informed Parliament on Friday. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on facilities provided to the women and children residing in Manipur's refugee camps, Women and Child Development Minister Annpurna Devi provided an update on the support being extended to displaced individuals at such camps in the northeastern state. According to Devi, 6,164 children aged between six months and six years, 2,638 adolescent girls, 232 pregnant women and 753 lactating mothers are residing in these camps. These individuals are linked to 271 nearby anganwadi centres. Under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, aimed at supporting pregnant and lactating women, 103 women expecting their first child have been enrolled, the minister said. Of them, 70 women

Govt reconstitutes NIPCCD's Executive Council, General Body after 5 decades

The Ministry of Women and Child Development said on Monday it has reconstituted the Executive Council and General Body of the National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) after more than five decades. The reconstitution was approved during a meeting held here under the chairpersonship of WCD Minister Annpurna Devi. NIPCCD, an autonomous organization under the WCD Ministry, was initially established in 1966 under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860. The reconstitution reduces the size of the General Body from 94 to 22 members and the Executive Council from 21 to 13 members, creating a leaner and more efficient structure. The General Body is responsible for formulating overall policies, while the Executive Council manages the administrative affairs of the institute. According to an official statement, Devi emphasized the need for NIPCCD to lead in training field functionaries of the ministry, conducting research and documentation on women and child

Porsche crash: Panel urges action against JJB members for bail 'lapses'

The panel probing the conduct of two Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) members in connection with the bail given to the minor accused in the Pune Porsche crash case has recommended disciplinary action against them for "procedural lapses", an official said on Wednesday. On May 19, two IT professionals were killed in Kalyani Nagar area here after their motorcycle was hit by a speeding Porsche car allegedly driven by the minor in an inebriated condition. The case caused a national uproar after JJB member L N Danwade granted bail to the accused on very lenient terms, including writing a 300-word essay on road safety. Later, a committee was formed by the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department of the Maharashtra government to probe the conduct of two JJB members in connection with the bail given to the minor accused. In its report, the panel talked about the "procedural lapses", "misconduct" and "non-compliance of norms" of the JJB members. As part of its probe, the committee appointed

51% of applications under PM Cares scheme for Covid orphans rejected

9,331 applications were received for scheme, according to data shared by the Women and Child Development Ministry

Meet Annapurna Devi, women and child development minister in Modi cabinet

Annapurna Devi, 55, succeeds BJP leader Smriti Irani, who was dropped from the new National Democratic Alliance government

Annapurna Devi gets women and child development ministry in Modi govt 3.0

BJP leader from Jharkhand Annapurna Devi has been appointed as the new Women and Child Development Minister as part of the NDA government's third term. Savitri Thakur is the new minister of state in the Ministry of Women and Child Development, according to an official statement. With challenges such as raising the legal age of marriage for women, combating malnutrition among women and children, and addressing women's safety issues, the new ministers face a formidable agenda. Devi, 55, succeeds Smriti Irani in this role. Her political journey began with her election to the Bihar Legislative Assembly in a 1998 by-election. She later served as minister of state for Mines and Geology in the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) government of undivided Bihar. From 2005 to 2014, Devi was a member of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly and became a cabinet minister in Jharkhand in 2012, overseeing the Ministry of Irrigation, Women & Child Welfare, and Registration. She joined the Bharatiya Janata .

Adoptions in India reach pre-pandemic levels at over 4,000 in a year

Of the 4,009 adoptions between April 2023 and March 2024, 449 were inter-country adoptions, the government data showed

Centre releases advisories, surveys to boost female workforce participation

Key recommendations from the central government's advisories include promoting women in leadership and management roles, crafting gender-neutral job advertisements, among others

Centre releases national minimum standards and protocols for creches

If located on other floors, the creches must strictly adhere to the necessary safety measures

India's childcare market expected to grow on the back of macro drivers

Redseer expects the market to grow at 14% CAGR to reach $60bn size by 2027 from $31 bn in 2022

WCD ministry launches several projects in 2023, impact to be seen next year

From establishing G20's working group on women's empowerment to integration of the child helpline with the Emergency Response Support System 112, 2023 saw the beginning of several initiatives by the Women and Child Development Ministry. These initiatives aim to address key issues concerning the well-being of women and children across the country. The National Commission for Women (NCW) also remained in the limelight during the year. The NCW found itself in a soup over not acting in the incident of public assault of women in Manipur despite receiving the complaint a month before a video of the incident went viral. NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma had accepted receiving the complaint from the activists. "We had to verify the authenticity. And also, the complaints were not from Manipur, some were not even from India. We reached out to authorities but no response was received from them but then we took suo motu cognisance when the video (of women being paraded naked) went viral," she had

As India's rank falls to 111, here's everything about Global Hunger Index

Global Hunger Index 2023: India's neighbouring countries Pakistan (102nd), Bangladesh (81st), Nepal (69th) and Sri Lanka (60th) fared better than it

758 fast track with 412 exclusive POCSO courts across 29 states: Govt data

Rs 71 crore has been rolled out in victim compensation in last 3 years, according to data reported by the Ministry of Women and Child Development