Page 2 - Ministry Of Women And Child Development

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

Number of orphan, abandoned children rise by 25% since 2020: WCD Ministry

The Centre has over the last three years registered a 25 per cent spike in the number of orphaned, abandoned, and surrendered children in its child adoption portal CARINGS. The number of such children, which was 4,521 in 2020-21 and 5,106 in 2021-22, rose to 5,663 in 2022-23, according to the data shared by the Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani in Rajya Sabha. According to the government, the Child Adoption Resource Information & Guidance System, or CARINGS, is an online platform developed for end-to-end digital processing to bring transparency to the adoption system and curtail delays. In response to a question, Irani said 3,443 children were adopted in the country in the last one year alone. Responding to another question, Irani said about 4,268 inspections of child-care homes have so far been carried out across the country through the government's MASI (Monitoring App for Seamless Inspection) since its launch in 2021. The portal was launched in January 2021 with

Sex Ratio at Birth declined in 20 states, UTs from 2021-22 to 2022-23: WCD

Twenty states and Union Territories reported a decline in Sex Ratio at Birth between 2021-22 and 2022-23, the Women and Child Development ministry said on Friday. Responding to a query in Lok Sabha, WCD Minister Smriti Irani gave data of sex ratio at birth in 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23. Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, and West Bengal were among those which registered a decline in sex ratio in the one-year period, she said. Sex ratio at birth is the number of male live births for every 100 female live births.

Review cases of older children who could be made free for adoption: Irani

Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani asked the child welfare committees on Sunday to visit child-care homes and review the cases of older children who could be made free for adoption as soon as possible. Many children living in child-care homes are not legally free for adoption. According to official figures, there are around 66,000 children residing child-care homes across the country and less than 3,000 of them are legally free for adoption. Speaking at a regional symposium on "Child Protection, Safety and Child Welfare" that was attended by child welfare committee members and officials from child-care institutions among others, Irani asked the CWCs to visit the child-care homes and review the cases of older children who could be made free for adoption at the earliest. Irani said the women and child development ministry has already reviewed two states, looked into 9,000 cases of older children and identified 164 such children who could be made legally free for ...

3,410 inspections of child-care homes carried out through govt's MASI app

About 3,410 inspections of child-care homes have so far been carried out across the country through the government's MASI (Monitoring App for Seamless Inspection) since its launch in 2021, officials said on Monday. The portal was launched in January 2021 with the first inspection in Chennai but then, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the inspections could not be carried out, a senior official said, adding that they were resumed again after the curbs were lifted. Explaining the functioning of the MASI portal, a senior official at the women and child development ministry said there was a need for a monitoring mechanism for the child-care institutions in the country and hence, the app was developed. "Through this, the children's home database has been synced with an app and the authorities in districts or child welfare committee (CWC) members are on this app.... They can choose a child home randomly on the system to ensure that the inspection of child-care homes is carried out periodically

Smriti Irani launches 'Poshan Bhi, Padhai Bhi' scheme to strengthen EECE

The Mnistry's event was attended by over 800 Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) functionaries from different states and was chaired by Smriti Irani

Parl panel slams govt over lack of basic amenities in Anganwadi centres

Govt has been under fire from key Parliamentary committee for paying Anganwadi workers, helpers inadequate salary and has been urged to increase the pay in a way that is appropriate with their labour

Delhi government presents outcome budget; here are some key takeaways

A majority of schemes under the Women and Child Development Department are on track, according to the Delhi government's Outcome Budget for 2022-23 presented in the Assembly on Monday. Out of 63 indicators for assessment, 71 per cent were on track, it said, adding that last year, out of 69 indicators for assessment, 80 per cent were on track. About 3.47 lakh women in distress was given monthly financial assistance in 2022-23 against 3.12 lakh women in distress in 2021-22, it said. About 2,060 poor widows were given financial assistance (Rs 30,000) for marriage of their daughters. As many as 31,743 girls were enrolled (at birth stage + school stage) under the Ladli scheme till December 2022. The report also said that 21,336 maturity cases have been paid till the third quarter of year 2022-23. About 6.38 lakh children and pregnant/nursing mothers are accessing services of nutrition, vaccination and health services, it said. Delhi Finance Minister Kailash Gahlot presented the Outc

Over 10,000 children living on streets with families in India: WCD

Over 10,000 children are living on streets with their families in the country, the Women and Child Development Ministry said on Friday. Responding to a question in Lok Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani provided data from the Bal Swaraj portal, which enumerates children living in street situations in the country. According to the data, there are 19,546 children in street situations in the country, out of which 10,401 children are living with their families on the streets, while 8,263 children stay on the streets in the day and are back home in the night with their families who reside in nearby slums. There are 882 children without support who are living on the streets all alone, the data stated.

Women in Budget: Marginal rise in allocation; new savings scheme announced

The budget allocated to the Women and Child Development Ministry, the nodal department of the government for the welfare of women and children, stood at Rs 25,448.75 crore in 2023-24, an increase of Rs 267 crore from Rs 25,172.28 crore allotted in 2022-23. The most significant announcement for women in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget speech was the proposal for the 'Mahila Samman Saving Certificate' with a fixed interest rate of 7.5 per cent for two years. The deposit can be made in the name of a woman or a girl child. The maximum deposit amount has been kept at Rs 2 lakh and the scheme will have a partial withdrawal facility as well. "One-time new small saving under 'Mahila Samman Saving Patra'. The deposit facility for the women and girls will be for a period of two years with a rate of interest of 7.5 per cent," Sitharaman announced. She also said that for the economic empowerment of women under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Rural Livelihood Mission, 81 la

Budget 2023: Here's all you need to know about gender budgeting in India

Business Standard tries to demystify gender budgeting, its history, and the road ahead

No waiting period for adopting child with special needs: WCD

There is no waiting period for those who desire to adopt a child having special needs and also from the immediate placement category which includes mostly older children, the government said on Wednesday. The immediate placement category includes children who have been referred several times to prospective adoptive parents (PAP's) through Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System, but have not found a family. These children are mostly above the age of five. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said while there is a long queue to adopt a normal child up to six years of age, there is no waiting period for PAPs who desire to adopt a child having special needs and a child from immediate placement category(mostly older children). According to the data shared by her, 2,991 children, including 1,698 girls, were adopted in 2021-22 while 3,142 children, including 1,856 girls, were adopted in-country in 2020-21 and

Over 2,000 children died in specialised adoption agencies since 2014: Govt

Over 2,000 children have died in specialised adoption agencies since 2014, the Ministry of Women and Child Development said on Friday.