After 50 years, Child Welfare Programme set for makeover
The government plans to revamp the five-decade-old Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme, marking a major structural update since its 1975 launch
The proposed changes include upgrading Anganwadi centres, strengthening nutrition delivery mechanisms, and empowering frontline workers
Better remuneration and expanded social security coverage for Anganwadi workers and helpers are part of the proposed package
The revamp builds on the existing restructuring of ICDS into the umbrella "Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0" framework, which already merged Anganwadi Services, Poshan Abhiyaan, the Scheme for Adolescent Girls, and the National Creche Scheme
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), 1975
ICDS is the world's largest community-based early childhood development programme, launched in 1975 to address child malnutrition, health, and early learning through a network of Anganwadi centres. It delivers a package of six services — supplementary nutrition, immunisation, health check-ups, referral services, pre-school non-formal education, and nutrition/health education — primarily to children below 6 years and pregnant/lactating mothers.
Key Details
- Launched: 1975, under the Ministry of Women and Child Development (erstwhile Department of Women and Child Development)
- Delivery unit: the Anganwadi Centre (AWC), staffed by an Anganwadi worker and helper
- Nutritional norm: roughly 500 kilocalories with 12-15 grams of protein per day for a child aged 6 months to 6 years (higher for severely malnourished children)
- Now subsumed under "Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0," which integrates Anganwadi Services, Poshan Abhiyaan (2018), the Scheme for Adolescent Girls, and the National Creche Scheme
- Monitored digitally via the Poshan Tracker application for real-time beneficiary and service tracking
The proposed makeover is a structural upgrade to the ICDS delivery architecture itself — physical infrastructure of Anganwadi centres, nutrition delivery systems, and workforce terms — 50 years after the scheme's launch.
Anganwadi Worker Status — Statutory Recognition and Social Security
Anganwadi workers and helpers have historically been treated as "honorary volunteers" receiving a fixed honorarium rather than a salary, which excluded them from many labour law protections. Recent judicial pronouncements have progressively strengthened their claim to formal worker status and statutory benefits, directly bearing on the "better remuneration and social security" component of the proposed makeover.
Key Details
- The Supreme Court, in Maniben Maganbhai Bhariya v. District Development Officer, Dahod (2022), held that Anganwadi centres perform statutory duties and that the "honorarium" paid to workers/helpers qualifies as "wages" under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 — entitling them to gratuity
- Anganwadi workers and helpers are funded on a Centre-State cost-sharing basis under the ICDS/Mission Saksham Anganwadi framework rather than as regular government employees
- High Court rulings (e.g., Gujarat High Court, 2025) have directed minimum monthly wage floors for Anganwadi workers and helpers, separate from the honorarium structure
- Anganwadi workers, along with ASHA workers, remain classified as "volunteers" rather than formal "workers" under most central labour codes, which is the core social-security gap the proposed reform targets
The makeover's promise of "better remuneration and social security coverage" responds directly to this long-standing legal and policy gap between the honorarium-based engagement model and full statutory worker status.
Directive Principles — Article 45 (Early Childhood Care and Education)
Article 45 of the Constitution, a Directive Principle of State Policy under Part IV, obliges the State to endeavour to provide early childhood care and education to all children until they complete the age of six years. ICDS is the principal instrument through which this directive is operationalised.
Key Details
- Original Article 45 (1950) directed free and compulsory education for children up to 14 years
- The 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002 inserted Article 21A (Right to Education, 6-14 years) as a Fundamental Right and simultaneously re-purposed Article 45 to cover early childhood care and education for children below 6 years
- Article 45, being a DPSP, remains non-justiciable — children below 6 do not have an enforceable legal right to these services, only a constitutional policy obligation on the State
- ICDS/Anganwadi centres are the primary vehicle for meeting this Article 45 obligation, alongside the National Education Policy 2020's emphasis on Foundational Stage (ages 3-8) education
Upgrading Anganwadi centres and pre-school delivery under the proposed makeover is a direct fulfilment mechanism for the State's Article 45 obligation toward children below six.
- ICDS launched: 1975; currently reorganised as Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0
- Nutritional norm under ICDS: approximately 500 kcal and 12-15g protein/day for children 6 months-6 years
- Nodal ministry: Ministry of Women and Child Development
- Article 45 (DPSP) mandates early childhood care and education for children below 6 years; re-purposed by the 86th Amendment Act, 2002
- Maniben Maganbhai Bhariya (2022): Supreme Court held Anganwadi worker/helper honorarium counts as "wages" for gratuity purposes under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972