Dehradun: Half of the country’s population can play a powerful role in making India a developed nation by 2047. The Union Minister for Women and Child Development held a meeting with state ministers on Friday. During the meeting, the Uttarakhand government presented a comprehensive roadmap to the central government. In a virtual meeting with the Union Minister for Women and Child Development, the state’s Women Empowerment and Child Development Minister, Rekha Arya, made over 20 suggestions.
In the meeting, Cabinet Minister Rekha Arya said that 10% of the budget allocated to local bodies should be reserved for women and child development. She called for the development of a technically skilled workforce for women’s empowerment. She also emphasized the need to include technical skills in the qualifications of personnel. A radical change is needed in the department’s functioning. It is also important to fully digitize the role of Anganwadi centers and make them more effective.
She emphasized the need to increase the female workforce to 50 percent in women’s empowerment and child development work, similar to Europe. Anganwadi centers should be operated as day-boarding schools. Regular research and social audits are needed in this area, without taking lightly the care of pregnant women and the nutrition and education of children up to the age of 6.
Rekha Arya emphasized the need to expand the Adolescent Girl Child Project to all districts and place special emphasis on skill development. She also called for the development of a grading system for Anganwadi centers. Union Minister Annapurna Devi praised the suggestions made by the Uttarakhand government and assured them of implementing them. The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Women Empowerment and Child Development from almost all states and union territories.
Uttarakhand proposed the following proposals:
- The standardized infant nutrition rate should be revised and increased.
- The budget for repairing Anganwadi centers should be increased from ₹3,000 to ₹10,000.
- Under MNREGA, 80 percent of the budget for Anganwadi center construction should be allocated for materials and 20 percent for labor.
- The Take Home Ration Scheme should incorporate a face-reading system and OTP, allowing any family member of the beneficiary to avail the benefits through their mobile phone.
- Most of the work under Mission Shakti is being done digitally. Its monitoring is also done through modern technology, so an IT specialist position should be created in this mission.
- The Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana portal should be made user-friendly and simple.
- Under the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign, girls should be provided vocational training and scholarships for competitive exam preparation.
- At least two vehicles should be allocated to provide immediate assistance to women through One Stop Centers.
- Under Mission Vatsalya’s Cara Adoption Scheme, priority should be given to people from the state where the child is born.
- The sponsorship scheme currently limits benefits to a limited number of eligible candidates. This cap should be removed, allowing all eligible candidates to benefit.
- Ensure annual increases in the honorarium of Mission Shakti and Mission Vatsalya personnel, so they can take greater interest in their work.
