The scheme would target 8 crore children under 6 years in 14 lakh anganwadis across the country.

A 'Nutrition mission' for undernourished children in the country is in the offing. And it promises to accomplish what at least eight other welfare schemes of the central government have failed to achieve.

The UPA government, which has been critical of its own 'deficiencies' in tacking nutritional challenges , has chalked out a plan to meet the food requirement of over eight crore children in the country.

"The government plans to convert the existing 'ineffective' Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) into a national mission, which would target eight crore children in the age group of 0-6 years, mostly under two years, in 14 lakh anganwadis," a top government official said.

The idea has been mooted by the women and child development ministry on the lines of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Sarva Sikhsha Abhiyan.

The 'nutrition mission' would come with an enhanced budgetary allocation, increasing the daily nutritional entitlement to Rs 7 per child from the existing Rs 4.

"The amount will be increased subsequently as even ` 7 is not enough to maintain the basic nutritional standards," a senior official in the women and child development ministry, said.

The ICDS plan follows a spate of criticism by the National Advisory Council, headed by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's blunt observation that the "state of nutrition among the country's children is a national shame".

India accounts for one-third of the world's undernourished children even though there are at least eight national programmes committed to improving the nutritional standards.

Sample this: Despite NRHM, Total Sanitation Campaign, National Rural Drinking Water Programme, Mid- Day Meal Scheme, Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGA), National Food Security Mission and National Rural Livelihood Mission being implemented across the country, at least 44 per cent of country's children sleep on empty stomachs.

A ministry official said: "Since the Prime Minister is holding the additional charge of the finance ministry, the idea to revamp the ICDS is being given a big push from the top. The logjam between the finance ministry and women and child development ministry over funds allocation was finally resolved in a meeting on July 23. The expenditure and finance committee agreed to enhance the budget allocation ( for a revamped ICDS) by about 70 per cent from what the ministry had received in the 11th Five- Year Plan period.'' The women and child development ministry had asked for an allocation of Rs 1.4 lakh crore in the 12th Five- Year Plan and it managed to get Rs 1.25 lakh crore. In the last plan, the allocation was Rs 75,000 crore.

The Women and Child Development Ministry, Finance Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office officials have been meeting since last month to finalise the mission plan and objectives. It will go to the cabinet for final clearance next month, ministry officials said.

Minister for Women and Child development Krishna Tirath discussed ICDS with US secretary for health and human services Kathleen Sebelllius last month. It was decided that an Indian delegation will be sent to the US to study 'Head Start' programme being run by their agriculture department for pregnant and lactating mothers.

The 'nutrition mission' aims to strengthen the ICDS by linking it with local health departments and create infrastructure as more than half of the country's anganwadis don't even have proper buildings.

"Although the ICDS expanded by double between 2004 and 2009, there has been virtually no provision for nutrition as the existing centres only counsel people. Capacity handicaps and inadequate monitoring failed the ICDS in achieving its core objective - overall care of pregnant mothers and children below two years,'' said an internal report.

Under the 'nutrition mission', the ministry proposes to create a policy co-ordination support unit in the Planning Commission and link it to the PM's Nutrition Council to make nutrition central to the development agenda of the country's flagship programmes.





