Integrated Child Development Sevices Programme

• The Integrated Child Development Sevices Programme aims at providing services to pre-school children in an integrated manner so as to ensure proper growth and development of children in rural, tribal and slum areas. ICDS is a centrally sponsored scheme.
• Launched on 2nd October 1975 in 33 Community Development Blocks, ICDS today represents one of the world’s largest programmes for early childhood development. ICDS is the foremost symbol of India’s commitment to her children – India’s response to the challenge of providing pre-school education on one hand and breaking the vicious cycle of malnutrition, morbidity, reduced learning capacity and mortality, on the other.
• It is an inter-sectoral programme which seeks to directly reach out to children, below six years, especially from vulnerable and remote areas and give them a head-start by providing an integrated programme of early childhood education, health and nutrition. No programme on Early Childhood Care and Education can succeed unless mothers are also brought within it ambit as it is in the lap of the mother that human beings learn the first lessons in life.

Objectives:

1. To improve the nutritional and health status of children in the age group of 0 to 6 years.
2. To lay the foundations for proper psychological, physical and social development of the child.
3. To reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school drop-out.
4. To achieve effective coordination of policy and implementation amongst the various departments to promote child development.
5. To enhance the capability of the mother to look after the normal health and nutritional needs of the child through proper nutrition and health education.