Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani will chair the Zonal Conference of State/UT Govts and Stakeholders of Western region in Mumbai tomorrow, i.e., on 12^th April, 2022.  States/UTs of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu will participate in the meeting. In order to ensure optimum impact of recently launched 3 Missions- POSHAN 2.0, Vatsalya and Shakti, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has initiated a series of Zonal Consultations with State Govts and Stakeholders in each region of the country. Zonal meeting in Mumbai is the fourth in the series. First such meeting was held in Chandigarh on 2^nd April, second in Bengaluru on 4^th April and third in Guwahati on 10^th April, 2022.

Empowerment and protection of women and children who constitute 67.7% of India’s population and ensuring their wholesome development in a safe and secure environment is crucial for sustainable and equitable development of the country and for achieving transformational economic and social changes. To achieve this objective, Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has recently approved 3 important Umbrella Schemes of the Ministry to be implemented in mission mode, viz., Mission Poshan 2.0, Mission Shakti and Mission Vatsalya. These 3 Missions will be implemented during the 15^th Finance Commission period, 2021-22 to 2025-26. The Schemes under the Umbrella Missions are Centrally Sponsored Schemes which are implemented by the State Governments/UT Administrations on cost-sharing basis as per cost sharing norms.  Scheme Guidelines are being shared with the States/UTs.

The prime objective of the Ministry of Women and Child Development is to address the gaps in State action for women and children and to promote inter-ministerial and inter-sectoral convergence to create gender equitable and child centred legislation, policies and programmes and to provide women and children with an environment which is accessible, affordable, reliable and free from all forms of discrimination and violence. In this direction, the objectives under the schemes of the Ministry are sought to be achieved with the support of State Governments and UT Administrations which are responsible for the administration of the schemes on the ground.

The objective of the Zonal Conferences is to sensitise State Governments/UT Administrations on the 3 Umbrella Missions of the Ministry to facilitate proper implementation of the Schemes over the next 5 years in the true spirit of co-operative federalism to ensure that the transformational social change envisaged under the Missions is accomplished for the benefit of women and children of the country.

Mission POSHAN 2.0 is an Integrated Nutrition Support Programme. It seeks to address the challenges of malnutrition in children, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers through a strategic shift in nutrition content and delivery and by creation of a convergent eco-system to develop and promote practices that nurture health, wellness and immunity. Poshan 2.0 will seek to optimize the quality and delivery of food under the Supplementary Nutrition Program. Poshan 2.0 will bring 3 important programmes/schemes under its ambit, viz., Anganwadi Services, Scheme for Adolescent Girls and Poshan Abhiyan.

Mission Shakti envisages a unified citizen-centric lifecycle support for women through integrated care, safety, protection, rehabilitation and empowerment to unshackle women as they progress through various stages of their life. Mission Shakti has two sub-schemes ‘Sambal’ and ‘Samarthya’. While the “Sambal” sub-scheme is for safety and security of women, the “Samarthya” sub-scheme is for empowerment of women.

The objective of Mission Vatsalya is to secure a healthy and happy childhood for every child in the country; foster a sensitive, supportive and synchronized ecosystem for development of children; assist States/UTs in delivering the mandate of the Juvenile Justice Act 2015; achieve the SDG goals. Components under Mission Vatsalya will include statutory bodies; service delivery structures; institutional care/services; non-institutional community-based care; emergency outreach services; training and capacity building.

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BY/AS