Published Paper Details:

In 1975, the Indian Government launched a comprehensive strategy to provide health care, nutrition, and education services to underprivileged communities in villages and urban slums through centers. Each center was managed by a local part-time female worker (anganwadi) with an assistant, who was compensated with an honorarium. The Integrated Child Development Services Scheme (ICDS) combines all essential services for enhanced childcare, early stimulation and learning, health and nutrition, water and environmental sanitation, targeting young children, expecting and nursing mothers, other women, and adolescent girls in a community. The scheme aims to enhance the nutritional and health status of children aged 0-6 years; decrease mortality rates, morbidity, malnutrition, and school dropout rates; ensure effective coordination among different departments to promote child development; establish a proper foundation for psychological, physical, and social development of children; and improve mothers' abilities to care for their children's health and nutritional needs. ICDS services are delivered through village-based centers called Anganwadi centers that provide supplementary nutrition, immunization, health check-ups, referral services, treatment for minor illnesses, nutrition and health education for women, preschool education for children, as well as support for water supply and sanitation. Numerous government departments collaborate at the village, block, district, state, and central levels to ensure efficient service delivery. Anganwadi workers represent the grassroots-level personnel responsible for implementing program services in their communities. ICDS has shown better outcomes in projects led by capable leaders. Although the program has some shortcomings that need addressing for future initiatives targeting disadvantaged populations improvement. To enhance ICDS efficiency further operational research in diverse areas has been proposed.