Since its inception on October 2, 1975, the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) has served as India's flagship response to childhood malnutrition and early development gaps. In Haryana, ICDS has transformed significantly over nearly five decades, with measurable gains but also persistent challenges that demand urgent attention.
Origins and Objectives of ICDS
Launched in 1975, ICDS was designed to break the vicious cycle of malnutrition, morbidity, and mortality among young children and mothers. It provides a crucial package of services:
1. Supplementary Nutrition (SNP): For children (0–6 years) and pregnant/lactating women.
2. Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE): Fostering cognitive and social development.
3. Health Services: Including immunization, health checks, and timely referrals.
4. Nutrition and Health Counselling: Empowering mothers and caregivers with vital knowledge.
Today, Haryana operates 25,962 Anganwadi Centers (AWCs) under ICDS, leveraging a 50:50 Centre–State funding model, reaching millions of beneficiaries with these essential services.
Progress Over Time: Nutritional Gains
Haryana has witnessed substantial improvements in child nutrition since the inception of ICDS, as evidenced by National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data:
Indicator (<5 yrs) | ~1992/2005 (NFHS-3) | NFHS-4 (2015–16) | NFHS-5 (2019–21) |
Stunting | ~50% (est.) | ~34.0% | 27.5% |
Wasting | ~18% | ~21% | 11.5% |
Underweight | ~53% | ~29.4% | 21.5% |
Key observations:
1. Significant Decline in Stunting: The prevalence of stunting (children too short for their age) has plummeted by over 22 percentage points since the early ICDS years, a strong indicator of improved long-term nutritional status.
2. Halved Underweight Prevalence: The proportion of underweight children has been more than halved, demonstrating the efficacy of SNP and health interventions in addressing overall nutritional deficits.
3. Wasting Under Control (Mostly): Wasting (acute malnutrition, indicating recent weight loss) which was once stubbornly high, has seen a remarkable reduction to 11.5% in Haryana, now significantly below the national average of 19.3%. This suggests better management of acute nutritional challenges in the state.
4. This progress reflects decades of sustained policy commitment, enhanced food security, and targeted nutrition schemes that have incrementally built a stronger foundation for child health in Haryana.
Major Achievements and Strengths
Haryana's ICDS program has numerous commendable strengths:
1. Large-scale Reach: The program effectively covers a vast population, with approximately 9.26 lakh children and 2.66 lakh pregnant/lactating women receiving monthly supplementary nutrition.
2. Nutrient-Rich SNP: The provision of scientifically formulated SNP ensures children receive around 500 kcal and 12–15 gm protein daily,with increased provisions of 800 kcal and 20–25 gm protein for Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) cases.
3. Fortified Food Initiatives: To combat hidden hunger and micronutrient deficiencies, foods like Panjiri, wheat flour, rice, oil, and salt are being fortified, enhancing the nutritional value of the diet.
4. Infrastructure Upgrades: Modernization efforts include the use of mobile devices, installation of solar power at AWCs, improved growth monitors, and the construction of cleaner, more conducive AWC buildings.
5. Program Integration: ICDS in Haryana has successfully integrated with crucial initiatives such as Poshan Abhiyaan, the Mukhya Mantri Doodh Uphaar Yojana, Protein Milk Bar and Instant Kheer Mixture and creche facilities for working women, fostering a holistic approach to child development.
6. Digitization Efforts: The implementation of the Poshan Tracker mobile app is a significant step towards real-time growth monitoring and more efficient supply chain management.
Comparing NFHS-5 to National Averages
Haryana demonstrates strong performance compared to national averages across most child nutrition indicators in NFHS-5 (2019-21):
1. Stunting: 27.5% in Haryana vs. 35.5% nationally.
2. Wasting: 11.5% in Haryana vs. 19.3% nationally.
3. Underweight: 21.5% in Haryana vs. 32.1% nationally.
While these state-level averages are impressive, it is crucial to acknowledge that they often mask significant district-level disparities. Certain areas within Haryana continue to report persistently high rates of malnutrition, highlighting the need for more targeted interventions.
Bottlenecks and Shortcomings
Despite the evident improvements, several serious challenges continue to hinder ICDS from achieving its full potential in Haryana:
1. Persistent Acute Malnutrition: The prevalence of SAM remains unacceptably high at approximately 7.7%. While overall wasting has reduced, the reduction is uneven across districts, indicating that specific areas or populations are still highly vulnerable.
2. Irregular Attendance & Data Quality: Despite the push for digitization with Poshan Tracker, many AWCs report inconsistent child attendance. Furthermore, data entry is often incomplete, inaccurate, or, critically, unused for informed planning and corrective action.
3. Weak Monitoring and Accountability: Growth monitoring, a cornerstone of early identification, is often superficial. Supervisory field visits are irregular, and district-level reviews often lack the urgency required to address performance gaps. Incorrectly installed height charts also lead to erroneous data.
4. Staffing and Training Gaps: Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and Helper (AWHs) face high attrition rates, particularly in difficult-to-reach areas. Overburdened with multiple responsibilities, they often receive minimal refresher training, impacting their effectiveness. Weak motivation and irregular incentives further exacerbate these issues.
5. Fragmented Service Integration: Critical gaps persist in the convergence between ICDS and the Health Department, limiting the effectiveness of immunization drives and timely referrals. This siloed approach especially affects the comprehensive management of SAM/MAM cases.
6. Uniform Budget Allocations: The current funding model often applies a one-size-fits-all approach, failing to account for specific local needs. Districts with higher malnutrition burdens lack the tailored resources required to implement effective, context-specific interventions.
Role of Anganwadi Workers: The Backbone of ICDS
The success of ICDS hinges directly on the dedication and effectiveness of its front-line workers: the Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and Helpers. They are the pivotal agents delivering:
i. Daily SNP meals
ii. Monthly growth monitoring (weight and height)
iii. Preschool education activities
iv. Health and nutrition counselling
v. Referrals for essential medical care
vi. Data reporting via the mobile-enabled Poshan Tracker
However, their effectiveness is frequently constrained by:
i. Inadequate initial and refresher training
ii. Low or irregular incentives
iii. Sub-optimal AWC infrastructure
iv. An overwhelming workload without adequate supportive supervision
Despite their pivotal role in India's Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program, the ground reality of Anganwadi Centers (AWCs) in Haryana paints a concerning picture of systemic inefficiencies, operational lapses, and a significant erosion of public trust. While the vision for these centers is noble, their current working culture and oversight mechanisms appear to fall far short of the mark, directly impacting the well-being of the most vulnerable beneficiaries.
One of the most fundamental issues plaguing Anganwadis in Haryana is the erratic opening times and the consequent low attendance of children. Many centers routinely fail to open on schedule, if at all, effectively denying children the crucial early childhood care and education they are meant to receive. This absenteeism is mirrored in the dismal attendance records of children, indicating that the AWCs are often not perceived as reliable or beneficial spaces by the community.
The core mandate of providing supplementary nutrition (SNP) is also severely undermined. There is widespread concern regarding the erratic distribution of SNP items, with beneficiaries often receiving supplies inconsistently or in incorrect quantities. Compounding this, the maintenance of records for supplies received and distributed is often abysmal, creating a lack of transparency and making accountability nearly impossible. Furthermore, there is a glaring failure in the segregation of SNP items based on expiry dates, leading to the risk of distributing expired or near-expired food, which is not only wasteful but also a potential health hazard. This lax approach to inventory management suggests a fundamental disregard for beneficiary safety and program integrity.
Beyond nutrition, the educational component of ICDS is severely neglected. Despite the clear mandate of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the curriculum specifically devised by the department, pre-school education is often not provided in a structured or meaningful manner. This failure deprives young children of critical early learning opportunities, impacting their cognitive development and readiness for formal schooling.
Technological aids, meant to enhance efficiency and accountability, are also underutilized. Growth Monitoring Devices (GMDs), crucial for tracking children's development, are not used as per protocol. Instead, data is frequently entered without real-time measurements, leading to inaccurate records that mask the true extent of malnutrition and hinder effective intervention strategies. This practice breeds a culture of data manipulation rather than genuine monitoring.
The cumulative effect of these operational failures has led to a significant loss of trust among the general public. Anganwadis, instead of being seen as pillars of community support, are now generally blamed for syphoning and misuses of SNP items meant for children and beneficiaries. This perception, whether entirely accurate or not, points to a deep-seated issue of accountability and ethical conduct within the system.
A deeply concerning paradox lies in the remuneration of Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and Helpers (AWHs). Despite being among the most highly paid in the country, their work culture appears to be at the lowest ebb. There is a prevailing sentiment that these frontline workers are more interested in their perks and least responsive to the service they are employed to provide. This detachment from their core duties significantly cripples the program's effectiveness at the grassroots level.
This pervasive malaise is not just a fault of the frontline workers; it points to a catastrophic breakdown in the supervisory and monitoring chain. Supervision of Anganwadis by supervisors is lamentably poor, often conducted in a "cryptic manner" – implying perfunctory, box-ticking exercises rather than genuine oversight. The ICDS manuals clearly mandate stringent monitoring by Women and Child Development Project Officers (WCDPOs) and District Program Officers (DPOs), yet such monitoring is conspicuously absent or superficial. There is a systemic failure to forward actual, ground-truth reports to the Directorate, leading to a distorted picture of reality at the higher echelons. Ultimately, this points to a failure of the Directorate itself to hold field functionaries strictly to task, creating an environment where accountability is routinely circumvented and the vital objectives of the ICDS program remain tragically unmet.
Policy and Implementation Gaps
Beyond the operational challenges, deeper systemic and policy gaps contribute to the persisting issues:
1. Data Use is Weak: The valuable data captured by the Poshan Tracker is frequently under-analyzed and rarely translated into immediate, targeted interventions at the ground level.
2. Accountability is Minimal: There is often a noticeable lack of accountability among district officials for poor-performing AWCs or for failing to address documented issues.
3. Fragmented Design: ICDS and health services, despite their overlapping goals, often operate in silos, leading to missed opportunities for synergistic impact.
4. Uniform Budgets: The "one-size-fits-all" funding approach fails to adequately prioritize and allocate resources to high-burden areas where they are most desperately needed.
The Way Forward: Urgent Reforms Needed
To truly meet SDG targets and national nutrition goals, Haryana must adopt a multi-pronged approach rooted in urgency and accountability:
1. Enforce Monthly AWC Audits: Implement rigorous, regular audits to verify SNP stock, attendance registers, and the accuracy of growth data.
2. Strengthen Referrals and Health Convergence: Establish seamless, mandated linkages between ICDS and health facilities to ensure timely care for SAM/MAM cases, immunization, and other medical needs.
3. Tailor Budgets to Need: Develop a data-driven budget allocation model that provides higher resources and flexibility to districts and blocks with disproportionately high malnutrition burdens.
4. Digitize and Verify Delivery: Fully leverage technology by implementing e-tendering for SNP supplies and mandating e-KYC for beneficiary verification at AWCs to ensure transparency and prevent leakages.
5. Empower AWWs and Helpers: Significantly improve incentives, provide high-quality and regular refresher training, ensure timely payments, and reduce administrative burdens to enhance their motivation and effectiveness.
6. Demand Accountability: Set clear performance targets for districts and implement consequences for repeated neglect or failure to meet nutritional outcomes.
7. Promote Community Participation: Actively involve Panchayati Raj Institutions, mothers' groups, and Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in the monitoring and oversight of AWC operations and SNP delivery.
Conclusion
Haryana’s ICDS story is one of impressive progress, yet also an unfinished mission. While the state has made significant strides in reducing stunting and underweight rates, as evidenced by NFHS data, pockets of acute malnutrition, issues with attendance, weak data utilization, and uneven service delivery persist.
To truly transform child nutrition and development, Haryana needs a focused, accountable, well-funded, and community-driven ICDS system. With concerted political will and administrative urgency, ICDS can fully deliver on its founding promise: a generation of children who are healthy, well-nourished, and ready to learn. By investing deeply in its youngest citizens, Haryana can set a powerful example for the nation—proving that no child should ever be left behind.
References
1. Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India. (Often found in annual reports and scheme guidelines)
2. Wikipedia. "Integrated Child Development Services." en.wikipedia.org. (Provides general historical context).
3. C4S Courses. "Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS): Objectives, Services & Impact on Child Welfare." c4scourses.in.
4. Women and Child Development Department, Haryana. "Integrated Child Development Scheme." wcdhry.gov.in. Available at: https://wcdhry.gov.in/schemes-for-children/icds/
5. https://www.dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/OF43/OF43.HR.pdf (Primary source for Haryana's NFHS-4 and NFHS-5 data on stunting, wasting, underweight)
7. SlideShare. "NFHS 3 | PPT." slideshare.net.
8. Press Information Bureau (PIB), Government of India. "Progress Under POSHAN Abhiyaan." pib.gov.in.
10. Women and Child Development Department, Haryana. "Integrated Child Development Scheme." wcdhry.gov.in. Available at: https://wcdhry.gov.in/schemes-for-children/icds/
11. Press Information Bureau (PIB), Government of India. "Implementation Of POSHAN Abhiyan Scheme." pib.gov.in. Available at: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1814093
12. Food Fortification Initiative (FFI). "India - Food Fortification Initiative." ffinetwork.org. Available at: https://www.ffinetwork.org/india-region
13. Press Information Bureau (PIB), Government of India. "Progress Under POSHAN Abhiyaan." pib.gov.in. Available at: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1814093
14. "Mukhyamantri Doodh Uphaar Yojana Haryana." Available at: https://abhipedia.abhimanu.com/Article/STATE/NTIzNzYx/Mukhyamantri-Doodh-Uphaar-Yojana-Haryana-STATE
15. Women and Child Development Department, Haryana. "Haryana Creches." wcdhry.gov.in. Available at: https://wcdhry.gov.in/haryana-creches/
16. National AYUSH Mission (NAM). "Ayush Services." Available at: https://namayush.gov.in/content/ayush-services-0
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