Programs of Action

The Indian government has initiated several measures to ensure that the problems of deprivation and discrimination faced by the poor women and children in India are overcome. These programmes of action aim at dealing with issues like health, education, rural development and better working conditions.

Health and Nutrition

In the field of health, nutrition and family welfare, child survival, safe motherhood and nutritional anaemia have been receiving the highest priority. Apart from the extensive network of primary health care infrastructure, India has also the world's largest Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program which offers a package of supplementary nutrition, immunization, health care, growth monitoring, pre-school education and health and nutrition education. Along with special initiatives like the Universal Immunization Programs (UIP) these interventions have helped India substantially reduce the infant mortality rate and also bring malnourishment under control.

Education for All

The Indian Constitution states that free and compulsory education for all children would be provided until they complete the age of fourteen years. While it has not been possible to achieve this goal as yet, the achievements in the realm of literacy and basic education have been significant. Recognizing the fact that it is the girl child who is compelled to leave school at an early age, special efforts are being made to increase enrollment and retention of these children in school. Combining a programmme of non-formal education for the working children and supported with a massive adult literacy effort, India is geared to meet the target of Education for All by the end of the current decade.

Rural Development

Keeping in view the vulnerable status of women and children in rural society particularly owing to their economic dependence on others, special provisions have been made to ensure that 40 percent of all allocation for the Integrated Rural Development Program (IRDP) and other mass employment programs have been reserved for women. In order to help poor women working in the informal sector, a National Credit Fund has been started so that loans may be obtained by them at reasonable rates without the formal procedures of usual institutionalized banking. In addition, under programs like Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) efforts are being made to give rural women technical and management skills to build their own co-operative enterprises.

Special Initiatives

A significant feature of the women's movement has been the network of associations and groups that have been formed, largely through the efforts of NGOs in India. These groups and associations have successfully organized women working in the informal sector and battled for improvement in their working conditions and for a fairer deal from their employers. Similarly, in the development of co-operatives, particularly in dairying, the contribution towards women's development has been significant.