The Integrated Child Development Scheme: Eligibility, Application, & More

Children are the building blocks of a country and the future leaders who would take responsibility for the innumerable and various tasks. It is crucial not only for the parents but the government as well that they receive proper and adequate care so that they can grow up to be healthy and mindful adults. This is why the GOI has created various government schemes for children. Let’s take a look at one.

What Is An Integrated Child Development Scheme?

The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) was launched in 1975 under the Ministry of Women and Child Development as a social welfare program for children and pregnant and lactating mothers to ensure healthy growth of the children’s physical and mental health. It aims to minimise the rate of malnutrition, child mortality, and illiteracy.

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Scope

The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) is a crucial initiative aimed at nurturing the well-being and development of young children, pregnant women, and nursing mothers across India. Here’s a look at the key services provided by ICDS:

• The ICDS aims to provide a comprehensive package of services to children aged between 0-6 years, pregnant women, and mothers who are nursing.

• It covers and supplies a wide range of necessary services such as immunisation, health check-ups, education, etc.

• ICDS was designed to provide children with all the services required for their development so that every child in the country receives the same services that they deserve no matter their family background.

​​Objective

The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) is structured with specific objectives to improve the well-being and future potential of young children across India. Key objectives include:

• Ensuring the healthy physical and mental growth of children aged 0-6 years.

• Reducing rates of child malnutrition and mortality through nutrition and health services.

• Providing health education and training to mothers to improve the care of children.

• Supporting early childhood education to lay a foundation for children’s lifelong learning.

Beneficiaries

The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) provides essential services to support the health and development of specific groups within the community. The primary beneficiaries are:

• Children aged 0 – 6 years: Aids in health, nutrition, and preschool education service delivery to children.

• Pregnant women: This makes sure that various nutrition and health interventions are done for both the mother and child.

• Nursing mothers: Helps mothers for six months following delivery with adequate health and nutrition.

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What Are The Provision Under ICDS?

Supplementary Nutrition: Supplementary nutrition is provided to combat malnutrition amongst young children and pregnant/ lactating mothers targeting the health problems of vitamin deficiencies and diarrhoea.

Immunisation: The ICDS scheme also works with the National Health Mission to immunise children against polio, measles, and tuberculosis to prevent the high mortality rate of children.

Health Check-ups and Referral Services: Regular check ups are done for the mothers and children to identify any health problems and offer treatment. Where necessary, arrangements for referrals to health services are made.

Pre-school Education: Children of the ages 3-6 years are provided with pre-school education at Anganwadi Centres in districts through a play-way approach which promotes the acquisition of basic skills.

Nutrition and Health Education: Nutrition education is for mothers, healthcare providers and the community alongside mother nutrition health and child health for child mental and physical and family health development.

What Are The Services Provided Under ICDS?

ICDS covers a wide range of necessary services such as:

• Supplementary Nutrition: India has been facing the issue of malnutrition in children especially from low-income families for a long time. To overcome this, ICDS ensures an adequate supply of nutritional food for children aged between 0-6 years and also for pregnant and nursing mothers. Proper food intake tackles malnutrition as well as other severe conditions such as deficiency of vitamins, diarrhoea, and others.

• Immunisation: One of the aims of the ICDS is to reduce the child mortality rate and that is why it also ensures proper vaccination of children against various serious illnesses such as polio, measles, diphtheria, tetanus, tuberculosis, and others. This aspect of the ICDS works in partnership with the National Health Mission to vaccinate every child living on the grounds of India.

• Health Check-ups and Referral Services: ICDS organises and monitors health check-ups for children and mothers to keep track of their health, detect vulnerabilities to illnesses, and start the treatment of those illnesses detected at very early stages. Also, ICDS provides referral services by connecting people with the needed medical care.

• Pre-school Education: ICDS recognises the importance of education and hence provides Anganwadi centres that offer preschool education to children between 3-6 years of age. Anganwadi centres usually use a play approach to learning and help in developing a foundation for fundamental skills to develop later.

• Nutrition and Health Education: The scheme also educates mothers and other members of the community to learn about the importance of health, education, and proper practices to raise children. It aims to empower families with the required knowledge about their children’s well-being.

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Eligibility Criteria

The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) is designed to support specific groups who require additional care and resources for health and development. The eligibility criteria include:

• Children aged between 0-6 years are eligible for ICDS.

• The govt scheme was designed especially for children from the vulnerable and marginalised groups.

• Pregnant women from low-income families are eligible for the scheme.

• Lactating mothers, for the first 6 months after childbirth are covered under the scheme.

Application Process

To access the benefits of the ICDS scheme, eligible individuals can follow a simple application process through local Anganwadi Centres. The steps include

Step 1: Registering with Anganwadi Centres: ICDS services can be accessed easily by registering with Anganwadi Centres as they are one of the implementing agencies of the govt scheme. Parents can register their children by providing basic details such as their name, age, family details, etc. Pregnant and new mothers can also register themselves and receive regular health check-ups, educational workshops, etc.

Step 2: Necessary documents: Under ICDS, minimal documents are needed such as the birth certificate of the children and the aadhaar cards of the mothers to ensure easy accessibility of the services.

Step 3: Availing services: The services offered under the ICDS such as supplementary nutrition, immunisation, and others can be accessed through the same Anganwadi centres only.

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Documents Required

To apply for ICDS services, the following documents are generally required:

• Child’s Birth Certificate

• Mother’s Aadhaar Card

• Proof of Residence

• Medical documents, if necessary, for health assessments and referrals

Conclusion

The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) was designed to improve the quality of lives of children and expecting and new mothers by providing them with the necessary facilities required for their wholesome growth and development.

You can also reach out to Jaagruk Bharat through their community page with any questions you might have.

Government Sources

Ministry of Women and Child Development

National Health Mission