The Palna Scheme was launched in the year 2022 and was initiated by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The Palna Scheme replaced the crèches with Anganwadi-cum-Crèches further broadening the idea of a crèche. Earlier it substituted the National Creche Scheme and formed the Palna sub-scheme under the ‘Samarthya’ of ‘Mission Shakti. ’ These services seek to ensure that young children are well taken care of, especially in the cases of working mothers.
Objectives
Below is the objectives that have been set for the Palna Scheme that showcases the commitment and dedication of Indian government to improve the lives and empower the children of India.
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Day-care Facilities: It delivers day-care services for children between the ages of 6 months to six years enabling working mothers to have a place where they can drop their kids during the day.
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Improved Nutrition and Health: It also helps in improving the welfare of children by providing proper nourishment and convenient medical check-ups.
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Holistic Development: It deals with the overall personality development of the child with special reference to motor physical, social, emotional, and intellectual personality.
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Parental Education: The govt scheme also has the objective of sensitising parents and other caregivers in the community on how they can childcare.
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Features
The Palna Scheme covers every area so that children should get requisite care and attention during the Initial developmental stage of life. Some of the key features of the scheme include:
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Daycare Services: The crèches are open for 26 days a month and take care of the children for 7.5 hours each day. This schedule, therefore, suits the working timetable of mothers to ensure that in most cases their children have to be taken care of while their parents are at work.
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Early Stimulation and Education: In children below the age of 3, the govt scheme is mainly based on early stimulation activities that are physical and cognitive. For any child that is within the age of 3-6 years, it offers pre-school which gives the child a channel to prepare for school.
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Nutrition and Health: Additional foods and complementaries are offered to the children and are bought fresh from the local markets to meet every need of the child. Medical examinations and accompanying vaccinations are part of the offering, which means children are always in good health.
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Growth Monitoring: The individual growth progress of each child is observed with a view of noting the developmental milestones and the problems that may call for a remedy.
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Who Implements The Palna Scheme?
In the case of the Palna Scheme, a vast amount of functioning autonomy is delegated to the State Governments. But they have the discretion to incorporate Voluntary or non-governmental organisations ( NGOs) in the running of crèches in case of necessity. This is because all the crèches are supposed to follow the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) thereby ensuring that quality is also duplicated.
What Are The Aims And Sub-Schemes Of Mission Shakti?
The Mission Shakti is a women’s scheme that has been launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of India and has aimed to further reinforce the processes that have been put forth for the safety, security and empowerment of women. It has a mission mode, which is in line with the government’s vision of ‘women-led development’ through providing solutions to various aspects of women’s lives.
Through the involvement of women in income-generating activities, Mission Shakti seeks to provide women with economic independence that would surely allow them to make decisions freely on their lives, bodies and minds without any form of violence or threats. Moreover, the govt scheme aims at decreasing the caregiving responsibilities placing higher demands on women and increasing women’s labour force participation by providing their capacity, financial literacy, micro-credit support, as well as skill enhancement.
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Mission Shakti includes two sub-schemes:
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Conclusion
The Palna Scheme is a crucial government program which creates safe and quiet childcare services for working mothers. Pursuing a child-centred approach guarantees that the children have proper nutrition, and are healthy and equipped for future life. Apart from proving beneficial for children, this scheme also means that more women can join the workforce, and thus boost the economy of a nation.
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