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Right To Food Campaign Says Union Budget 2021-22 Ignored Women And Children
The demands of the outfit include universalization of PDS, hot cooked meals for children under three years and pregnant and lactating women, minimum wages for anganwadi workers and helpers and ASHAs
Right to Food Campaign has expressed disappointment with the Union Budget for 2021-22 as it has reduced allocations for “crucial” social security schemes such as the integrated child development services (ICDS), mid-day meals, maternity entitlements, and the national rural employment guarantee Act (NREGA) at a time of growing hunger and malnutrition.
The revised budget estimates for 2020-21 show that ICDS and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) “suffered greatly” because of the lockdown and closing of Anganwadi centers. The revised estimate for PMMVY (Rs 1,300 crore for 2020-21) was barely half of what was initially allocated
Does Mission POSHAN 2.0 Have the Ammunition it Will Need to Be Successful?
COVID-led disruptions in delivery of meal programmes and other public services relevant to nutrition needed a massive boost to restart.
An anganwadi worker feeds a child. Photo: Public Services International/Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)
Women03/Feb/2021
Government budgets should be based on a sound diagnosis of the problem and a clear-sighted blueprint for addressing the challenges elicited.
Last month, data from Phase I of the NFHS-5 survey across 22 states and Union Territories showed how gains achieved in nutrition received a setback, as a majority of states recorded higher levels of stunting, wasting, underweight and anaemia compared to NFHS-4. This data casts doubt upon the ambitious targets set under POSHAN Abhiyan for reducing undernutrition.
Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani. | Photo Credit:
AP The government’s maternity benefit scheme, or Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, has crossed 1.75 crore eligible women till financial year 2020, the Centre informed Parliament on Thursday.
A total sum of ₹5,931.95 crore was paid to 1.75 crore eligible beneficiaries between financial year 2018 and 2020. Apart from that, ₹2,063.70 crore was disbursed in the current fiscal to 65.12 lakh women, Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani informed the Rajya Sabha.
Disaggregated data on how many of these were unique beneficiaries, and how many were those receiving different instalments of the scheme was not provided. According to the government’s initial estimate, it aimed to reach 51.70 lakh women per year through the scheme.
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Major welfare schemes have faced cuts and deductions, it says.
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According to an analysis, the allocations for important food and nutrition programmes such as the POSHAN (or ICDS scheme) and the mid-day meal programmein the Union Budget are nearly 40% less than what they were in 2014-15, when the NDA government came to power.
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SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Major welfare schemes have faced cuts and deductions, it says.
Instead of taking bold steps to counter rising hunger following the national lockdown last year, the Union Budget has responded by introducing “cuts and deductions” and “abdicating its responsibility in ensuring social security,” the Right to Food Campaign said on Wednesday.