Syllabus: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population
Development Context
- India’s Viksit Bharat and $30 trillion economy by 2047 require long-term human capital investments.
- Economic growth cannot rely only on infrastructure, manufacturing, or digital expansion.
- Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) remains the weakest link in India’s development strategy.
Why ECCD is Critical
- The first 1,000 days from conception to two years are a vital developmental window.
- The next 2,000 days up to eight years shape brain, health, cognition, and behaviour.
- Nearly 80–85% of brain development occurs during this early period.
- Early nutrition, stimulation, and emotional security determine learning capacity and productivity.
- Countries like the U.S., Finland, and South Korea show strong returns from ECCD investments.
- ECCD lowers future health costs, improves education outcomes, and expands the tax base.
- Benefits are intergenerational and emerge over 10–20 years, but remain long-lasting.
India’s Existing Foundations
- Programmes like ICDS (1975) and POSHAN 2.0 strengthened nutrition and early care.
- Child Survival and Safe Motherhood (1992) and RCH (1997) reduced child mortality.
- National Health Mission improved immunisation and malnutrition control.
- However, policies focused mainly on survival, not full developmental potential.
- ECCD support is limited to welfare beneficiaries, excluding middle-income families.
Scientific Basis for Early Investment
- Epigenetics shows parental health affects children’s long-term disease risks.
- Obesity, stress, and poor nutrition increase developmental and metabolic disorders.
- Neural connections formed early are often irreversible if disrupted.
- Most children receive no structured developmental support before 30–36 months.
What India Needs
- Premarital and pre-conception counselling on nutrition, mental health, and lifestyle.
- Parent education on stimulation, play, talking, and emotional bonding.
- Growth and milestone monitoring for early detection of delays.
- High-quality care for ages two to five to prevent undernutrition and obesity.
- Integrated systems combining learning, nutrition, and health through schools.
- Nationwide awareness of the first 3,000 days as a developmental foundation.
Conclusion
- ECCD is not welfare but a strategic national investment.
- A citizen-led, inter-ministerial mission is required to secure India’s future workforce.
