Children's Development: Baby Steps in Odisha -Reetika Khera
-Economic and Political Weekly
The Integrated Child Development Services scheme and maternity entitlements can play a crucial role in improving children's food and nutrition security. Both interventions are part of the National Food Security Act, though maternity entitlements have yet to be activated. Odisha has experimented with several creative policies, including initiating a maternity entitlements scheme in 2011 before the NFSA was enacted, introduction of eggs and decentralised procurement of take-home rations in the ICDS. This article, based on a field study of the two children's schemes in four districts in December 2014, reports how they perform and identifies areas for further action.
Reetika Khera (reetika@riseup.net) teaches at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.
The survey was organised by the Office of the State Adviser to the Commissioners in the Right to Food Case in the Supreme Court (Odisha). The Office of the State Adviser is supported by Dan Church Aid. I thank Rajkishor Mishra (state adviser) and Naman Garg for help with the survey, Jean Drèze and Arti Ahuja for helpful comments.
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The Integrated Child Development Services scheme and maternity entitlements can play a crucial role in improving children's food and nutrition security. Both interventions are part of the National Food Security Act, though maternity entitlements have yet to be activated. Odisha has experimented with several creative policies, including initiating a maternity entitlements scheme in 2011 before the NFSA was enacted, introduction of eggs and decentralised procurement of take-home rations in the ICDS. This article, based on a field study of the two children's schemes in four districts in December 2014, reports how they perform and identifies areas for further action.
Reetika Khera (reetika@riseup.net) teaches at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.
The survey was organised by the Office of the State Adviser to the Commissioners in the Right to Food Case in the Supreme Court (Odisha). The Office of the State Adviser is supported by Dan Church Aid. I thank Rajkishor Mishra (state adviser) and Naman Garg for help with the survey, Jean Drèze and Arti Ahuja for helpful comments.
Pleas click here to access the article.