Providing safe environment to women is Centre’s top priority: Union Minister Annapurna Devi

Gandhinagar, Aug 31 (PTI) Union Minister of Women and Child Development Annapurna Devi on Saturday said that empowering women and providing them with a safe environment is the Central government’s top priority.

Devi said the Central government has taken several concrete steps to ensure the safety of women. However, it is the responsibility of the state governments to take advantage of these schemes and implement them.

The Union minister was addressing a gathering at Mahatma Mandir after inaugurating the seventh edition of “Poshan Maah”, nationwide nutrition month, the Centre’s flagship initiative celebrated annually throughout September.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and state Women and Child Welfare Minister Bhanuben Babaria were also present.

“Empowering women and providing them a safe environment is the Indian government’s top priority. The government has taken many concrete steps to ensure the safety of women. But it is also the responsibility of the state governments to take advantage of this and implement these schemes,” she said.

“Poshan Maah” reflects Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to the holistic health and nutrition of children, mothers and sisters, she said.

“The main aspects of this ‘Poshan Maah’ are awareness about anaemia, growth monitoring, nutrition and education, appropriate dietary supplements, technology-based transparency and environmental protection. We have resolved to take this campaign to people at the grassroots level through anganwadis,” the minister said.

The campaign seeks to holistically improve nutritional outcomes among pregnant women, expectant mothers, adolescent girls and children under six years.

As part of the campaign, 3.7 crore community-based events have been organised since the launch of the “Poshan Maah”.

The Union minister said that the main objective of this campaign is to develop India’s human capital and adopt a life cycle approach to nutrition.

She said this mission was based on four pillars — good governance, convergence, capacity building and collective participation.

Keeping in mind the overall development of children, the Centre has launched the “Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi” (nutrition along with education) programme in anganwadis.

“Anganwadi workers are being given special training for the smooth functioning of the programme. In the next two years, anganwadi workers will be trained to become food providers and teachers for our young children,” she said.

Anganwadi workers went far and wide to spread awareness about nutrition, and 6.42 lakh nutrition gardens were set up at anganwadis to ensure beneficiaries get fresh vegetables and fruits, she added.

“Under Saksham Anganwadi and Mission Poshan 2.0, more than 1.36 lakh anganwadis have been approved to be upgraded to saksham anganwadi centres,” Devi said.

She said under the supplementary nutrition programme, the ministry has included different types of millet in the recipes to increase the quality of the nutrition.

The minister further said that Poshan Tracker represents a paradigm shift in making Mission Poshan 2.0 more effective and for its better evaluation.

Understanding the importance of women’s empowerment in achieving the resolve of a developed India, the prime minister has paid special attention to women-led development, Devi said.

This is reflected in more than Rs 3 lakh crore budgetary allocation for projects related to women and adolescent girls, she said.

The minister said “the double engine” government of Gujarat is sensitive towards women’s safety, and the 181 helpline for women “is a model for other states and should be implemented in other places as well”.