In an effort to promote child welfare and nutritional security, the Union Government has transferred Rs 4,055.86 crore to Jammu and Kashmir from the Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 scheme in the last eleven years.
The continuous support from the Union Government in the form of financial aid from 2014-15 to 2024-25 has borne fruit for the region.
The success of the scheme could be understood from the figures of the annual allocation.
The allocation for the year 2014-15 was Rs 260.31 crore while for 2024-25 it has gone up more than two times to Rs 662.79 crore.
The jump in the allocation by over 150 per cent shows the Centre’s intent to improve nutrition and child-care services in the state.
However, not just the allocation, the utilisation of the funds under the scheme is also worth appreciation.
The scheme covers services like supplementary nutrition, health checkup, and preschool education in the Anganwadi Centres.
In addition, funds are also being utilised for the upgradation of Anganwadi infrastructure.
Under the Saksham Anganwadi scheme, 338 Anganwadis in J&K have been approved for conversion to Saksham Anganwadis with modern technology-based facilities.
The entire amount of Rs 1,229.99 crores has been released to the state during the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Due to the significance of the region in terms of the scheme, huge support from the Central Government enables the benefits of the programme to reach the most backward sections of the society on a large scale through the 90:10 ratio of funding by the Union Government for the Himalayan states.
The financial support to J&K under the scheme for the last ten years will ensure health and nutrition security for the region.
The Government can think of expanding the services under the programme to cover more people.
