Question

The _____ scheme is a government initiative for the all-round development (health, nutrition and education) of children under age 6.
A. Child Line Services
B. Integrated Child Protection Scheme
C. Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme
D. Integrated Child Development Services

Answer 1

Hint:1. This scheme was launched in 1975.
2. It was also linked to the Anganwadi centers by the Tenth 5 Year plan.

Complete answer:
A. ChildLine Services – Child line service is a service provided by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It is a Non-Government Organization which operates the telephone helpline called Childline. It is available all over India. It was established in 1996 by Jeroo Billimoria of Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai as an experimental project.
B. Integrated Child Protection Scheme – ICPS is a government scheme which has been implemented by the Government of India to secure safety of children. It has a special emphasis on vulnerable children who are in need of care and protection and juveniles in conflict or in contact with the law. The primary aim is to create a central structure to provide an oversight for pre-existing child protection schemes in India.
C. Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme – It is a scheme initiated by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It came into effect on 1st January 2017. It provides basic health monitoring, sleeping facilities, supplementary nutrition etc. It also provides early stimulation for children under 3 and pre-school education for children between 3-6 years.
D. Integrated Child Development Scheme – It is a programme which provides preschool education and food, primary healthcare and health checkups, immunization and referral services to children under six years of age and their mothers. It was launched in 1975.

Thus the correct answer is Option (D) Integrated Child Development Scheme.

Note:1. The ICDS was discontinued by Morarji Desai’s government in 1978. It was later relaunched by the Tenth 5 Year Plan.
2. By 2010, the scheme reached around 4 Crore Children (under 6) and 80.6 lakh expecting mothers.