Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address the valedictory session of the Departmental Summit on Women and Child Development in New Delhi on Friday, October 9. The two-day summit, being held on October 8–9, focuses on improving child nutrition, early education, women’s safety and the protection of vulnerable children.
One of the summit’s key priorities is reimagining Anganwadi centres to strengthen nutrition services and early childhood education.
Participants are also discussing ways to reinforce protection systems for vulnerable children, with an emphasis on improving implementation and service delivery.
The summit will deliberate on women’s safety through the effective implementation of institutional and legislative frameworks.
Another major focus is improving the effectiveness and outcomes of key government schemes aimed at women’s empowerment.
Political leaders and officials responsible for women and child development from states across India are participating in the summit.
According to a Prime Minister’s Office press release, the event is the second in a series of Departmental Summits envisioned to strengthen cooperative federalism and encourage joint action on national priorities.
The summit model brings together Union and state government representatives to share good practices, discuss implementation challenges and agree on time-bound actions to improve governance and public service delivery.
The discussions address several important areas of public service delivery, including early childhood development, nutrition, child protection and women’s safety.
Closer coordination between the Centre and states can help officials identify implementation challenges and develop practical approaches to improving existing programmes.
