New Delhi [India], October 7 : The Ministry of Women and Child Development will host its Departmental Summit on October 8 at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan in New Delhi, bringing together political leadership and senior officials from the Centre and states to deliberate on key priorities concerning nutrition, child protection, women's safety and empowerment.
The two-day summit is the second in a series of Departmental Summits envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to strengthen cooperative federalism, promote collective ownership of national priorities and accelerate outcomes through closer Centre-State collaboration.
The summit will focus on the vision of building a “Suposhit, Surakshit and Sashakt Bharat” as a foundation for Viksit Bharat@2047.
The Departmental Summit model provides a platform for the Union and state governments to discuss sector-specific priorities, share best practices, address implementation challenges and agree on time-bound actions aimed at improving governance and service delivery.
Four key themes will form the focus of the summit: reimagining Anganwadi Centres for better nutrition and early education; strengthening protection systems for vulnerable children; ensuring women's safety through effective implementation of institutional and legislative frameworks; and enhancing the effectiveness and outcomes of key schemes for women's empowerment.
On the first day, discussions will cover the quality of Take-Home Ration and Hot Cooked Meals, improving the quality of data on the Poshan Tracker and strengthening Early Childhood Care and Education.
The participants will also deliberate on protection systems for vulnerable children, including challenges arising from the impact of social media, as well as implementation challenges and possible solutions relating to women's safety.
The second day will focus on strengthening the effectiveness and outcomes of key schemes aimed at women's empowerment.
Participating states will share their experiences, challenges and best practices during the deliberations, with the aim of arriving at consensus on agreed outcomes and reinforcing the principles of cooperative federalism and shared responsibility.
According to the Ministry, the key outcomes and action plans emerging from the summit will be presented before Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the valedictory session.
The Prime Minister's guidance is expected to provide further direction to the Centre and states and help establish a roadmap for decisive and time-bound action on the outcomes agreed upon during the summit.
The summit is expected to provide a platform for Centre-State collaboration on strengthening nutrition delivery, early childhood care, child protection mechanisms, women's safety and welfare schemes.