CM Siddaramaiah lauds ICDS as visionary scheme benefiting 40 lakh women, children
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday described the ICDS as a "visionary initiative" aimed at eliminating maternal and child mortality and tackling malnutrition.
He said the scheme currently benefits over 40 lakh women and children through 69,922 anganwadi centres across the state.
Speaking at an event organised by the Department of Women and Child Development, Empowerment of Differently Abled and Senior Citizens to mark the golden jubilee of the Comprehensive Child Development Scheme in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah called the Integrated Child Development Services scheme a "visionary scheme" of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, according to a press release.
He said the programme was launched in the 1970s, when malnutrition and maternal-child mortality rates were high.
He added that the first anganwadi centre in Karnataka was started in Hosahalli village in T Narasipura taluk and initially operated in 33 taluks. Currently, 69,922 centres are functional across the state.
Siddaramaiah praised anganwadi workers and helpers, saying they serve with dedication and act as a "second mother" to children in their care.
He added that the ICDS programme has significantly reduced infant and maternal mortality, it said.
Highlighting women’s empowerment, the chief minister said economic and social self-reliance for women is crucial for societal progress, noting that inequality and illiteracy among women persist.
"It is encouraging that women are becoming educated. They must achieve 100 per cent literacy and gain rational and scientific knowledge," he said.
He noted that educating one girl benefits the entire family. Under the state’s Shakti scheme, over six crore women have travelled free on government buses. The Gruhalakshmi scheme has provided Rs 2,000 to 1.26 crore female heads of households, it said.
Siddaramaiah added that the government has spent over Rs 1.04 lakh crore on these guarantee schemes to empower women "economically and educationally."
Accusing the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of opposing the state’s guarantee schemes", he said, "Our freedom will be meaningful only when women are empowered."
The chief minister further said Rs 95,000 crore has been allocated for women’s welfare in this year’s budget.
Although ICDS is a central government programme, Siddaramaiah said the state provides additional funding. "If Rs 2,700 comes from the Centre, the state provides Rs 8,500. Karnataka gives the highest honorarium to Anganwadi workers and helpers in the country," he said.
Pointing to the success of the Shakti and Gruhalakshmi schemes, he said Karnataka now ranks first in the country in per capita income.
"After implementing the Shakti scheme, women’s workforce participation increased by 21 per cent in rural areas," he added.
The five guarantees that the Siddaramaiah government promised include 200 units of free power to all households under Gruha Jyoti, Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family under Gruha Lakshmi, and 10 kg of rice free for every member of a BPL household under Anna Bhagya.
The Yuva Nidhi scheme provides Rs 3,000 per month for unemployed graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for unemployed diploma holders, both aged 18-25, for two years. Additionally, free travel for women in public transport buses is offered under the Shakti scheme.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
