New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called for greater focus on the health, nutrition and overall development of adolescent girls and suggested developing age-appropriate modules for children on women's safety, dignity and empowerment.
Addressing a departmental summit on women and child development here, the prime minister also underlined the importance of preventive action through the convergence of efforts across various departments on the issue of women's safety.
He made the remarks while chairing the valedictory session of the two-day National Departmental Summit organised by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
The Summit, part of the series of departmental summits envisioned by the prime minister, brought together ministers and senior officials from states and Union territories for focused deliberations on nutrition and early childhood care, child protection, women's safety and empowerment, and strengthening delivery of services through greater convergence, according to a statement issued by his office.
Modi appreciated the intensive deliberations and emphasised the importance of collaborative decision-making between the Centre and states, it said.
He suggested that states could take this model further by organising similar chintan shivirs at the district level and at municipal and metropolitan levels.
Modi also suggested dedicated chintan shivirs for Anganwadi Workers, enabling them to exchange experiences, innovations and practical solutions from the field.
Emphasising the principle Jan Bhagidari, he said an Anganwadi centre should not function as an isolated institution; it must be a centre of community participation.
He said families living around Anganwadi centres could also be encouraged to contribute on special occasions by sharing nutritious food, toys and locally relevant items for children.
The prime minister also sought deeper engagement of universities and educational institutions with Anganwadi centres.
"Universities could adopt nearby Anganwadi centres and undertake social impact studies, creating opportunities for students to contribute while also generating useful insights for improving service delivery," he said.
Medical students and NSS and NCC volunteers could similarly be associated with Anganwadi centres and community initiatives, he said.
He also called for greater focus on the health, nutrition and overall development of adolescent girls.
Highlighting the close relationship between cleanliness, health and nutrition, he called upon Women and Child Development Departments across the country to take active ownership of the Swachhata Abhiyan.
Modi stressed that good health and nutrition begin with cleanliness, adding that Anganwadi centres and surrounding communities could become important platforms for promoting this behavioural change.
Suggesting that national movements such as Vocal for Local and One District One Product (ODOP) should be promoted for women empowerment, he said women's collectives and community institutions could become important partners in strengthening local products, livelihoods and economic empowerment.
The prime minister emphasised that the Ministry of Women and Child Development and its counterparts in the states are entrusted with responsibilities touching one of the largest and most important segments of society.
The children being nurtured in Anganwadi centres today will become the youth and citizens who build Viksit Bharat, Modi said.
Women and Child Development Minister Annpurna Devi said, "Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our focus remains on strengthening Centre-state coordination for women's empowerment, child welfare, nutrition, safety, and holistic development."
Modi later posted on X that it was a great exchange of perspectives and best practices at the summit.
This report was published from a wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.