UPSC MAINS SOCIOLOGY SYLLABUS

Paper 2 – Section C – Visions of Social Change in India

(vii) Challenges of Social Transformation:

(a)  Crisis of development: displacement, environmental problems and sustainability.
(b) Poverty, deprivation and inequalities.
(c) Violence against women.
(d) Caste conflicts.
(e) Ethnic conflicts, communalism, religious revivalism.
(f) Illiteracy and disparities in education.






Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS)

The Umbrella ICDS is a centrally sponsored scheme implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It was launched in 1975. ICDS is a centrally sponsored scheme implemented by state governments and union territories.
The scheme is universal covering all the districts of the country.

Schemes under ICDS

Anganwadi Services Scheme:
It is a unique programme for early childhood care and development. The beneficiaries under the Scheme are children in the age group of 0-6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers. It provides a package of six services namely supplementary nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, nutrition & health education, immunisation, health check-up and referral services.

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana:
It provides cash incentive amounting to Rs.5,000/- in three instalments directly to the Bank/Post Office Account of Pregnant Women and Lactating Mother (PW&LM) in DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) Mode during pregnancy and lactation in response to individual fulfilling specific conditions.

National Creche Scheme:
It provides day care facilities to children of age group of 6 months to 6 years of working women. The facilities are provided for seven and half hours a day for 26 days in a month.

Scheme for Adolescent Girls:
It aims at out of school girls in the age group 11-14, to empower and improve their social status through nutrition, life skills and home skills.

Child Protection Scheme:
It aims to contribute to the improvement and well-being of children in difficult circumstances, as well as, reduction of vulnerabilities to situations and actions that lead to abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment and separation of children from parents.

POSHAN Abhiyaan:
It targets to reduce the level of stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia and low birth weight babies by reducing mal-nutrition/undernutrition, anaemia among young children as also, focus on adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers.


Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme
‘Sukanya Samriddhi Yojna’ is a small deposit scheme for girl child, launched as a part of the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ campaign, which would fetch an attractive interest rate and provide income tax rebate. The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme has completed 6 years of its launch. The scheme was launched in 2015. On the occasion of National Girl Child Day on 24th January, the performance of BBBP scheme was discussed (given in the article below). The National Girl Child Day was started by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2008.


Mid-day Meal Scheme
Mid Day Meal Scheme was started in India from 15th August 1995 under the name of ‘National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE)’. In October 2007, NP-NSPE was renamed as ‘National Programme of Mid Day Meal in Schools,’ which is popularly known as Mid-Day Meal Scheme. In September 2021, the Mid-Day Meal Scheme was renamed ‘PM POSHAN’ or Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman.

The revamped scheme has been launched for 5 years, from 2021-22 to 2025-26, with a budget of Rs 1,30,794.90 crore. Apart from providing nutritional meals to schoolchildren, the revamped scheme will also focus on monitoring the nutritional levels of schoolchildren.
A nutritional expert will be appointed in each school to ensure that the BMI, weight levels and haemoglobin levels of the students are monitored.


Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)
Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India (GoI) anchors the SSA Programme and it has been operational since 2000-2001. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan was initially introduced in 2001 with the aim of the Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE). SSA was also provided by the 86th constitutional amendment where the provision of free and compulsory education was made for children belonging to the age group of 6-14 years.
The main aim of SSA includes:
To provide free education for all children in the age group of 6-14 years and to remove the social and regional disparity by ensuring the active participation of the community in the management of the school.


Operation Blackboard
Operation Blackboard is a scheme undertaken by the Indian government in 1987 in response to a suggestion made by the NPE of 1986. The main objectives of Operation Blackboard were to improve the quality of primary education, reduce waste and stagnation, and draw more students, particularly girls, into the primary education sector to realise the dream of universal education.


Balika Samriddhi Yojana (BSY)
The Balika Samriddhi Yojana (BSY) was unveiled by the Central Government in the year 1997. This was done under the blueprint for Women & Child Development for enabling empowerment of girl children in the country. It is known to be a major initiative for supporting the education and birth of the girl child. The Balika Samriddhi Yojana will be providing coverage for all girl children in families who are unfortunately below the poverty line (BPL) as per the definition of the Government of India throughout urban and rural zones, born on or after 15th August 1997.


Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)
Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is a statutory body of Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India.
It functions as the nodal body for adoption of Indian children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions. CARA is designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-country adoptionsin accordance with the provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 1993, ratified by Government of India in 2003.


National Nutrition Mission
Poshan Abhiyaan, or the National Nutrition Mission, is the Government of India’s flagship program to improve nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children from 0 to 6 years of age. The Poshan Abhiyaan scheme plays an important role in tackling malnutrition and providing cooked meals to children. This scheme replaced the national program for mid-day meals in schools or mid-day meal schemes.The Poshan Abhiyaan 2.0 aims to benefit about 11.80 crores and the children studying in 11.20 lakh schools in the country. Under this scheme, mid-day meals have been extended to the children of Balvatika in addition to the children studying in classes 1 to 8 in government and government-aided schools in the country.


Mission Indradhanush
Mission Indradhanush is an initiative undertaken by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Intensified Mission Indradhanush was announced on December 25, 2014, to increase immunization rates against deadly diseases that can otherwise be prevented with vaccinations all across the country. Mission Indradhanush 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 have been initiated in recent years to expand the coverage of the Immunization program in India. With the launch of Mission Indradhanush, the government hopes to ensure that the non-vaccinated and partially immunized children are fully immunized per the National immunization schedule.