ICDS Full Form- What is the full form of ICDS?

ROM full form is Read Only Memory. It is a type of computer memory which can only be read. ROM memory is the one that contents of the memory could be read multiple times but could not be written (modified), once it is written. ROM is a non-volatile type of memory and therefore data in it is retained even after the unavailability of power. Read-only memory is useful for storing the various Software/Data that is rarely changed throughout the existence of the system which is also known as firmware. ROM is cheap to produce as compared to other non-transient mediums of storage and therefore experienced widespread adoption and upgradation of the technology.

What is ICDS Full Form?

The full form of ICDS is Integrated Child Development Services, an initiative administered by the Indian government that offers many referral services to the children till six years old. These facilities are also provided to the mothers of such children because they play a vital role in their development.

Various ICDS services help in building the children’s education, nutritional requirements and health when they are unable to fulfill their basic requirements. This also helps children improve the quality and standard of life.

A Brief History of ICDS

With an increasing number of incidences of malnutrition, morbidity and infant and child mortality, ICDS came into effect on 2 October, 1975. It was launched under the ambit of the National Policy for Children (NPC). Moreover, it  has grown into the world’s largest community-based welfare scheme in the present day. ICDS also faced discontinuation of the policy in the year 1978, however, it was resumed again by the tenth five-year plan to provide the basic education to all children and reduce the persistent case of malnutrition among them. ICDS also aims to improve the health of the mothers and make them efficient to look after the child’s development and maintain overall health.

What Are the Challenges of IDCS?

It was a herculean task for ICDS to provide all the facilities to the children. The challenges from time to time were obvious. Sometimes, ICDS falls short of its major principle or the objectives. However, despite the major hindrances, the objective of the policy never fails to make a positive impact on the larger community. Many research and surveys have reported that ICDS has played a crucial role in improving children’s mental and social health. 

Another survey in 1992 observed that ICDS helped improve the infant mortality rate and the birth weight of children within India. The issue of malnutrition has been a severe problem in India for a long time, however, with the implementation of ICDS, there has been a significant reduction in malnutrition and morbidity rate. 

Services Offered by ICDS

Children need adequate meals, proper health check-ups, and referral services to improve their potential in life further. The services of ICDS includes a wide range of services with regard to nutrition, education and routine health-check ups. The service helps in improving the health and nutritional status of children younger than six years for overall development. ICDS offers reducing the death rates, prevailing illness, infant malnutrition and also school dropout rates. Various programmes and initiatives are carried out to attain the objectives. The services offered by ICDS are available at the local center of ICDS known as Anganwadi centers. The scheme is monitored by The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD).

The following services are offered by ICDS for the child development:

All of the services offered by ICDS, such as proper health check-ups, facilities related to immunisation, and other referral services, are provided through the Public Health Infrastructure under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). Since the establishment of ICDS, UNICEF has been providing all essential supplies for the smooth running of the services. The World Bank has also contributed to this programme by offering financial and technical aids.

ICDS Recruitment Process

ICDS hires the interested candidates for Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and Anganwadi Helpers (AWHs) posts to provide health care services in villages. The candidates applied can get accepted for these jobs at different Anganwadi centers, based on the job vacancy and requirements. As per the report of ICDS, it has been observed that at present, there are 10.53 lakh Anganwadi centers in India.

There are various steps one needs to follow while applying for Government Jobs in ICDS. In this process, the candidates need to get ready with the following details and documentation before starting to fill the ICDS form online. Personal Details (like aadhar card number, date of birth certificate, functional email id, phone number), Address Details, Photograph and Signature are required to apply for ICDS recruitment drive. The name should be properly filled according to the name mentioned in the Birth Certificate.

ICDS Selection Process and Age Limit

Although the selection criteria to ICDS posts may vary from post to post, candidates are usually hired on the basis of merit and the document verification.

To be eligible for the required post, the aspirants have to satisfy the certain age criteria. Generally, the applicants applying for supervisor posts must be aged between 21 and 45 years. For the post of Anganwadi and helper jobs, the applying candidates must be at least 7th passed. Similarly, for the post of Anganwadi supervisor, the candidate must have at  least completed a Graduation Degree from a government approved or recognised institute.

However, the candidates must go through the official notification for recruitment to get the information in detail as the qualification and age is different for different posts.

Salary of an ICDS Worker

For an Anganwadi worker to a helper to a supervisor, the pay scale varies. However, the salary of Anganwadi workers is one of the lowest in-country and a pittance of what other government servants are paid in general which is not a good point. In other departments, government assistants are paid the basic salary at least Rs. 15,000 a month. In ICDS, helpers (known as sahayika) are paid a mere amount of Rs. 1,500 per month. The pay scale of mainstream Anganwadi workers (known as sevika) is also not very fair – they’re paid Rs. 3,000 a month. Besides salary, the workers are provided residential facilities too because they’re required to stay within the premises of Anganwadi center in their respective place, and the government covers the rent for those. The average salary of an employee working in ICDS is shown below in tabular representation: