The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) is an apex government institution of India responsible for the holistic development of women and children. It functions as the nodal Ministry, formulating policies, enacting legislation, and coordinating efforts for the advancement of women and children. The Ministry's origins trace back to 1985, when the Department of Women and Child Development was established under the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) to provide impetus to welfare efforts. It was upgraded to a full-fledged independent Ministry on January 30, 2006, to address gaps in State action and promote inter-ministerial convergence for gender-equitable and child-centric policies.
The Ministry's work is currently structured around three umbrella missions, which consolidate various schemes for effective implementation. Mission Shakti focuses on women's safety, security, and empowerment, comprising the 'Sambal' sub-scheme for safety (which includes One Stop Centres and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao) and the 'Samarthya' sub-scheme for empowerment (which includes the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana or PMMVY). Mission Poshan 2.0 (or Saksham Anganwadi & Poshan 2.0) is an integrated nutrition support program that consolidates schemes like Anganwadi Services and the Scheme for Adolescent Girls to combat malnutrition. Mission Vatsalya focuses on child protection, care, and welfare, having subsumed the erstwhile Child Protection Services (CPS) scheme since 2021-22. This mission provides services for children in need of care and protection (CNCP) and children in conflict with the law (CCL) as per the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The MWCD also connects to statutory bodies like the National Commission for Women (NCW), established under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990, and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), established under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005.