Dikshit to investigate ICDS scheme

New Delhi: A day after IANS reported that 775 children and eight pregnant women enrolled in the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme here died last year, Delhi's Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Tuesday said the matter will be probed.

"I got to know the figures. We will be doing a proper investigation into this," Dikshit told reporters.

In a reply to an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act filed by child rights activist Manish Bhatnagar, an ICDS official said: "According to records, the number of children enrolled in the ICDS scheme who died in Delhi last year was 775."

"Eight pregnant women enrolled also died last year," he added.

The ICDS is a pilot project of the Delhi government's women and child development department aimed at improving nutritional and health status of children below six years and reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity and malnutrition.

"In 2009, seven pregnant women and 882 children enrolled with the ICDS died," the official said.

ICDS services were started in India with 33 projects all over the country Oct 2, 1975. It was launched in response to the challenge of meeting the holistic need of the child.

                                           Home | Top of the Page

Top Stories

Samjhauta blasts: NIA charges Aseemanand, four others

The National Investigating Agency (NIA) Monday filed its chargesheet against radical Hindu activist Swami Aseemanand and four  »

Bomb for bomb: Aseemanand confesses bombings to target Muslims

Aseemanand confesses his involvement in 2006 Malegaon blast

  Most Read

Former Tunisian President Ben Ali sentenced in absentia to 35 years

A Tunisian court June 20 sentenced former president Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali in absent to 35 years in jail, six months after his ouster in a revolution  »

Indian diplomat treated housekeeper like a slave: Lawsuit

Prabhu Dayal, the Indian consul general in New York has been slapped with a forced-labour suit by a former housekeeper who says she was treated like a slave while working for him and his family, a US media report said. Dayal allegedly promised  »

Indian diplomat denies slavery charges

  News Pick

NHRC to probe police firing in Bihar's Forbesganj village

Acting on complaints by politicians and the civil society, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Monday said it will investigate   »

Team Anna, government battle on new issues; differences widen

Differences between Team Anna and the government widened further Monday as both sides stuck to their stand on key issues, including on bringing the prime minister within the ambit of   »

Tribals call Goa DGP 'General Dyer'

Outraged tribal leaders Monday called Goa's Director General of Police 'General Dyer of Goa' after he said he would have "ordered fire" during a tribal protest May 25. rakash Velip, convenor of the United Tribal Associations  »

Talk of tax treaty with Mauritius spooks Indian markets

A benchmark index for Indian equities markets closed a whopping 363 points lower Monday as traders off-loaded stocks across the market breadth after a report  »

'Tax reforms in India lag behind growth'

Picture of the Day

Humayun's Tomb, one of the country's first garden mausoleum and a Unesco World Heritage Site, is getting a makeover to resemble its original state with a unique not-for-profit private-public conservation project partnered by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, the Dorabji Tata Trust and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

(Photo: IANS)