Context

• The adoption of the International Day of Care and Support by the United Nations General Assembly in 2023 marks an important milestone in the global recognition of care work.
• By acknowledging the need to reduce, redistribute, and properly value unpaid care and domestic labour, predominantly performed by women and girls, the resolution draws attention to an often-invisible foundation of social and economic life.
• These issues resonate powerfully in India, where historical legacies, institutional gaps, and new socio-economic pressures continue to shape the landscape of childcare and care work.
• Together, these factors underscore the urgency of a systemic transformation grounded in social justice, gender equality, and high-quality care for all children.

Historical Foundations and the Evolution of Childcare Services

• India’s engagement with organised childcare dates back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when educationists such as Tarabai Modak and Gijubai Badheka developed innovative, developmentally appropriate early childhood practices.
• However, these pioneering initiatives gradually lost prominence as post-Independence childcare became largely privatised and inaccessible to low-income families—the very groups most in need of such support.
• A paradigm shift came with the 1972 Study Group on the Development of the Preschool Child, led by Mina Swaminathan, which articulated a holistic and equity-driven framework for early childhood care.
• This approach culminated in the creation of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) in 1975, today one of the world’s largest early childhood programmes.
• With 1.4 million Anganwadi centres reaching 23 million children, and a projected need to expand to 2.6 million centres by 2030, ICDS remains central to India’s commitment to child nutrition, development, and welfare.

Undervaluation of Childcare Workers

• Despite the scale and social importance of ICDS, care-workers continue to be underpaid, undervalued, and treated as informal caregivers rather than skilled professionals.
• Rapid programme expansion has weakened emphasis on training and competency building, reinforcing stereotypes that early childhood work is limited to feeding, hygiene, and immunisation rather than complex developmental nurturing.
• Their wages, often ₹8,000–₹15,000 per month, barely match minimum-wage benchmarks for unskilled labour, revealing a profound mismatch between responsibilities and remuneration.
• The devaluation of care work manifests in multiple ways: insufficient social security, poor working conditions, limited career progression, and inadequate institutional representation.

Climate Change, Migration, and Intensified Care Burdens

• Climate change, through floods, droughts, and extreme weather events, disproportionately harms women and children, reducing access to healthcare, nutrition, and stable livelihoods.
• Male migration from rural to urban economies further exacerbates gendered care burdens, leaving women with little support as they juggle caregiving, wage work, and household survival.
• Urban migration creates its own dilemmas: high rents and precarious employment push migrant women into domestic labour in wealthier households, while their own children often lack access to safe and affordable childcare.
• Notably, only 10% of Anganwadi centres operate in urban areas, leaving a significant care vacuum.

Policy Transformations and the Path Ahead

• Recognising care-workers is only the first step; systemic reforms must follow. India currently invests only 0.4% of its GDP in childcare, far below the 1%–1.5% standard upheld by Scandinavian countries with universal childcare systems.
• Strengthening childcare provision, especially for children under three years, demands significant budgetary increases, infrastructure expansion, and robust training systems.
• Currently, only 2,500 of 10,000 approved crèches under the Palna Scheme are functional, revealing implementation gaps that undermine coverage.
• Achieving high-quality, equitable childcare requires:
  • Decent wages and labour protections for caregivers
  • Comprehensive skill development and professionalisation of care
  • Expanded urban childcare coverage
  • Stronger decentralised and community-led governance
  • Convergence across health, nutrition, labour, and social welfare systems
  • Policies that promote shared household care responsibilities
• Crucially, the childcare agenda is inseparable from the rights of women and children.
• It demands a shift from viewing care as a private responsibility to recognising it as a public good essential for inclusive development.

Conclusion

• As global and domestic pressures, from climate change to migration, intensify existing inequalities, the need to invest in care infrastructure and care-workers has never been more urgent.
• The historical legacy of inclusive childcare, coupled with contemporary demands for gender justice and child welfare, necessitates a bold reimagining of policy and practice.
• Universal, high-quality childcare is not merely a social service; it is a nation-building imperative that strengthens families, empowers women, and gives every child a fair chance at a healthy, secure, and dignified future.
• By valuing and professionalising care work, India can build a more equitable society where the rights of caregivers and children are fully recognised and realised.