Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh attended the valedictory session of the two-day National Departmental Summit on Women and Child Development, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, New Delhi, on October 10.
Commissioner of the Department of Social Welfare, Haobam Rosita, IAS, and Director Sheikh Abdul Hakim, MCS, also participated in the summit held on October 8 and 9. The summit brought together Ministers and senior officials from States and Union Territories to deliberate on strengthening women’s empowerment, child protection, nutrition, early childhood care and welfare service delivery.
The summit focused on four key themes: reimagining Anganwadi Centres for better nutrition and early education, strengthening protection systems for vulnerable children, ensuring women’s safety through effective implementation of institutional and legislative frameworks, and enhancing women’s empowerment through improved implementation and outcomes of key welfare schemes.
Under the fourth theme, “Women’s Empowerment: Enhancing Effectiveness and Outcomes of Key Schemes,” Manipur was among the States featured for sharing experiences and best practices to strengthen the implementation and impact of women-centric welfare initiatives. The session also focused on identifying implementation gaps, addressing bottlenecks and developing actionable strategies to improve programme outcomes.
Addressing the valedictory session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised Jan Bhagidari (people’s participation), calling for Anganwadi Centres to evolve into hubs of community participation rather than function as isolated institutions.