2,450 child care homes in country, 199 cater to children with special needs: Govt

New Delhi: There are 2,450 child care institutions (CCIs) across the country and 199 of them cater to children with special needs, Minister of State for Women and Child Development (WCD) Savitri Thakur said on Friday.

In a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha, she said 12 states and union territories have no such institutions for children with special needs.

Out of the total 2,450 CCIs established across the country under Mission Vatsalya, 199 institutions cater to children with special needs, Thakur said.

According to the Mission Vatsalya guidelines, a CCI having a capacity of 50 children can have a special unit for 10 children with special needs. Similarly, a CCI with a capacity of 25 children can have a special unit for five children.

Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat and Odisha are among 12 states and union territories that do not have any CCI for children with special needs.

Meanwhile, Women and Child Development Minister Annpurna Devi said in a written response to a question that 23 states and union territories have enacted various Acts on the prevention of beggary.

"Also, 15 states have their own administrative schemes to tackle the challenge of beggary," she said.

Responding to another question, Devi said according to WCD Ministry data from December 2024, only 7.50 crore children up to 5 years were enrolled in Anganwadis and registered on the Poshan Tracker.

She said 7.18 crore of these children were measured on growth parameters of height and weight.

Of these, 39.68 per cent of them were found to be stunted, 17.22 per cent underweight and 5.5 per cent wasted, she said.