India must build a holistic care system

GS-II | Governance | Women & Children Development | Social Justice | Welfare Schemes | Vulnerable Groups

Introduction

• India’s Development Narrative: India’s development narrative over the last ten years has been about building infrastructure; including roads (highways), urban rail systems (metro lines), providing electricity to all citizens and creating digital public service platforms.
• Care as the Bedrock of the Economy: Care — the bedrock of all economies — has been ignored by economists as well.
• Impact on Women: In the absence of formal care systems, it is families and particularly women who pay for the lack of formal care system by performing unpaid work, experiencing a loss of income, and having fewer choices available to them.
• Unpaid Care Burden: The Periodic Labour Force Survey 2025 reported that 44.4 percent of women who were not in the labor force said that caring for children and home making was the primary reason they did not enter the labor force. The Time Use Survey 2024 conducted by India indicated that 41 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 59 performed unpaid care work, and on average, spent 140 minutes per day performing such work.
• Viksit Bharat@2047: The question is whether we can develop a care system that allows for an increase in women’s involvement in the economy, as well as increasing their involvement.

Existing Care Framework in India

• Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0: The Anganwadi system supports the provision of early childhood care and nutrition.
• Palna: Under Mission Shakti, it supports crèches.
• Mission Vatsalya: Addresses other needs related to care.
• Social Security: Provisions made for people who are disabled and older adults will also cover other types of care.

Key Gaps in India’s Care Economy

• Fragmented: Care is split across multiple ministries, from women and child development to housing and urban affairs. Each runs valuable programmes, but without a common framework. This can leave gaps such as crèches that close before factory shifts end or eldercare needs that fall outside of existing schemes.
• Coverage: Estimates by the UNDP indicate that there are approximately nine to ten million women living in low-income urban areas who require childcare. Additionally, 24 percent of older adults experience difficulties with their daily routines and national data regarding service availability and coverage are lacking.
• Care Workforce: Care relies upon those on the front lines (i.e., Anganwadi Workers, Home-based Caregivers, Domestic Workers), yet most are paid poorly or work as volunteers.
• Financing and Social Norms: Care remains budgeted as a form of social welfare, rather than an investment in human capital. Workplace policies continue to operate on the premise that caregiving is primarily the responsibility of women.

Strengthening the Care Workforce

• Standards and Certification: The development of clear standards and certification based on NITI Aayog’s recommendations would establish that care is a professional and compensated activity.
• Working Conditions and Social Security: Decent working conditions, social security, and opportunities for professional growth should be available to care workers.
• Paternity Leave: The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) suggests that there should be statutory paid paternity leave for employees working in the private sector.

International Best Practices

• Colombia: The 2025 National Care Policy unites 34 government organizations within a single structure.
• Brazil: Brazil has established two national care policies (the 2024 National Care Policy and the 2025 National Care Plan) that are being steered by inter-ministerial committees.
• Nepal: Care mapping was used to fund care pilots.

Way Forward

• National Caregiving Council: The National Caregiving Council, as proposed in NITI Aayog’s “Reimagining Care: Strategies for Empowering Caregivers in Viksit Bharat@2047” report, is intended to help improve coordination among various stakeholders.
• National Care Economy Mission: The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is currently working with the states and union territories regarding the creation of a National Care Economy Mission. During the National Workshop on May 2026, the ministry held discussions about developing a National Care Economy Mission that would have inter-ministerial governance, coordinated funding, and joint data.
• State-Level Care Roadmaps: States should create roadmaps for state-level care, by combining the needs of the population and the available services, as well as the trends in demographics. They should also identify where there are deficiencies in providing childcare, elderly care and disability support, and develop costed plans that clearly define who will be responsible for implementing them.
• UNDP & UN Women Projects: This work is based on UNDP research and the experiences of UN Women’s TransformCare program which has been implemented in over 50 nations. The two organizations will support this work under the direction of each nation’s government.
• Care Services and Skills: This includes identifying care services and training care professionals.
• Women-Led Childcare Businesses: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Women Entrepreneurship Platform are both supporting women-led child care businesses.

Conclusion

The International Day of Care and Support is a time to make sure that India’s care and support programs are tied together with its policy vision and based upon what has been proven. This is also a time to provide financial support for these programs, as well as holding those responsible for the success of these programs accountable.

UPSC Mains Practice Question

Q. What is needed for India to establish a comprehensive care economy which will help alleviate women’s unpaid caregiving responsibilities, enhance women’s involvement in the labor force, and realize India’s goal of Viksit Bharat@2047?