NEW DELHI: The centre on Wednesday announced that the National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) has now been officially renamed as the Savitribai Phule National Institute of Women and Child Development, reflecting its evolving role and greater focus on region-specific, mission-driven support for the development of women and children across India.
Speaking about the renaming of the institute, which was established on February 28, 1966, Women and Child Development Minister Annpurna Devi said that the renaming of NIPCCD as the Savitribai Phule National Institute of Women and Child Development is a tribute to the legacy of one of India’s foremost social reformers.
She said the renaming is "a reaffirmation of our commitment to women and child-centric development."
The ministry also announced a new Regional Centre in Ranchi, Jharkhand, which will be inaugurated on July 4.
A new Regional Centre aims to strengthen outreach and regional capacity-building.
This Centre will address the specialised training and research requirements of the Ministry’s flagship programmes - Mission Shakti, Mission Vatsalya, and Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 - with a particular focus on the Eastern region covering Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal.
Previously, training needs of these states were partially catered through Regional Centres located in Guwahati and Lucknow, posing logistical challenges for many functionaries due to long travel distances.
The new Regional Centre will also offer the advanced diploma in child guidance and counselling and will facilitate better accessibility for frontline functionaries in these states.
It is estimated that over seven lakh functionaries operate under the ministry’s missions across the four states, spread across 115 districts.
Highlighting the importance of setting up new regional centres, the WCD minister said that the inauguration of the new Regional Centre in Ranchi would mark a significant step towards decentralised, region-specific capacity building in the Eastern region.
She said the Centre will not only empower the frontline functionaries with better access to training and support, but also strengthen the centre’s flagship missions at the grassroots level.
The new Regional Centre will not only bring training services closer to the field functionaries but also enable the identification of local issues, customized interventions, and better resource utilization for women’s empowerment and child welfare in the Eastern region.
It will also support research, counselling, and extension activities related to child development, mental health, and adolescent well-being.
This step is a testament to the Ministry’s commitment to ensuring last-mile delivery of services, region-specific capacity building, and the creation of an inclusive, empowered, and healthier India, the ministry said in a statement.
About NIPCCD, the ministry said while its headquarters is in New Delhi, it presently has regional centres in Bangalore, Guwahati, Lucknow, Indore and Mohali.
“It serves as the apex body for training, research, documentation, and capacity building in the field of Women and Child Development. The Institute plays a pivotal role in strengthening implementation mechanisms under various flagship schemes through its online and physical training programmes,” the statement added.