The Ministry of Women and Child Development during July 2022 issued guidelines of Mission Shakti wherein erstwhile National Creche Scheme has been reorganized and renamed as Palna Scheme under the sub scheme ‘Samarthya’ of ‘Mission Shakti’. Under Palna Scheme, provision of Anganwadi cum Creches has been introduced by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Further, the crèches which were running under erstwhile National Creche Scheme have been included as Stand Alone Creches. The government aims to establish 17000 Crèches across the country as part of the programme upto FY 2025-26.. What is a crèche A Crèche is care centre that provides a safe and nurturing environment for children while their parents or guardians are at work. These facilities prioritise the children's health, provide supplementary nutritious meals, and maintain a secure and safe environment. It provides age-appropriate educational activities to boost holistic development of the child. Objectives To provide day-care facilities for children (6 months to 6 years) to all mothers in the community, irrespective of their employment status. Quality crèche care facility by providing a safe and secure environment for children To support nutritional, health and cognitive development of children Enable mothers to take up gainful employment Monitoring compliance of the stipulations laid down under Section 11A of Maternity Benefit Act Services The scheme will provide an integrated package of the following services: Sleeping facility Early mental/ physical stimulation for children below 3 years of age Pre-school education for children between the ages of 3 to 6 years Supplementary nutrition (to be locally sourced) Health Check-up and Immunization. Growth Monitoring, health check-ups and immunization in convergence with POSHAN 2.0 Palna have two components • Anganwadi cum Crèche• Stand alone Crèche The crèche timings may be decided by States / UTs government as per local need however it has to be ensured that timing should facilitate Working mothers. Generally, Crèches shall be open for 26 days in a month and for seven and half (7-1/2) hours per day as per the work schedule of majority of the mothers in the area, which may be from 7.00 a.m. to 2.30 p.m., 8.00 a.m. to 3.30 p.m or 9.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. User charges are necessary to bring in an element of community ownership and may be collected as under: BPL families - Rs 20/- per child per month. Families with Income (Both Parents) of upto Rs. 12,000/- per month - Rs 100/- per child per month Families with Income (Both Parents) of above Rs. 12,000/- per month - Rs 200/- per child per month Targt group The scheme focuses on children of 6 months to 6 years, of working women in rural and urban areas who are employed for a minimum period of 15 days in a month, or six months in a year. Implementing Agencies Implementation shall be effected through the respective State Governments. These State Governments in turn could implement the Scheme through other suitable voluntary/ non-governmental organizations, if required. The State Government will run the crèches as per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). Financial assistance A annual cost of Rs.3,35,600/- is provided for a crèche of 25 children. A Non-recurring grant for a period of five years - Rs 10,000/- once in the beginning of every new crèche and a subsequent grant of Rs. 5000/- at an interval of five years towards replacement/purchase of equipment/ furniture, water filter, etc. To access the complete scheme guidelines, click here. Source : MInistry of Women and Child Development Related resources Standard Operating Procedure for Anganwadi-cum-Creche (Palna) National Minimum Standards and Protocol for Crèches (Operation and Management)