A ‘Nutrition mission’ for undernourished children in the country is in the offing. And it promises to accomplish what at least eight other welfare schemes of the central government have failed to achieve.

The UPA government, which has been critical of its own ‘deficiencies’ in tacking nutritional challenges, has chalked out a plan to meet the food requirement of over eight crore children in the country.

“The government plans to convert the existing ‘ineffective’ Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) into a national mission, which would target eight crore children in the age group of 0-6 years, mostly under two years, in 14 lakh anganwadis,” a top government official said.

The idea has been mooted by the women and child development ministry on the lines of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Sarva Sikhsha Abhiyan.

The ‘nutrition mission’ would come with an enhanced budgetary allocation, increasing the daily nutritional entitlement to Rs.7 per child from the existing Rs.4.