WCD minister to inaugurate regional centre of Savitribai Phule National Institute in Ranchi

Ranchi, Jul 3 (PTI) The Women and Child Development Ministry on Thursday said it will mark a key milestone in decentralised capacity building with the inauguration of a new regional centre of the Savitribai Phule National Institute of Women and Child Development in Jharkhand capital Ranchi.
     Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annpurna Devi will on Friday inaugurate the centre, which is expected to improve service delivery in Jharkhand and the neighbouring eastern states, the ministry said in a statement.
     The new centre, part of the government's broader efforts to strengthen grassroots implementation of women and child-centric schemes, will cater specifically to the training and research needs under flagship programmes such as Mission Shakti, Mission Vatsalya and Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0.
     The centre will focus on four eastern states, including Jharkhand, Bihar Odisha and West Bengal.
     "This centre is a step towards building a more inclusive and regionally responsive training system," the ministry said in the statement.
     An addition will help eliminate long-standing logistical barriers faced by professionals in the eastern region, who previously had to rely on centres in Guwahati or Lucknow, it noted.
     The event will also see the launch of a new logo for the institute, experience-sharing sessions with trainee girls and the distribution of placement certificates to vocational training graduates.
     The Ranchi centre will offer an Advanced Diploma Course in Child Guidance and Counselling and provide specialised training for frontline workers, potentially opening new employment avenues for youth in the region, the statement said.
     The centre's launch follows the recent renaming of the National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) as the Savitribai Phule National Institute of Women and Child Development.
     The change reflects a sharpened focus on gender equality and service delivery, according to the ministry.
     With its headquarters in New Delhi and existing regional centres in Bangalore, Guwahati, Lucknow, Indore and Mohali, the institute trains more than 1,000 professionals annually.
     The Ranchi centre is expected to significantly boost this capacity, especially in the underserved eastern belt.
     The move, the ministry said, aligns with the government's larger vision of ensuring last-mile delivery and empowering women and children across regions under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)