Statement by India under Agenda Item 3,ID with the Working Group on Discrimination against women and girls, at the 59thSession of the Human Rights Council (16 June – 9 July 2025), delivered by Ms. Anupama Singh, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India
Geneva, 24 June 2025
Mr. President,
- India recognizes that a strong care economy is vital to inclusive development, with gender equality at its core. We have adopted a multi-pronged approach that views care work as both a public good and a path to social justice.
- First, through schemes like Anganwadi Services under the Integrated Child Development Scheme, over 1.3 million centers across India deliver early education, nutrition, and health services—easing the care burden on women and enabling their economic participation.
- Second, we promote women’s economic empowerment via care-sensitive initiatives such as Mahila Shakti Kendra and the National Rural Livelihood Mission, alongside efforts to recognize, reduce, and redistribute unpaid care work.
- Third, progressive labour policies—26 weeks of paid maternity leave, crèche facilities, and flexible work—foster work-life balance and shared care-giving.
- We are surprised by the presumption of the Working Group that community health workers lack social security. India has extended coverage to ASHAs and Anganwadi workers under insurance and pension schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Atal Pension Yojana. It may be recalled that ASHA program is the world’s largest community health worker initiative.
- To conclude, India recognizes that the health and care economy is not just about services—it is about dignity, choice, equity, and rights, and we are taking strides to transform care from a burden into a shared foundation of our societies.
I thank you.
