Last month, in its 2023-24 Budget, the Karnataka government announced plans to set up “Koosina mane” across 4,000-gram panchayats for children of working mothers. “Koosina mane” translates to child homes or creches and is aimed at providing healthcare, nutrition, and safety for children whose mothers are employed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), as well as for other mothers living in the vicinity. This scheme must be welcomed for several reasons.
First, this initiative exemplifies a demand-side solution to boost women’s labour force participation. The MGNREGA stipulates that at least “one-third of its beneficiaries shall be women who have registered and requested for work”. The Union government’s data show that women comprise a little over 50% of the person-days under MGNREGA in Karnataka, lower than in neighbouring States like Tamil Nadu and Kerala (80% each). In a country where childcare responsibilities are deeply gendered, a reliable childcare infrastructure that provides beyond basic provisions can aid, increase, and sustain this labour force participation. The fact that this initiative aligns with the goals of both the MGNREGA and the Women and Children Development Department is an excellent example of convergence. Perhaps, the ‘koosina mane” can also be built as community assets under the MGNREGA.
Second, it has an explicit mandate to support working mothers through childcare infrastructure. This messaging is vital, as it acknowledges that women are not just mothers but also active contributors to the workforce, an aspect often missed in public programmes. Even though some may consider the vast network of infrastructure created for the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) to be a form of childcare infrastructure, its primary focus is improving maternal and child health. The ICDS caters to the needs of children at various stages of early life, starting from six months to six years. However, the working hours of the centres are not designed to support working women. Without maternity protection in the early stages of childbirth, women require care infrastructure before six months, but also until the child is much older, something that is possible in ’koosina mane’.
