{"id":68400,"date":"2026-03-09T18:33:56","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T13:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=68400"},"modified":"2026-03-09T18:36:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T13:06:16","slug":"volunteer-care-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/09-03-2026\/volunteer-care-work","title":{"rendered":"The Need to Recognise \u2018volunteer\u2019 Care Work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Governance; GS3\/Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Union Budget 2026-27 proposes to build a <strong>\u2018strong care ecosystem\u2019 <\/strong>by training 1.5 lakh multiskilled caregivers in geriatric, core care and allied skills through programmes aligned with the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is Care Work?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>It mainly consists of two overlapping activities:<\/strong> direct, personal, and relational care activities, such as feeding a baby; and indirect care activities, such as cooking and cleaning.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Unpaid care and domestic work<\/strong>, such as nursing an ill partner or cooking for a family member, is care work provided without monetary compensation.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Paid care work<\/strong> such as domestic services provided by domestic workers is performed by care workers in exchange for some form of remuneration.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e7d6cc\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"875\" height=\"456\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-38.png\" alt=\"care work\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-68402\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e7d6cc; aspect-ratio:1.9189034837235865;width:562px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-38.png 875w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-38-300x156.png 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-38-768x400.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 875px) 100vw, 875px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Future Projections:<\/strong> Evidence from the International Labour Organisation suggests that increasing investments in the care services sector have the potential to generate 475 million jobs globally by 2030.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For India specifically, direct public investment equivalent to 2% of GDP can potentially generate 11 million jobs, nearly 70% of which will go to women.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges faced by Care Work Economy in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Informal and Unregulated Sector: <\/strong>A large share of paid care work (domestic workers, caregivers, childcare workers) operates in the informal sector.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These care workers lack job security, minimum wages, and social protection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inadequate Public Infrastructure: <\/strong>There is a shortage of childcare centres, elderly care facilities, and disability support services.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Skill and Training Gaps: <\/strong>Many caregivers lack formal training and professional certification and there are limited skill development initiatives for the care workforce.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Demographic Pressures: <\/strong>Ageing population and rising healthcare needs increase demand for care services and existing systems are not prepared to meet future care demands.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government Initiatives<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS): <\/strong>Launched in 1975 to provide early childhood care, nutrition, health services, and preschool education through Anganwadi centres.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Targets children (0\u20136 years), pregnant women, and lactating mothers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provides supplementary nutrition, immunization, health check-ups, and preschool education.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission): <\/strong>Focuses on reducing stunting, undernutrition, and anaemia among women and children.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Promotes behavioural change, use of technology (POSHAN Tracker), and convergence of health and nutrition services.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mission Shakti: <\/strong>Umbrella programme for women empowerment and safety.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It includes schemes supporting childcare services and economic empowerment of women.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Palna Scheme (National Cr\u00e8che Scheme): <\/strong>It provides day-care facilities for children aged 6 months to 6 years.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It offers nutrition, health care, and early learning support, helping mothers participate in the workforce.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Operates under Mission Shakti with Centre\u2013State funding support.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mission Vatsalya: <\/strong>Focuses on child protection services including adoption, foster care, and rehabilitation of vulnerable children.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Strengthens institutional and non-institutional childcare systems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Health Mission: <\/strong>Strengthens maternal and child healthcare services, including immunization and institutional deliveries.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Improves health outcomes for women and children.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The need for a Care Economy Strategy in India is evident as India&#8217;s demographic landscape is expected to change between 2020 to 2050, necessitating more elderly care alongside continuing levels of childcare.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>By 2050, the proportion of elderly persons is expected to increase to 20.8% of the population, i.e. about 347 million persons.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enhancing investments in the care economy has the potential to not only bridge gender gaps in women\u2019s labour force participation, but also unlock a new economic segment for emerging economies, creating increased economic output and jobs in the care work services sector.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/the-need-to-recognise-volunteer-care-work\/article70719886.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The Union Budget 2026-27 proposes to build a \u2018strong care ecosystem\u2019 by training 1.5 lakh multiskilled caregivers in geriatric, core care and allied skills through programmes aligned with the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).\u00a0 <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> What is Care Work?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> It mainly consists of two overlapping activities: direct, personal, and relational care activities, such as feeding a baby; and indirect care activities, such as cooking and cleaning.\u00a0 <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Unpaid care and domestic work, such as nursing an ill partner or cooking for a family member, is care work provided without monetary compensation.\u00a0 <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Paid care work such as domestic services provided by domestic workers is performed by care workers in exchange for some form of remuneration.\u00a0 <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/09-03-2026\/volunteer-care-work \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68400"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68404,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68400\/revisions\/68404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}