AP govt to pilot 15 urban daycare centres in 3 cities for working women

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh government will roll out a pilot project to set up urban creches, which are daycare centres for young children of working mothers, in Greater Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati municipal corporations.The initiative, led by the municipal administration and urban development department, aims to provide safe and accessible childcare services for children aged six months to six years from self-help group families and urban poor households.Officials said around 15 creches will be established under the pilot, each accommodating about 25 children and serving nearly 375 beneficiaries. The project will be implemented over 12 months with an estimated outlay of ₹1.5 crore.Municipal commissioners have been directed to identify suitable locations in existing public infrastructure such as community halls and municipal buildings, with priority given to slums, labour clusters, and areas with a high concentration of self-help group households.The programme will be implemented by MEPMA in collaboration with Mobile Creches as the technical partner, in coordination with the women development and child welfare department.Each centre will provide childcare, nutrition support and early learning services, along with linkages to existing government systems such as ICDS and the health department. Anganwadi workers, ANMs and urban health centres will support services including immunisation tracking, growth monitoring, and referrals.Officials said the initiative is expected to ease childcare challenges for working women, improve workforce participation and reduce the burden on families, while also preventing older siblings, especially girls, from dropping out of school to care for younger children.The government is also exploring involving self-help group women in managing the centres, creating additional livelihood opportunities.