NIPCCD renamed after Savitribai Phule; New regional centre to open in Ranchi

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has renamed the National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) as the Savitribai Phule National Institute of Women and Child Development. According to the ministry, the decision reflects the evolving role of the institution and its greater focus on region-specific, mission-driven support for the development of women and children across India.

Furthermore, the ministry is also opening a new regional centre in Ranchi, Jharkhand, aimed at strengthening outreach and regional capacity-building. The centre will be inaugurated on July 4.

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The centre will address the specialized training and research requirements of the Ministry’s flagship programmes including Mission Shakti, Mission Vatsalya, and Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, focusing majorly on the Eastern region covering Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal.

Previously, training needs of these states were partially catered through Regional Centres located in Guwahati and Lucknow, posing logistical challenges for many functionaries due to long travel distances, a statement from the ministry stated.

The new regional centre will also offer the Advance Diploma in Child Guidance and Counselling and will facilitate better accessibility for frontline functionaries in these states.

In a statement issued here today, the ministry’s spokesperson stated that renaming the institute was the brainchild of Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Annpurna Devi.

Speaking about the same, the union minister said that renaming of NIPCCD as the Savitribai Phule National Institute of Women and Child Development is a tribute to the legacy of one of India’s foremost social reformers and a reaffirmation of our commitment to women and child-centric development.

Highlighting the importance of setting up new regional centres, the union minister said that the inauguration of the new regional centre in Ranchi would mark a significant step towards decentralised, region-specific capacity building in the eastern region. “This centre will not only empower our frontline functionaries with better access to training and support, but also strengthen our flagship missions at the grassroots level,” she said.

“The new regional centre in Ranchi will not only bring training services closer to the field functionaries but also enable the identification of local issues, customized interventions, and better resource utilization for women’s empowerment and child welfare in the eastern region. It will also support research, counselling, and extension activities related to child development, mental health, and adolescent well-being,” the minister added.

Currently, with the headquarters based in New Delhi, the Savitribai Phule National Institute of Women and Child Development has regional centres in Bangalore, Guwahati, Lucknow, Indore and Mohali.