Report Flags Fragmented Care System as Barrier to Women's Work in India

A recent analysis of India's care infrastructure finds that responsibility for childcare, eldercare and disability support remains scattered across multiple government ministries, including women and child development and housing and urban affairs, without a unified framework connecting them.

Citing the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2025, the piece notes that 44.4% of women outside the labour force named childcare and homemaking as their primary reason for not working. India's Time Use Survey 2024 similarly found that 41% of women aged 15 to 59 performed unpaid care work, averaging 140 minutes a day.

Four structural gaps were identified: fragmentation among ministries, limited coverage of services, an underpaid and informally engaged care workforce, and financing that treats care as welfare rather than investment. According to UNDP estimates, between 9 and 10 million women in low-income urban households need childcare support, while 24% of older persons face limitations in daily activities, with national data on available services remaining scarce.

India currently runs several care-related programmes, including the Anganwadi network supported by Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0, the Palna crèche initiative under Mission Shakti, and Mission Vatsalya, alongside social security measures for people with disabilities and senior citizens. The report argues these efforts need a common coordinating structure rather than operating in isolation.

NITI Aayog has proposed setting up a National Caregiving Council through its Reimagining Care report, while the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister has recommended statutory paid paternity leave in the private sector. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is consulting with states and union territories, and a national workshop held in May 2026 discussed launching a National Care Economy Mission with shared governance, financing and data systems.

The report draws comparisons with other countries, noting Colombia's 2025 National Care Policy that brings together 34 government entities, Brazil's 2024 National Care Policy and 2025 National Care Plan involving inter-ministerial committees, and Nepal's use of care mapping to guide funding for pilot programmes. UNDP and UN Women, through the TransformCare initiative active in more than 50 countries, are supporting India's efforts alongside the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Women Entrepreneurship Platform.