Health & SocialImportant2026-01-08

Launch of PANKHUDI Digital Portal

In News

What Happened

On January 8, 2026, the Ministry of Women and Child Development launched the PANKHUDI (Platform for Partnerships, Knowledge, and Holistic Development Initiatives) digital portal. Inaugurated by Union Minister Annpurna Devi, it serves as a single-window technology platform bringing together corporate entities, NGOs, NRIs, and the government. The portal facilitates transparent, non-monetary Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and voluntary partnerships for women and child welfare initiatives.

Why It Matters

PANKHUDI bridges the gap between public welfare programs and private philanthropic resources by institutionalizing 'Jan Bhagidari' (people's participation). By channelling CSR efforts systematically into critical areas like nutrition, child protection, and women's safety, it maximizes the social impact of private contributions and strengthens India's Digital Public Infrastructure.

Background

History & Context

Following the Companies Act 2013, which mandated a 2% CSR expenditure for qualifying businesses, private contributions to the social sector grew significantly. However, these efforts were largely fragmented, lacking a centralized mechanism to align private spending with national welfare goals. To resolve this and integrate technology-driven governance, the Ministry of Women and Child Development conceptualized PANKHUDI. The portal was designed to eliminate overlaps and direct structured collaborations toward national flagship programmes like Mission Poshan 2.0, Mission Vatsalya, and Mission Shakti.

What Changed

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BEFORE: CSR initiatives and voluntary welfare projects in the women and child development space were scattered and functioned in silos. NOW: PANKHUDI provides a unified, single-window digital coordination platform that directly aligns corporate and private partnerships with specific government missions.
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BEFORE: Tracking the impact and utilization of voluntary contributions was difficult, occasionally leading to a lack of accountability. NOW: The platform strictly mandates non-cash contributions and uses clearly defined digital workflows for proposal tracking, ensuring complete financial traceability and transparency.
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BEFORE: Beneficiary institutions like Anganwadi centres and Child Care Institutions relied almost entirely on state and central budgetary allocations. NOW: The portal creates a direct pipeline for supplementary corporate and NRI resources to upgrade infrastructure at over 14 lakh Anganwadis, 5,000 Child Care Institutions, and numerous One Stop Centres.

Prelims Angle

NCERT Connection

This event directly connects to Class 11 Political Science Chapter 10: 'Development'. The chapter discusses alternative models of development that move beyond exclusive state control to include democratic participation. PANKHUDI exemplifies this by operationalizing 'Jan Bhagidari', showing how inclusive development can be achieved through collaborative governance and public-private partnerships.

Practice Questions

Q1

Correct Statement(s)

With reference to the PANKHUDI Portal launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, consider the following statements: 1. The platform accepts both cash and non-cash contributions to maximize resource mobilization for Child Care Institutions. 2. It is designed to channel Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) contributions to strengthen flagship schemes like Mission Poshan 2.0 and Mission Vatsalya. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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