Which among the following services is not provided under Integrated Child Development Services [ICDS] scheme?

The correct answer is C. ICDS, launched in 1975, delivers six core services through Anganwadi centres: supplementary nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, nutrition and health education, immunization, health check-up, and referral services. Distribution of free books and school uniforms is not among them. That belongs to school education schemes such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and state-level programmes.

Now the wrong options:

• A) Supplementary feeding is a core ICDS service, given as take-home ration or hot meals to children below 6, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
• B) Immunization is delivered through Anganwadi centres in coordination with the health department under the Universal Immunization Programme.
• D) Health and nutrition education is a core ICDS service, and pre-school education for children aged 3-6 is also provided under the same scheme.

Core concept: ICDS is a convergence scheme under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, linked to the Anganwadi system and to SDG targets on child nutrition. For Mains, it fits GS-2 questions on welfare schemes and the role of convergence in tackling malnutrition.

Trap: candidates pick B or D because they feel that any health service must be an ICDS service, and they fail to recall the six-service list. Memorise the list, and anything outside it is the answer.