Creches for the Children of Working Mothers (Chandigarh)

What is the Creches for the Children of Working Mothers scheme in Chandigarh?

Creches for the Children of Working Mothers is a day-care service listed by the Department of Social Welfare, Women and Child Development, Chandigarh Administration among its schemes for the social security and welfare of women and children. The department's own description places it alongside the Home for Delinquent and Neglected Children at Sector 25, Children in Need of Care and Protection, Financial Assistance to Widows and Destitute Women, Nari Niketan and the Incentive to New Born Girl Children.

The delivery route for creches in Chandigarh has changed. The old standalone National Creche Scheme has been folded into Palna, a component of the Samarthya sub-scheme of Mission Shakti, and creches are now run as Anganwadi-cum-Creche (AWCC) centres attached to existing Anganwadi Centres. The Chandigarh Administration runs 450 Anganwadi Centres through its three ICDS Projects, which is the network the creches sit inside. In 2025 the Administration inaugurated 16 upgraded Model Anganwadi Centres in Chandigarh and held an opening ceremony for a Model Anganwadi-cum-Creche, and the department has since advertised the recruitment of Creche Workers and Creche Helpers for Anganwadi-cum-Creche Centres.

According to the approved Standard Operating Procedure for Anganwadi-cum-Creches issued under Mission Shakti, the objectives are to provide day-care facilities for the cognitive development of children, to enable more mothers to take up gainful employment, and to monitor compliance with Section 11A of the Maternity Benefit Act, which requires establishments to set up creche facilities. Implementation is carried out by the State and Union Territory Governments, so in Chandigarh the operating agency is the Department of Social Welfare, Women and Child Development.

Who is eligible for a creche place in Chandigarh?

Your child can be enrolled if:

• The child is between 6 months and 6 years of age. The SOP states plainly that the scheme focuses on children of 6 months to 6 years.
• The family lives in the Union Territory of Chandigarh and can show a residence proof such as a voter card, ration card or electricity bill.
• A seat is available at the Anganwadi-cum-Creche centre nearest to you.

Employment is not a filter. Although the Chandigarh Administration still uses the older title "Creches for the Children of Working Mothers", the Anganwadi-cum-Creche SOP says the creche facility is to be provided to all mothers, irrespective of their employment status. A mother who is self-employed, doing piece-rate work at home, studying, or looking for work is therefore not shut out.

You cannot apply if:

• The child is under 6 months old, or has already completed 6 years. Children who have aged out move on to school; the Anganwadi Centre itself continues to serve the 3-to-6 pre-school group.
• You live outside Chandigarh. Creche seats in the UT are for Chandigarh residents; families in Mohali, Panchkula or elsewhere are not eligible at a Chandigarh AWCC and should use the Anganwadi network of their own state.
• You are seeking a cash benefit. Creches are a service, not a transfer. No monthly amount is paid to the parent under this scheme.

What services does a Chandigarh Anganwadi-cum-Creche provide?

The approved SOP sets out what the creche worker and creche helper must deliver. Parents should expect all of the following, and can raise it with the ICDS supervisor if any of it is missing.

Care and safety

• Proper arrangements for the sleep and rest of children.
• Personal hygiene, including changing wet nappies regularly and keeping clean towels available for each child.
• Toilet training and inculcation of proper toilet habits.
• Laid-down safety procedures for handing a child over at drop-off and pick-up, and for the quality of toys and materials.

Health and nutrition

• Supplementary meals and snacks as per schedule for all creche children, with an extra diet for identified malnourished children.
• Monthly growth monitoring with the supervisor, with children aged 6 months to 3 years weighed on a monthly basis.
• Regular health check-ups and referrals in liaison with the ASHA, the Anganwadi worker and the Primary Health Centre.
• Maintenance of a first aid kit, with expired medicines removed, and administration of medicines prescribed by the visiting doctor.

Early stimulation and parent engagement

• Planned age-appropriate developmental activities, with the worker keeping track of each child's developmental milestones and flagging any child with special needs.
• Low-cost, environment-friendly play material prepared locally.
• Mother's meetings and home visits under the responsive parenting programme.

Records the centre must keep

The SOP requires the centre to maintain an admission and enrolment register recording the profile of children and their parents including the profession and income of both parents, an attendance register, health check-up and immunisation records, a supplementary nutrition register, a mother's meeting register, a visitors register and an inspection register. All of these must be available for inspection at any time during working hours of the creche centre, and entries for severely underweight children must be specifically recorded and linked to the Poshan Tracker.

What are the creche timings in Chandigarh?

Creche timings are not fixed nationally. The SOP leaves timings to be decided by the State or UT government as per local need, with the single binding condition that the timing must facilitate working mothers. Because Chandigarh has not published a uniform timing notification on the department website, the honest answer is that you must confirm the hours at the specific centre. Ask the Anganwadi worker, and cross-check with the Child Development Project Officer of your ICDS Project on 0172-2700069.

How to apply for a creche seat in Chandigarh

1. Find your nearest Anganwadi Centre. Chandigarh runs 450 Anganwadi Centres through ICDS Project I, Project II and Project III. The Anganwadi worker in your sector or colony will tell you whether her centre has an attached Anganwadi-cum-Creche.
2. Carry the child's papers. Take the birth certificate, the mother's or guardian's Aadhaar, a Chandigarh residence proof and the child's immunisation card.
3. Fill the enrolment form at the centre. The SOP requires the enrolment form to be duly filled in by the parents and kept with the creche worker and helper once the child is registered. Ask for the entry to be made in the admission register in front of you.
4. Confirm the timings, the meal schedule and the pick-up rule. Agree who is authorised to collect the child, since the worker must follow a laid-down handover procedure.
5. If the nearest centre has no seat, contact the Child Development Project Officer of that ICDS Project on 0172-2700069 and ask to be placed at the next nearest Anganwadi-cum-Creche.

There is no online application portal for creche admission in Chandigarh. The department's online services page lists hostel, senior citizen home, vocational training and loan applications, and creche admission is not among them, so treat any website that asks you to pay for a "creche registration" as untrustworthy.

Why a creche application gets refused, and what to do

• Child outside the 6 months to 6 years band. This is the most common reason. Nothing can be done about it; a child under 6 months is not covered and a child over 6 moves to school.
• No Chandigarh residence proof. Get a voter card, ration card or utility bill in the household's name showing a Chandigarh address. A residence or domicile certificate can be applied for through the Chandigarh e-District portal at chdservices.gov.in.
• Centre already full. Seats are limited by the sanctioned strength of the centre. Ask the CDPO in writing to record your request and to allot a seat at a nearby centre.
• Missing birth certificate. A certificate from the Registrar of Births and Deaths is the standard proof the department relies on across its schemes.

Key facts and dates

• Chandigarh runs 450 Anganwadi Centres through three ICDS Projects.
• 16 upgraded Model Anganwadi Centres were inaugurated in Chandigarh in 2025, along with a Model Anganwadi-cum-Creche.
• Creche care covers children aged 6 months to 6 years.
• The department has issued a public notice for the recruitment of Creche Workers and Creche Helpers in Anganwadi-cum-Creche Centres, which is the clearest sign that the network is being expanded rather than wound down.
• Admission is open all year and is not tied to an academic session.

Help and grievance redressal for Chandigarh creches

• ICDS Cell, Chandigarh: 0172-2700069. The Programme Officer (ICDS) and the Child Development Project Officers of Projects I, II and III all sit on this number.
• Director Social Welfare: 0172-2700372.
• Department office: Department of Social Welfare, Women and Child Development, Additional Town Hall Building, 3rd Floor, Sector 17-C, Chandigarh 160017. Email dirswd-chd[at]nic[dot]in.
• Women and Child Helpline: 181, mobile 9915023456, Sector 19-B, Chandigarh.
• Written grievances can also be filed through the Lodge Your Grievances link on the Chandigarh Administration portal, and information can be sought under RTI from the department.