UPSSSC Mukhya Sevika key terms

A village-level child care centre run by a trained worker and helper under the ICDS scheme, offering supplementary nutrition, pre-school learning, health check-ups and referral for children under six, pregnant women and lactating mothers.

Integrated Child Development Services, a centrally sponsored scheme launched in 1975 that delivers a package of six services to children below six years, pregnant and lactating mothers and adolescent girls through anganwadi centres.

The supervisory post at the block level in the ICDS hierarchy, responsible for guiding, inspecting and reporting on anganwadi centres, checking registers and records, and coordinating nutrition and health activities in her block.

The ICDS component that provides cooked hot meals or take-home rations to children, pregnant women and lactating mothers to bridge calorie and protein gaps, with food supplied through anganwadi centres or local self-help groups.

Dry or ready-to-eat food packets given to beneficiaries who cannot attend the anganwadi daily, typically children under three and pregnant or lactating women, to be consumed at home over a fixed number of days.

The National Nutrition Mission launched in 2018 that sets targets for reducing stunting, undernutrition, anaemia and low birth weight, using technology, convergence and community mobilisation through anganwadi platforms.

The regular weighing and measuring of a child and plotting of the result on a growth chart so that faltering weight or height is detected early and the child is referred for counselling or treatment.

A printed graph on which a child's weight and height are plotted against age, showing normal bands and danger lines so that a mother and worker can see at a glance whether growth is adequate.

Low height for age resulting from chronic undernutrition and repeated infection in early childhood; it is measured by comparing a child's height with the WHO reference median for that age.

Low weight for height indicating recent and severe weight loss or acute malnutrition; a wasted child looks thin and is at high risk of illness and death if not treated promptly.

A deficiency state caused by inadequate intake or absorption of protein and calories, producing conditions ranging from underweight to marasmus and kwashiorkor, and requiring dietary and medical management.

A condition in which haemoglobin or red cell count falls below the normal level for age and sex, causing tiredness and poor concentration; iron deficiency is the commonest cause among women and children in India.

A public health measure in which iron and folic acid tablets are given routinely to pregnant women, adolescents and young children to prevent and treat anaemia, usually under direct observation for pregnant women.

Feeding an infant only breast milk, with no water, other liquids or solids, for the first six months of life, followed by continued breastfeeding with complementary foods up to two years.

The thick yellowish first milk produced in the days after delivery, rich in antibodies and protective factors; it should not be discarded but given to the newborn as the first feed.

The process of adding semisolid and solid foods to a child's diet from six months of age while breastfeeding continues, ensuring adequate energy, protein, iron and hygiene in the home-made food.

The gradual introduction of foods other than breast milk and eventually the withdrawal of breastfeeds; it should begin at six months and be slow, hygienic and suited to the infant's digestive capacity.

The process of making a person immune to a disease, usually by administering a vaccine; India's Universal Immunisation Programme covers pregnant women and children with a schedule of free vaccines.

The system of refrigerated storage and transport that keeps vaccines within their required temperature range from the manufacturer to the vaccination site, so that potency is not lost.

A simple mixture of salt and sugar dissolved in clean water, given in small frequent sips to a child with diarrhoea to replace lost water and electrolytes and prevent dehydration.

The home and facility care of a child with loose motions, centred on extra fluids, oral rehydration solution, zinc supplementation and continued feeding, with referral for danger signs such as blood in stool.

Practices such as hand washing with soap, daily bathing, oral care, clean nails and safe disposal of waste that a person follows to prevent infection and maintain health.

The provision and safe use of facilities for disposal of human excreta, wastewater and solid waste, including toilets, drainage and hand-washing points, to break the faecal-oral route of disease.

A national cleanliness programme launched in 2014 aiming at elimination of open defecation through household toilets, plus solid and liquid waste management and behaviour change on hygiene.

A national initiative launched in 2015 to address the declining child sex ratio and promote the survival, protection, education and empowerment of the girl child through convergent action across districts.

The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, which prohibits sex selection and regulates diagnostic clinics that perform prenatal tests, requiring registration and records to prevent misuse.

An ICDS-linked scheme for adolescent girls that provides nutrition, health education, life skills and vocational exposure through anganwadi centres, aiming to improve their self-development and status.

The branch of health care addressing the physical, nutritional, mental and reproductive health needs of persons aged ten to nineteen, including anaemia control, menstrual hygiene and life-skills education.

A method of social work in which people of a locality are helped to identify common needs, form groups or committees, plan action and mobilise local resources to meet those needs.

A method of social work that helps an individual or family cope with a personal or social problem through a professional relationship, assessment of the situation and planned intervention with available resources.

A small voluntary group of people, usually women, who save regularly, lend to one another and later link with banks for credit, functioning as a tool for economic and social empowerment.

The process by which women gain the knowledge, confidence, resources and decision-making power to control their own lives and participate fully in family, economic and public affairs.

The act of directing a beneficiary to a higher or more specialised service, such as a health centre or hospital, when the local worker's means are insufficient, with follow-up to confirm the person was seen.

The guidance and oversight a senior worker gives to subordinates, involving observation of their work, feedback, problem solving and support, so that services are delivered correctly and staff develop skills.

The progressive growth of thinking, memory, attention, language and problem-solving abilities from infancy onward, shaped by both maturation and the child's interaction with the environment.

A widely taught account of cognitive development in four stages, sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational and formal operational, each marked by characteristic ways of understanding the world.

A pre-school teaching approach in which learning happens through games, songs, stories and free play rather than formal instruction, matching the young child's natural mode of exploration.

A test item type that measures the ability to perform a particular kind of task, such as numerical or verbal reasoning, rather than knowledge acquired through formal study.

A comparison of two quantities of the same kind by division, written as a:b; both quantities must be expressed in the same unit before the ratio is formed.

A fraction or ratio expressed with a denominator of one hundred, used to compare quantities and to express profit, loss, increase or decrease on a common scale.

A universal character encoding standard that assigns a unique number to every character in most of the world's writing systems, allowing text in different languages to be stored and exchanged consistently.

An application that stores data in a grid of rows and columns of cells, allowing calculations through formulas and analysis through sorting, filtering and charts, commonly used for registers and reports.