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The present work is an empirical off-shoot of a theoritical quest towards understanding a Pro-Poor State´. In tune with the said proposition, the dissertation explores the implementation of a major health intervention in Tamil Nadu namely, the ICDS. The study has five chapters. The introductory chapter begins with a briefing on importance of health status of women and children, the basic indicators that connote their anthropometric well- being alongside a detailed musing on the role played by the Government in addressing the issue of nutrition and health care. Cueing from state policy rationale, the following two chapters pin down upon the operation of ICDS in the Tamil Nadu with specific reference to its functioning in Chennai city. Concomitant to projections from the data which centralize the efforts of the State, the empirical and concluding chapters underpin the critical issues that underlie the touted success of state intervention; evidently purporting the need for re-looking the rationale of welfare states championing the cause of downtrodden

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Ms. K.Jayashree holds an M.A., M.Phil in Economics and currently doing her Ph. D. in the domain of Policy Interventions. She is a rank holder from the University of Madras in her master´s programme and also bagged an Endowment award for proficiency in M.Phil studies. She has also served as a lecturer in Meenakshi College for Women, Chennai.

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