But in India, most children under the age of 5 are handicapped by malnutrition and diseases related to lack of proper hygiene and nutrition. They never develop to their full potential.

Take a look at some of the startling figures for Indian children in The State of the World's Children-2001, released by UNICEF last week: 58 per cent of the children under 3 are malnourished, 33 per cent are born with low birth weight and the infant mortality rate is 70 deaths per 1,000 live births.

The bad news does not end here. India ranks 49th in the world for under-5 mortality with 98 children per 1,000 dying in 1999. The UNICEF report says that during the post-natal period (one to 11 months), female child mortality exceeds male child mortality by 10 per cent.

"When children don't get the right start, they never catch up or reach their full potential. And this is brain drain of the worst kind," says Maria Callawis, UNICEF-India chief. Investing in the growth, development and care for children, argues the UNICEF report, is essential for the cause of human development.

The report states compelling economic arguments in favour of early childhood care. It says that increased productivity over a lifetime and a better standard of living when a child becomes an adult, saves nations billions of dollars in remedial education, health care and rehabilitation services.

Healthy children also mean higher earnings for parents and care-givers who will be free of the burden of ailing children in the labour force.The social arguments in favour of early childhood care look at reducing social and economic disparities and gender inequalities that divide society.And the political reasons: A country's position in the global economy depends on the competence of its people and those competencies are set early in life-before the child is 3 years old, argues the report. "We would like nations to look at children not as a by-product but as a means and ends in itself," says Ms Callawis. In India, children are treasured particularly if they are boys. And this has created a social imbalance with data showing that girls are less likely to be born than boys. "Most disturbingly, the absence of women and girls is more marked in urban than rural areas. Girls are less likely to receive treatment if they fall ill. If they receive treatment, it takes longer for parents to decide to take the girl for medical care," says the report.

But on the flip side, girls have shown that they profit much more than boys from interventions to improve survival, growth and development. The responsible choice for governments is to have early development care programmes. The reports refers to India's Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) as being one of the widest networks worldwide which reaches out to 4.8 million expectant and nursing mothers and 22.9 million children under 6 years. The ICDS is also one of the cheapest intervention programmes costing the government just 27 cents per child each day, with parents' costs being minimal and the national government financing most ICDS activities except for food, which is administered by state governments.

"Although new monies are needed to guarantee every child the best possible start in life, adequate care for babies and toddlers does not necessarily call for massive expenditure or creation of new programmes," says the report.

It recommends a multi-sectoral approach, in which health, education, nutrition and other development components come together, can add to the cost-effectiveness of the programme. But more important than saving money, this convergence of services should focus on the whole child rather than a compartmentalised child and, in doing so, reinforce and complement how a child develops.

UNICEF's thrust for the 21st century will be on early child development programmes. "No reasonable plan for human development can wait idly for 18 years of childhood to pass before taking measures to protect the rights of a child. Early childhood should merit the highest-priority attention, when responsible government are making decisions about laws, policies programmes and money. Yet, tragically both for children and for nations, these are the years that receive the least," says the report.

Early childhood care for survival, growth and development in India: Facts and figures