UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi will launch a new child health screening and early intervention service at Palghar in Maharashtra’s Thane district on Wednesday.

The initiative, titled Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram, under the aegis of the National Rural Health Mission (NHRM), aims to provide a comprehensive healthcare package for all children up to 18 years of age. The programme will soon be extended to cover all districts of the country in a phased manner. This ambitious scheme, when implemented, is expected to benefit over 27 crore children.