Agartala, May 30, 2026: In a significant step towards addressing the persistent challenges of teenage marriage and underage motherhood, a high-level Task Force meeting was held at the State Secretariat in Agartala on May 29. The meeting brought together senior officials from various government departments and agencies to strengthen coordinated efforts aimed at protecting adolescent health and ensuring the effective implementation of the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) programme.

The meeting was chaired by Dr. Nupur Debbarma, Mission Director of the National Health Mission (NHM). Representatives from the Health Department, National Health Mission, Higher Education Department, Secondary Education Department, Youth Affairs and Sports Department, Information and Cultural Affairs Department, Panchayati Raj Institutions, Tripura Rural Livelihoods Mission, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and Tripura Urban Livelihoods Mission attended the deliberations.

Addressing the gathering, Dr. Debbarma emphasized that social and health-related concerns such as child marriage and early motherhood cannot be eliminated through the efforts of a single department alone. She stressed the need for strong inter-departmental coordination and collective action to tackle these issues effectively.

During the meeting, participants observed that incidents of early marriage remain prevalent even among girls who have completed ten or more years of schooling. In this context, preventing school dropouts among adolescent girls was identified as a critical priority. The meeting also highlighted the need to strengthen collaboration among the Health, Education, and Social Welfare departments and other line departments to ensure better outreach and implementation of welfare programmes.

Officials underscored the importance of expanding awareness campaigns on reproductive health, nutrition, and the harmful consequences of child marriage among adolescents at the grassroots level. The meeting further stressed that the benefits of all programmes under the RCH umbrella must reach every corner of the state.

A proposal to establish a special monitoring cell for field-level supervision and assessment of these initiatives was also discussed. The information was shared through a press release issued by the National Health Mission.