Lucknow, Sept. 15 -- Uttar Pradesh took a significant step towards formalising care work as a source of employment and women's empowerment on Monday with a state-level consultation workshop focused on building a sustainable 'care economy'. The one-day event, titled "Building a sustainable care economy: Recognising care work, empowering women and creating inclusive livelihood opportunities," was held at Bhagidari Bhawan in Gomti Nagar. The event was chaired by Asim Arun, minister of state (independent charge) for Social Welfare. The Social Welfare Department served as the nodal agency for the workshop, which brought together representatives from 12 key government departments, including Health and Family Welfare, Women and Child Development, Labour, Skill Development and Disability Empowerment. The initiative seeks to organise care services for children, the elderly, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, transforming informal caregiving into structured livelihood opportunities. Officials said the deliberations would act as a catalyst for preparing a comprehensive State Care Economy Roadmap. Speaking at the event, Asim Arun stated that the care economy could become a transformative measure for employment generation and the protection of the elderly and underprivileged. He emphasised that by investing in skilled caregivers and leveraging digital technologies, the state could create a resilient and inclusive care ecosystem. Discussions during the workshop centred on four main pillars: recognising and assigning economic value to informal and domestic care work; opening new avenues for employment and entrepreneurship for women; establishing standard training, certification and sustainable employment for the care workforce; and exploring public-private partnership models, insurance schemes and corporate social responsibility funds to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of services. htc...