Government today said that more than 23 thousand Crore rupees has been released to states and union territories under Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme for adolescent girls and Maternity Benefit Programme in last three years. <br/><br/>This was informed by Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Krishna Raj in a written reply in Rajya Sabha. She said, her Ministry is implementing ICDS Scheme, Scheme for Adolescent Girls and Maternity Benefit Programme as direct targeted interventions to address the problem of malnutrition in the country. <br/><br/>Under the ICDS scheme, there is a provision of supplementary nutritious food to the beneficiaries. The Minister said, malnutrition is not a direct cause of death but contributes to mortality and morbidity by reducing resistance to infections.