With the increasing recognition of the role of women in development, the provision of appropriate facilities for the care of children of working women gains importance. In the developing world as a whole, there is a growing awareness of rapid change in the economic and social spheres as well as in the traditional arrangements for the care of children. However, there are sharp differences between the responses of the Socialist countries and those of the others. The former proceed straight from the large induction of women into the labour force to the need for institutionalized child care arrangements; in the latter, the corollary to women’s work is neither so clearly perceived nor acted upon. In addition to irrational fears and the constraints of traditional attitudes and perceptions, the genuine concern that institutional arrangements may be damaging to the development of the young child is also used as a reason for dragging feet on this issue. Any clear recommendations for policy must therefore be based on a description of the extent and nature of arrangements currently prevailing, followed by analysis of their implications and identification of gaps in information. It is with this in mind that the present study, an evaluative review of the current position with regard to child care facilities for low-income working women in India, has been prepared.