Lok Sabha Question No. 933 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-22
Subject: Anganwadi Workers
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Abdul Majeed Ariff, Sambhajirao Mane Dhairyasheel, Sujay Radhakrishna Vikhepatil, Shrikant Eknath Shinde

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 933

TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.11.2019

## ANGANWADI WORKERS

## 933. ADV. A.M. ARIFF:

SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE: DR. SUJAY RADHAKRISHNA VIKHE PATIL: DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the  total  number  of  Anganwadi  workers/helpers  working  in  the  rural  and  urban areas of the country, State-wise along with their duties and pay/salary;
- (b) whether the Government has provided the basic facilities for these Anganwadi workers and children under their care and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether Government has received grievances/complaints from them and if  so, the details thereof along with the remedial steps taken by Government;
- (d) whether  Government  is  aware  of  the  recommendations  of  the  45 th Session  of Indian Labour Conference regarding basic minimum wages and regular employment of health workers; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof, if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

- (a) State-wise  number  of  Anganwadi  Workers/Anganwadi  Helpers  working  in  the country  is  at Annexure-I .  The  Anganwadi  Services  (under  Umbrella  ICDS) Scheme envisages the Anganwadi Workers & Helpers as honorary workers from local community who come forward to render their services, on part time basis, in the area of child care and development. Duties and Responsibilities of AWWs/AWHs are at Annexure-II .

Being  honorary  workers,  they  are  paid  monthly  honorarium  as  decided  by Government from time to time. The Government of India has recently enhanced the honorarium of Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) from Rs. 3,000/- to Rs. 4,500/per  month;  AWWs  at  mini-AWCs  from  Rs.  2,250/-  to  Rs.  3,500/-  per  month; Anganwadi  Helpers  (AWHs)  from  Rs  1,500/-  to  Rs.  2,250/-  per  month;  and introduced performance linked incentive of Rs. 250/- per month to AWHs,w.e.f. 1 st October, 2018. Further, AWWs are allowed performance linked incentive of ₹ 500/- per month for using ICDS-CAS under POSHAN Abhiyaan.In addition to the honorarium  paid  by  the  Government  of  India,  the  respective  State/UTs  give monetary incentives to these workers out of their own resources as per details given at Annexure-III.

- (b) Anganwadi Workers  (AWWs)  and  Anganwadi  Helpers  (AWHs)  are  entitled  for paid absence of 180 days of maternity leave, Awards at the National and State level, two sets of uniform per year, insurance coverage under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan  JyotiBimaYojana  (for  18-50  years  age  functionaries),  Pradhan  Mantri Suraksha BimaYojana (for 18-59 years age functionaries) and AnganwadiKaryakartiBimaYojana  (for  53-59  years  age  functionaries  for  the Insurance Cycle 2019-20).

Under the Anganwadi Services scheme, children are provided multiple services such as Supplementary Nutrition (SNP), Pre-school Non-formal Education, Nutrition  &  Health  Education,  Immunization,  Health  Check-up,  and  Referral Services. Other facilities available to Children under Anganwadi Services include provision of toilet and safe drinking water facilities, Learning Modules, etc.

- (c) Several grievances/complaints are being received in this Ministry from time to time.Since  the  Anganwadi  Services  is  a  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  and  the administration, management  & monitoring including recruitment of field functionaries are being done by the concerned State Government/UT Administration.    Hence,  the  grievances/complaints  are  forwarded  to  them  for taking remedial measures.
- (d)  & (e) The recommendations of Conference Committee on 'Service conditions, wages  and  social  security  for  various  categories  of  workers  employed  in  Central Government and State Government schemes (Anganwadi, Mid-Day Meal, SarvaShikshaAbhiyan  and  other  schemes)  under  various  Ministries  of  Central Government'  was  included  in  45 th Indian  Labour  Conference.  The  details  of  the recommendations for Anganwadi Workers/Helpers made are as under:
- i. They should be first recognised as 'workers' and not volunteers or honorary workers;
- ii. They should be paid minimum wages;
- iii. They should get all  social  security  benefits  like  pension,  gratuity,  maternity benefits etc.;
- iv. To  begin  with,  the  social  security  schemes  for  unorganised  workers  like AamAadmiBimaYojana (AABY) and RashtriyaSwasthyaBimaYojana (RSBY) should be extended to these workers;
- v. Anganwadi Centres should be in pucca building in good conditions with all basic  amenities.  Similarly,  for  ASHA  workers  also,  suitable  working  space with basic amenities should be provided;
- vi. They should have right to organize and collective bargaining;
- vii.  Respective Departments should formulate 'Employment Standing Order' for these workers to regulate their employment and service conditions (wherever not existing);
- viii.  For Anganwadi Workers and Helpers, who have already retired or retiring in near future, one time gratuity/ lump sum payment should be given;
- ix. Such workers, as are kept on contract basis, should be retained for all such subsequent activities;
- *********

Annexure-I

STATEMENT  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  OF  LOKSABHA  UNSTARREED QUESTION NO. 933  FOR 22.11.2019 REGARDING ANGANWADI WORKERS ASKED BY  ADV.  A.M.  ARIFF,  SHRI  DHAIRYASHEEL,  SAMBHAJIRAO  MANE,  DR.  SUJAY RADHAKRISHNA VIKHE PATIL AND DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE Details  of  Anganwadi  Workers  and  Anganwadi  Helpers  Under  the  Anganwadi  Services Scheme

| Sl. No.   | State/UTs         | No. of Anganwadi Workers   | No. of Anganwadi Workers   | No. of Anganwadi Helpers   | No. of Anganwadi Helpers   |
|-----------|-------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|
| Sl. No.   | State/UTs         | Sanctioned                 | In-position                | Sanctioned                 | In-position                |
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh    | 55607                      | 54101                      | 48768                      | 45650                      |
| 2         | Telangana         | 35700                      | 34051                      | 31711                      | 29401                      |
| 3         | Arunachal Pradesh | 6225                       | 6225                       | 6225                       | 6225                       |
| 4         | Assam             | 62153                      | 61038                      | 56728                      | 55949                      |
| 5         | Bihar             | 115009                     | 98569                      | 107894                     | 88981                      |
| 6         | Chhattisgarh      | 52474                      | 50094                      | 46660                      | 43767                      |
| 7         | Goa               | 1262                       | 1209                       | 1262                       | 1219                       |
| 8         | Gujarat           | 53029                      | 51859                      | 51229                      | 48945                      |
| 9         | Haryana           | 25962                      | 25150                      | 25450                      | 24600                      |
| 10        | Himachal Pradesh  | 18925                      | 18761                      | 18386                      | 18164                      |
| 11        | Jammu & Kashmir   | 31938                      | 29599                      | 31938                      | 29599                      |
| 12        | Jharkhand         | 38432                      | 37678                      | 35881                      | 35023                      |
| 13        | Karnataka         | 65911                      | 64686                      | 62580                      | 60058                      |
| 14        | Kerala            | 33318                      | 33115                      | 33189                      | 32986                      |
| 15        | Madhya Pradesh    | 97135                      | 96015                      | 84465                      | 83244                      |
| 16        | Maharashtra       | 110486                     | 105739                     | 97475                      | 90047                      |
| 17        | Manipur           | 11510                      | 11510                      | 9958                       | 9958                       |
| 18        | Meghalaya         | 5896                       | 5896                       | 4630                       | 4629                       |
| 19        | Mizoram           | 2244                       | 2244                       | 2244                       | 2157                       |
| 20        | Nagaland          | 3980                       | 3980                       | 3980                       | 3980                       |
| 21        | Odisha            | 74154                      | 71424                      | 63738                      | 61623                      |
| 22        | Punjab            | 27314                      | 26695                      | 26074                      | 23789                      |
| 23        | Rajasthan         | 62010                      | 59451                      | 55806                      | 53243                      |
| 24        | Sikkim            | 1308                       | 1308                       | 1308                       | 1308                       |
| 25        | Tamil Nadu        | 54439                      | 49631                      | 49499                      | 44070                      |
| 26        | Tripura           | 10145                      | 9911                       | 10145                      | 9911                       |
| 27        | Uttar Pradesh     | 190145                     | 171910                     | 167855                     | 145454                     |
| 28        | Uttarakhand       | 20067                      | 19498                      | 14947                      | 14306                      |
| 29        | West Bengal       | 119481                     | 107582                     | 119481                     | 100759                     |
| 30        | A & N Islands     | 720                        | 719                        | 689                        | 689                        |
| 31        | Chandigarh        | 450                        | 447                        | 450                        | 449                        |
| 32        | Delhi             | 10897                      | 9397                       | 10897                      | 10732                      |
| 33        | Dadra & N Haveli  | 302                        | 302                        | 247                        | 233                        |
| 34        | Daman & Diu       | 107                        | 102                        | 107                        | 102                        |
| 35        | Lakshadweep       | 107                        | 107                        | 96                         | 96                         |
| 36        | Puducherry        | 855                        | 855                        | 855                        | 855                        |
|           | Total             | 1399697                    | 1320858                    | 1282847                    | 1182201                    |

STATEMENT  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  OF  LOKSABHA  UNSTARREED QUESTION NO. 933  FOR 22.11.2019 REGARDING ANGANWADI WORKERS ASKED BY ADV. A.M. ARIFF, SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL, SAMBHAJIRAO MANE, DR. SUJAY RADHAKRISHNA VIKHE PATIL AND DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE

## Role and responsibilities of AnganwadiWorkers:

- i. To elicit community support and participation in running the programme.
- ii. To weight each child every month, record the weight graphically on the growth card, use referral  card  for  referring  cases  of  mothers/children  to  the  sub-centres/PHC  etc.,  and maintain child cards for children below 6 years and produce these cards before visiting medical and para-medical personnel.
- iii. To carry out a quick survey of all the families, especially mothers and children in those families in their respective area of work once in a year.
- iv. To  organise  non-formal  pre-school  activities  in  the  anganwadi  of  children  in  the  age group 3-6 years of age and to help in designing and making of toys and play equipment of indigenous origin for use in anganwadi.
- v. To organise supplementary nutrition feeding for children (0-6 years) and expectant and nursing mothers by planning the menu based on locally available food and local recipes.
- vi. To  provide  health  and  nutrition  education  and  counselling  on  breastfeeding/infant  & young  feeding  practices  to  mothers/anganwadi  Workers  being  close  to  the  local community, can motivate married women  to adopt family planning/birth control measures.
- vii. To help and coordinate the pregnant and lactating mothers visiting the centre to get the birth of their child registered and share the information with the village level functionary who has notified as Registrar of Births.
- viii. To make home visits for educating parents to enable mothers to plan an effective role in the child's growth and development with special emphasis on new born child.
- ix. To maintain files and records as prescribed.
- x. To assist the PHC staff in the implementation of heath component of the programme viz. Immunisation, health check-up, ante natal and post natal check etc.
- xi. To assist ANM in the administration of IFA and Vitamin A by keeping stock of the two medicines  in  the  Centre  without  maintain  stock  register  as  it  would  add  to  her administrative work which would effect her main functions under the Scheme.
- xii. To share information collected under ICDS Scheme with the ANM. However, ANM will not solely rely upon the information obtained from the records of AWW.
- xiii. To bring to the notice of the Supervisors/CDPO any development  in the village which requires  their  attention  and  intervention,  particularly  in  regard  to  the  work  of  the coordinating arrangements with different departments.
- xiv. To  maintain  liaison  with  other  institutions  (MahilaMandals)  and  involve  lady  school teachers and girls of the primary/middle schools in the village which have relevance to her functions.
- xv. To  guide  Accredited  Social  Health  Activities  (ASHA)  engaged  under  National  Rural Heath Mission in the delivery of health care services and maintenance of records under the ICDS Scheme.
- xvi. To  assist  in  implementation  of  Scheme  of  Adolescent  Girls(SAG)  and  motivate  and educate the adolescent girls and their parents and community in general by organizing social awareness programmes/campaigns etc.
- xvii. AWW would also assist in implementation of Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPAG) as per the guidelines of the Scheme and maintain such record as prescribed under the NPAG.
- xviii. Anganwadi  Worker  can  function  as  depot  holder  for  RCH  Kit/contraceptives  and disposable delivery kits. However, actual distribution of delivery kits or administration of drugs, other than OTC (Over the Counter) drungs would actually be carried out by the ANM or ASHA sa decided by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
- xix. To  identify  the  disability  among  children  during  her  home  visits  and  refer  the  case immediately to the nearest PHC or District Disability Rehabilitation Centre.
- xx. To support in organizing Pulse Polio Immunization (PPI) drives.
- xxi. To inform the ANM in case of emergency cases like diahorrea, cholera etc.

## Role and responsibilities of Anganwadi Helpers:

- i. To cook and serve the food to children and marchers.
- ii. To clean the Anganwadi premises daily and fetching water.
- iii. Cleanliness of small children,
- iv. To bring small children collecting from the village to the Anganwadi.

## ANNEXURE-III

STATEMENT REFERRED IN REPLYTO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARREDQ.No. 933 for  22.11.2019  ASKED  BY  ADV.  A.M.  ARIFF,  SHRI  DHAIRYASHEEL  SAMBHAJI  RAO MANE, DR. SUJAY RADHAKRISHNA VIKHE PATIL and DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

Statement indicating additional honorarium given by the States/UTs to AWWs/AWHs from their own resources (as on 30.10.2019)

| S. No.      | States/UTs         | Additional honorarium given by States/UTs (In Rs.) Anganwadi Workers   | Anganwadi Helper                                  |
|-------------|--------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|
| 1.          | Andaman & Nicobar  | 3000                                                                   | 2500                                              |
| 2.          | Andhra Pradesh     | 1200                                                                   | 700                                               |
| 3.          | Arunachal Pradesh  | Nil                                                                    | Nil                                               |
| 4.          | Assam              | 2000                                                                   | 1000                                              |
| 5.          | Bihar              | 750                                                                    | 375                                               |
| 6.          | Chandigarh         | 2000                                                                   | 1000                                              |
| 7.          | Chhattisgarh       | 2000                                                                   | 1000                                              |
| 8.          | Dadra Nagar Haveli | 1000                                                                   | 600                                               |
| 9.          | Daman & Diu        | 1000                                                                   | 600                                               |
| 10.         | Delhi              | 6678                                                                   | 3339                                              |
| 11.         | Goa                | 3062-11937*                                                            | 3000-6000*                                        |
| 12. Gujarat | 12. Gujarat        | 3300                                                                   | 1700                                              |
| 13.         | Haryana            | 7286-8429*                                                             | 4215                                              |
| 14.         | Himachal Pradesh   | 1750                                                                   | 900                                               |
| 15.         | Jammu & Kashmir    | 600                                                                    | 340                                               |
| 16.         | Jharkhand          | 1400                                                                   | 700                                               |
| 17.         | Karnataka          | 5000                                                                   | 2500                                              |
| 18.         | Kerala             | 2000                                                                   | 2000                                              |
| 19.         | Lakshadweep        | 3000                                                                   | 2000                                              |
| 20.         | Madhya Pradesh     | 7000                                                                   | 3500                                              |
| 21.         | Maharashtra        | 2000                                                                   | 1000                                              |
| 22.         | Manipur            | 100                                                                    | 50                                                |
| 23.         | Meghalaya          | Nil                                                                    | Nil                                               |
| 24.         | Odisha             | 1000                                                                   | 500                                               |
| 25.         | Puducherry         | 600                                                                    | 300                                               |
| 26.         | Punjab             | 2600                                                                   | 1300                                              |
| 27.         | Rajasthan          | 1724-1736*                                                             | 1065                                              |
| 28.         | Sikkim             | 2225                                                                   | 1500                                              |
| 29.         | Uttarakhand        | 3000                                                                   | 1500                                              |
| 30.         | West Bengal        | 1300                                                                   | 1300                                              |
| 31.         | Uttar Pradesh      | 1000                                                                   | 500                                               |
| 32.         | Nagaland           | Nil                                                                    | Nil                                               |
| 33.         | Mizoram            | 294-306*                                                               | 150                                               |
| 34.         | Tamilnadu          | 6750 (that includes pay- 2500, GP-500, & DA-3750)                      | 4275 (that includes pay- 1500, GP-400, & DA-2375) |
| 35.         | Telangana          | 6000                                                                   | 3750                                              |
| 36.         | Tripura            | 2865                                                                   | 1924                                              |