Lok Sabha Question No. 1150 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-22
Subject: Anganwadi Centres
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Ritesh Pandey

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UN STARRED QUESTION NO. 1150 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.07.2022

## ANGANWADI CENTRES

## 1150. SHRI RITESH PANDEY:

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

- (a) the  number  of  Anganwadi  Centres  (AWCs)  and  Workers/Helpers/Supervisors engaged therein, State/UT-wise indicating the honorarium presently paid to them;
- (b) whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  harrowing  working  conditions  and  reduced wages  of  such  workers  in  the  country  and  if  so,  the  reaction  of  the  Government thereto;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  received  any  representation  or  taken  cognizance  of protests by Anganwadi workers/helpers demanding an increase in their honorarium and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether any meeting was held with the States to consider the demand for increase in wages of such workers and if so, the details and the outcome thereof; and
- (e) whether the Government has any proposal for redressal of their problems/demands and increase their honorarium/wages and social security benefits including implementation of the recommendations by the Committee in this regard and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) & (b) State/UT-wise number of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) and workers/helpers/supervisors  engaged  therein,  as  on  31.03.2022,  is  annexed.  Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and Anganwadi Helpers (AWHs) are paid monthly honorarium as decided by the Government from time to time.  Presently, honorarium of AWWs at main-AWCs is ₹ 4,500/-  per  month;  AWWs  at  mini-AWCs  is  ₹3,500/-  per  month;  AWHs  is  ₹2,250/-  per month.  AWWs  are  paid  a  performance  linked  incentive  of  ₹  500/-  per  month,  while  for AWHs the performance linked incentive is Rs 250/- per month. In addition, States/UTs are also paying additional monetary incentives/honorarium to these functionaries from their own resources. Supervisors under Anganwadi Services are government employees, whose pay scales are decided from time to time by the concerned State Government/UT Administration.

In  order  to  improve  the  working  conditions  of  AWWs,  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child Development has issued revised joint guidelines with Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, for construction of 4 lakh AWC buildings across the country under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme  (MGNREGS)  in  convergence with Anganwadi Services, under Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0. Under Swachhta Action

Plan, grants are provided for drinking water facilities and for toilet facilities per AWC. Grants are also sanctioned for purchase of water filter, furniture, equipment, etc. Besides, AWWs have been provided with Smart Phones for efficient service delivery.

There  have  been  sustained  engagements  with  State  Governments  for  review  and improvement including recent interactions to discuss different implementation related issues such as Anganwadi Infrastructure, non-operationalisation of Anganwadi Centres, filling of vacancies  of  Anganwadi  Services  functionaries,  smooth  delivery  of  services  to  the beneficiaries etc. to strengthen the services.

Further streamlined guidelines were issued on 13.01.2021, covering several aspects such as quality assurance, roles and responsibilities of duty holders, procedure for procurement, integrating  AYUSH  concepts  and  Data  management  and  Monitoring  through  'Poshan Tracker'  for  transparency,  efficiency  and  accountability  in  delivery  of  Supplementary Nutrition.

In addition, following benefits are also given to AWWs/AWHs:

- i) Leave : They have been allowed paid absence of 180 days of maternity leave and 20 paid annual leaves.
2. ii) Award :  In  order  to  motivate  the  Anganwadi  Workers  and  give  recognition  to  good voluntary work, a Scheme of Award for AWWs/AWHs, comprising Rs.50,000/- cash award to AWWs and Rs.40,000/- cash award to AWHs was introduced.
3. iii) Uniform :  Government has made a provision for a set of two Uniforms (saree/suit per annum).
4. (c) Government has received demands  from Anganwadi  Workers/Unions etc. for increasing the honorarium. However, the Government of India undertakes revision of the honorarium  of  AWWs  and  AWHs  from  time  to  time.  With  effect  from  01.10.2018,  the Government of India has enhanced the honorarium of AWWs/AWHs. Additional honorarium is paid by the States/UTs from their own financial resources.
5. (d) From time to time, there have been sustained engagements with State Governments/UT Administrations  for  review  and  improvement  including  recent  interactions  to  discuss different

implementation related issues to strengthen Anganwadi services.

- (e) AWWs/AWHs are covered under Social Security Insurance Schemes.

AWWs/AWHs who have been engaged with Covid-19 related tasks have been included in the  Pradhan  Mantri  Garib  Kalyan  Package  for  insurance  cover  of  Rs.50  lakh  subject  to fulfillment of certain conditions prescribed for the coverage.

Also,  State  Governments/UT  Administrations  have  been  requested  to  encourage  eligible AWWs/AWHs to get them enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan (PMSYM)  Pension  Scheme  on  voluntary  basis  in  order  to  get  assured  monthly  pension  on attaining the age of 60 years.

With respect to problems/issues faced by Anganwadi Workers and Anganwadi Helpers, the same are taken up with concerned States/ UTs for appropriate action.

******

## Annexure

Annexure Referred In Reply to Part (a) of Lok Sabha Un-Starred Question No.1150 for  answer  on  22.07.2022  raised  by  Shri  Ritesh  Pandey  regarding  'Anganwadi Centres' indicating State/UT-wise number of Anganwadi Centres and Wokers/Helpers/Supervisors engaged therein, as on 31.03.2022

| S. No   | State/UTs                        | No. of Anganwadi Centres   | No. of Anganwadi Centres   | Supervisor   | Anganwadi Workers   | Anganwadi Helpers   |
|---------|----------------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|--------------|---------------------|---------------------|
| S. No   | State/UTs                        | Sanctioned                 | Operational                | In-position  | In-position         | In-position         |
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh                   | 55607                      | 55607                      | 1302         | 54286               | 46112               |
| 2       | Arunachal Pradesh                | 6225                       | 6225                       | 249          | 6225                | 6225                |
| 3       | Assam                            | 62153                      | 61715                      | 1984         | 60780               | 55287               |
| 4       | Bihar                            | 115009                     | 112094                     | 2077         | 112094              | 103141              |
| 5       | Chhatisgarh                      | 52474                      | 51664                      | 1294         | 49411               | 42408               |
| 6       | Goa                              | 1262                       | 1262                       | 47           | 1224                | 1209                |
| 7       | Gujarat                          | 53029                      | 53029                      | 1772         | 50143               | 46846               |
| 8       | Haryana                          | 25962                      | 25962                      | 707          | 24044               | 22161               |
| 9       | Himachal Pradesh                 | 18925                      | 18925                      | 636          | 18697               | 17916               |
| 10      | Jharkhand                        | 38432                      | 38432                      | 726          | 37895               | 35316               |
| 11      | Karnataka                        | 65911                      | 65911                      | 2005         | 64240               | 59080               |
| 12      | Kerala                           | 33318                      | 33115                      | 1151         | 33115               | 32986               |
| 13      | Madhya Pradesh                   | 97135                      | 97135                      | 3019         | 95860               | 82266               |
| 14      | Maharashtra                      | 110486                     | 110410                     | 2681         | 105964              | 83313               |
| 15      | Manipur                          | 11510                      | 11510                      | 286          | 11497               | 9952                |
| 16      | Meghalaya                        | 5896                       | 5895                       | 185          | 5892                | 4625                |
| 17      | Mizoram                          | 2244                       | 2244                       | 90           | 2244                | 2244                |
| 18      | Nagaland                         | 3980                       | 3980                       | 159          | 3980                | 3980                |
| 19      | Odisha                           | 74154                      | 74096                      | 2518         | 72917               | 62823               |
| 20      | Punjab                           | 27314                      | 27305                      | 753          | 25706               | 22401               |
| 21      | Rajasthan                        | 62010                      | 61655                      | 1392         | 59478               | 53180               |
| 22      | Sikkim                           | 1308                       | 1308                       | 52           | 1308                | 1308                |
| 23      | Tamil Nadu                       | 54439                      | 54439                      | 1506         | 45186               | 40110               |
| 24      | Telangana                        | 35700                      | 35584                      | 830          | 33874               | 28079               |
| 25      | Tripura                          | 10145                      | 9911                       | 207          | 9911                | 9911                |
| 26      | Uttar Pradesh                    | 190145                     | 189430                     | 2624         | 161960              | 137965              |
| 27      | Uttrakhand                       | 20067                      | 20067                      | 418          | 19478               | 14227               |
| 28      | West Bengal                      | 119481                     | 119481                     | 1179         | 105679              | 100521              |
| 29      | A & N Islands                    | 720                        | 719                        | 27           | 719                 | 689                 |
| 30      | Chandigarh                       | 450                        | 450                        | 18           | 450                 | 447                 |
| 31      | Dadra & N Haveli and Daman & Diu | 409                        | 405                        | 8            | 405                 | 337                 |
| 32      | Delhi                            | 10897                      | 10896                      | 370          | 10205               | 10491               |
| 33      | Jammu & Kashmir                  | 30765                      | 28078                      | 867          | 27511               | 27601               |
| 34      | Ladakh                           | 1173                       | 1139                       | 39           | 1129                | 1123                |
| 35      | Lakshadweep                      | 71                         | 71                         | 2            | 71                  | 71                  |
| 36      | Puducherry                       | 855                        | 855                        | 34           | 855                 | 855                 |
| Total   | Total                            | 1399661                    | 1391004                    | 33214        | 1314433             | 1167206             |