Lok Sabha Question No. 6 (STARRED), answered on 2024-02-02
Subject: Schemes for Anganwadi Workers and Helpers
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: N.K. Premachandran

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. *6 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.02.2024

## SCHEMES FOR ANGANWADI WORKERS AND HELPERS

- *6.       SHRI N.K.PREMACHANDRAN:

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

- (a) whether the Government proposes to increase the honorarium of Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and Anganwadi Helpers (AWHs), if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether it has come to the notice of the Government that the honorarium given to the AWWs and AWHs is not proportional to the responsibility and nature of work entrusted with them, if so, the action taken thereon;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  received  any  representation  requesting  to regularize the service of AWWs and AWHs in Government service, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government proposes to implement Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) benefit to the AWWs and AWHs, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (e) whether the Government proposes to implement a pension scheme for AWWs and AWHs and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (e) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## Statement referred to in reply to Part (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 6 to be answered on 02.02.2024 regarding 'Schemes for Anganwadi Workers and Helpers'

(a) to (e) Anganwadi Workers and Anganwadi Helpers are 'honorary workers' from the local community who come forward to render their services in the area of child care and development to help the community for which they are paid honorarium. Government of India increases the honorarium of AWWs/AWHs from time to time. From 1 st  October, 2018, Government of India has enhanced the honorarium of AWWs at main-AWCs from Rs.3,000/- to Rs.4,500/- per month; AWWs at mini- AWCs from Rs.2,250/- to Rs.3,500/- per month; AWHs from Rs.1,500/- to Rs.2,250/- per month; and introduced performance linked incentive of Rs.250/- per month for AWHs and Rs.500/-  to  AWWs.  In  addition,  States/UTs  are  also  paying  additional  monetary incentives/honorarium to these functionaries from their own resources which vary from State to State. The additional Honorarium provided by the States/UTs is placed at Annexure . At present no proposal is under consideration to increase the honorarium of AWWs/ AWHs.

With a view to incentivize and encourage the Anganwadi Workers and Anganwadi Helpers, various steps/initiatives have been undertaken including the following:

- i. Promotion : As per Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 Guidelines issued by the  Ministry,  promotional  opportunities  for  Anganwadi  Workers  have  been enhanced. 50% posts of Anganwadi Workers shall be filled by promotion of Anganwadi Helpers with 5 years of experience and 50% posts of Supervisors shall be filled by promotion of Anganwadi Workers with 5 years of experience subject to fulfilment of other criteria.
- ii. Leave : Anganwadi Workers have been allowed paid absence of 180 days of maternity leave, paid absence on abortion/ miscarriage once for 45 days. Also, 20 days annual leaves are permissible.
- iii. Uniform : There is a provision for set of two uniforms (saree/suit per annum) to AWW/AWH.
- iv. Social Security Insurance Schemes: Insurance benefits have been provided to Anganwadi Workers  and  Helpers  under  Pradhan  Mantri  Jeevan  Jyoti  Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) for life cover of Rs.2.00 lakh  (covers life risk, death due to any reason) to AWWs/AWHs in the age group of 18 to 50 years and  Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana for accidental cover of Rs.2.00 Lakh (accidental death  and  permanent  full  disability)  /Rs.1.00  Lakh  (partial  but  permanent disability) to AWWs and AWHs in the age group of 18-59 years. Now, it has been  decided  to  provide  insurance  cover  under  PMJJBY  and  PMSBY  to AWWs/AWHs through their bank accounts and the funds  towards  premium payment released to the States/UTs on the prescribed cost sharing ratio under Anganwadi Services Scheme.
- v. Insurance  cover  under  Pradhan  Mantri  Garib  Kalyan  Package:  Anganwadi Workers and Anganwadi Helpers who have been engaged with the Covid-19 related tasks, have been provided with insurance cover of Rs.50 lakh under "Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package" with certain conditions.
- vi. Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan (PM-SYM ): State  Governments/UT Administrations have been requested to encourage eligible AWWs/AWHs to enroll themselves under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan (PM-SYM) Pension Scheme, which is a voluntary and contributory pension scheme for the unorganized sectors in the country to ensure old age protection.
- vii. Retirement  date:  States/  UTs  have  been  requested  to  adopt  a  uniform retirement date i.e 30 th  April of each year with respect to Anganwadi Workers and Helpers to ensure proper human resource planning.
- viii. Leveraging  IT  through  Poshan  Tracker:  Under  Saksham  Anganwadi  and Poshan  2.0  (Mission  Poshan  2.0)  IT  systems  have  been  leveraged  to strengthen  and  bring  about  transparency  in  delivery  support  systems  at Anganwadi Centres.  The 'Poshan Tracker' application was rolled out by the Ministry of Women & Child Development on 1 st  March, 2021 as an important governance tool. Anganwadi Workers have been technologically empowered with  smartphones.  The  mobile  application  has  digitized  and  automated  the physical  registers  used  by  AWWs  which  has  also  helped  in  improving  their quality of work. Under Poshan Abhiyaan, for the first time, a digital revolution was ushered when the Anganwadi worker was empowered with mobile devices. To  capture  the  real  time  data  in  POSHAN  Tracker  application,  internet connectivity charges to AWWs are provided @₹2000/- per annum per AWW.
- ix. Government has issued orders for upgradation for mini-AWC to regular AWCs. Due to this, the honorarium of AWWs of existing mini AWCs, have increased to Rs.4,500/- p.m.

Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0  is  a  centrally  sponsored  scheme  and  the implementation  of  the  scheme  falls  under  the  ambit  of  State  Government/  UT Administration. Government of India constantly monitors and reviews the scheme and its  components  and  based  on  learnings,  outcomes,  suggestions  and  proposals, Government takes appropriate action from time to time through sustained engagements/ video conferences at various levels.

All States/ UTs, through sustained engagements/ video conferences, are requested to consider the grievances being faced by the Anganwadi Workers and resolve them on priority. Also, States/ UTs have been directed time and again not to involve Anganwadi Workers and Helpers in non-scheme related work to avoid unnecessary burden and for effective implementation of the scheme.

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Annexure Statement referred to in reply to Part (a) to € of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 6 to be answered on 02.02.2024 regarding 'Schemes for Anganwadi Workers and Helpers' Statement indicating additional honorarium given by the States/Uts to AWWs/AWHs from their own resources

| S. No.   | States/Uts                         | Additional honorarium given by States/Uts (In Rs.)   | Additional honorarium given by States/Uts (In Rs.)   |
|----------|------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------|
| S. No.   | States/Uts                         | Anganwadi Workers (AWW)                              | Anganwadi Helper (AWH)                               |
| 1.       | Andaman & Nicobar                  | 3000                                                 | 2500                                                 |
| 2.       | Andhra Pradesh                     | 7000                                                 | 4750                                                 |
| 3.       | Arunachal Pradesh                  | Nil                                                  | Nil                                                  |
| 4.       | Assam                              | 2000                                                 | 1000                                                 |
| 5.       | Bihar                              | 1450                                                 | 725                                                  |
| 6.       | Chandigarh                         | 3600                                                 | 1800                                                 |
| 7.       | Chhattisgarh                       | 2000                                                 | 1000                                                 |
| 8.       | Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | 1000                                                 | 600                                                  |
| 9.       | Delhi                              | 5178                                                 | 2589                                                 |
| 10.      | Goa                                | 5500-13500*                                          | 3750-6750*                                           |
| 11.      | Gujarat                            | 5500                                                 | 3250                                                 |
| 12.      | Haryana                            | 7286-8429*                                           | 4215                                                 |
| 13.      | Himachal Pradesh                   | 4600                                                 | 2450                                                 |
| 14.      | Jammu & Kashmir                    | 600                                                  | 340                                                  |
| 15.      | Jharkhand                          | 5000                                                 | 2500                                                 |
| 16.      | Karnataka                          | 6500-7000*                                           | 4000-4500*                                           |
| 17.      | Kerala                             | 2000                                                 | 2000                                                 |
| 18.      | Lakshadweep                        | 5500                                                 | 4750                                                 |
| 19.      | Madhya Pradesh                     | 7000                                                 | 3500                                                 |
| 20.      | Maharashtra                        | 3825                                                 | 2175                                                 |
| 21.      | Manipur                            | 1000                                                 | 600                                                  |
| 22.      | Meghalaya                          | 1500                                                 | 1000                                                 |
| 23.      | Odisha                             | 1000                                                 | 500                                                  |
| 24.      | Puducherry                         | 600                                                  | 300                                                  |
| 25.      | Punjab                             | 5000                                                 | 2850                                                 |
| 26.      | Rajasthan                          | 3891-4030*                                           | 2640                                                 |
| 27.      | Sikkim                             | 2225                                                 | 1500                                                 |
| 28.      | Uttarakhand                        | 3000                                                 | 1500                                                 |
| 29.      | West Bengal                        | 3750                                                 | 4050                                                 |
| 30.      | Uttar Pradesh                      | 1500                                                 | 750                                                  |
| 31.      | Nagaland                           | Nil                                                  | Nil                                                  |
| 32.      | Mizoram                            | 450                                                  | 500                                                  |
| 33.      | Tamil nadu                         | 3200-19700*                                          | 1850-10250*                                          |
| 34.      | Telangana                          | 9150                                                 | 5550                                                 |
| 35.      | Tripura                            | 150-5346*                                            | 93-3518*                                             |
| 36.      | Ladakh                             | 1300                                                 | 650                                                  |

* Depending on the qualification and/or number of years of service

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