Lok Sabha Question No. 695 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-11-29
Subject: Empowerment of Women
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Bidyut Baran Mahato, Shri Bunty Vivek Sahu, Dr. Nishikant Dubey, Shri Chavda Vinod Lakhamshi, Shri Bibhu Prasad Tarai, Shri Naba Charan Majhi, Dr. Rajesh Mishra, Smt. Himadri Singh, Shri Vijay Baghel, Shri Ganesh Singh, Ms. Bansuri Swaraj, Shri Parbhubhai Nagarbhai Vasava, Shri Lumbaram Choudhary, Shri Suresh Kumar Kashyap, Smt. Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Shri Dineshbhai Makwana, Shri Chandra Prakash Joshi, Shri Vijay Kumar Dubey

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 695

TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.11.2024

## EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN

695. Dr. Nishikant Dubey:

Shri Lumba Ram:

Shri Parbhubhai Nagarbhai Vasava:

Shri Bidyut Baran Mahato:

Shri Dineshbhai Makwana:

Shri Ganesh Singh:

Shri Vijay Kumar Dubey:

Shri Vijay Baghel:

Smt. Himadri Singh:

Smt. Kamaljeet Sehrawat:

Shri Bibhu Prasad Tarai:

Shri Bunty Vivek Sahu:

Shri Chandra Prakash Joshi:

Shri Chavda Vinod Lakhamshi:

Dr. Rajesh Mishra:

Ms. Bansuri Swaraj:

Shri Suresh Kumar Kashyap:

Shri Naba Charan Majhi:

Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state:

- (a) the importance and need to empower women as a strong foundation of a nation;
- (b) whether  initiatives  like  Mission  Shakti,  Mission  Poshan  2.0  and  Mission Vatsalya are helping in bringing about social changes in the country, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government is taking any steps to recognize the contribution of the women at the grassroots level and if so, the details thereof, State-wise and district-wise in Himachal Pradesh;
- (d) the details of the outcome of the said schemes in empowering the women in Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh;
- (e) whether there has been any increase in the coverage of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan  Mantri  Jan  Arogya  Yojana  (AB-PMJAY)  by  including  Anganwadi Workers and helpers, if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) the role of Mission Saksham Anganwadi in creating well equipped Anganwadi Centres for providing integrated child services?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR )

(a)  to  (d):  The  Government  gives  utmost  priority  to  the  safety,  security  and empowerment of women in the country. To this end, the Government has adopted multi-pronged approach to address the needs of women on a life-cycle continuum basis for their educational, social, economic and political empowerment so that they become equal  partners  in  fast  paced  and  sustainable  national  development.  This 'Women led development' is essential for realising the goal of a developed India, or 'Viksit Bharat', by 2047.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing Centrally Sponsored Schemes in the country for the welfare of women and children, which are clubbed into three  verticals,  viz.  (1)  Mission  Shakti,  for  safety,  protection  and  empowerment  of women;  (2)  Saksham  Anganwadi  &  Poshan  2.0  for  improving  nutrition  &  health indicators  in  the  country;  and  (3)  Mission  Vatsalya,  for  protection  and  welfare  of children. The details of the schemes are as under:

(i) Mission  Shakti: The  'Mission  Shakti'  aims  at  strengthening  interventions  for women safety, security and empowerment. It seeks to focus on proposing strategies for improving convergence across Ministries/ Departments and at different levels of governance. Mission Shakti comprises of two sub-schemes 'Sambal' and 'Samarthya' for safety and security of women and empowerment of women respectively.

The 'Sambal' sub-scheme is for safety and security of women. It has the components of  One  Stop  Centres  (OSCs),  Women  Helpline  (WHL),  Beti  Bachao  Beti  Padhao (BBBP) and Nari Adalat.

- a. One Stop Centres (OSCs)An institution located at district level offering under one  roof  immediate  help  to  women  in  distress  such  as  temporary  shelter, medical & police assistance, counselling and legal support.
- b. Women Helpline (WHL)The Women Helpline 181 provides toll-free 24-hours telecom service to women seeking support and information. It is also integrated with  Emergency  Response  Support  System  (ERSS)  112  for  all  emergency services and integration with all One Stop Centres is in progress.
- c. Beti  Bachao  Beti  Padhao  (BBBP)BBBP  is  a  mindset  change  program helping in generating awareness for valuing the girl child through multi-sectoral interventions.
- d. Nari  AdalatAn experimental  platform  providing  women  with  an  alternative Grievance  Redressal  Mechanism  at  Gram  Panchayat  level  by  negotiation, mediation, and reconciliation with mutual consent for speedy, accessible, and affordable justice. It has been piloted in 50 Gram Panchayats each of Assam and UT of Jammu & Kashmir.

The 'Samarthya' sub scheme is for empowerment of women. It has the components of  Pradhan  Mantri  Matru  Vandana  Yojana  (PMMVY),  Shakti  Sadan,  Sakhi  Niwas, Palna and SANKALP : Hub for Empowerment of Women (HEW).

- a. Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)PMMVY is a Centrally Sponsored Maternity Benefits Scheme under which cash incentives of ₹5,000/is provided directly to the Bank/Post Office account of the beneficiary in Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode for first child. Cash incentive of ₹6,000/- is also provided under PMMVY to eligible beneficiaries for second child being a girl child.
- b. Shakti SadanShakti Sadan is an Integrated Relief and Rehabilitation Home for the women in distress situations and difficult circumstances.
- c. Sakhi NiwasThe Sakhi Niwas Scheme (Working Women Hostel) is a demand driven centrally sponsored scheme, under which funds are released directly to the  States/UTs  and  aims  to  promote  availability  of  safe  and  conveniently located  accommodation  for  working  women  in  urban,  semi-urban  and  even rural areas where employment opportunity for women exist.
- d. PalnaPalna  scheme  through  day-care  créche  facilities  provides  safe  and secure place for the children. Creche services formalise the child care facilities hitherto considered as part of domestic work and uses Aanganwadi infrastructure for ensuring delivery of care facilities till the last mile
- e. SANKALP: Hub for Empowerment of Women (HEW)The SANKALP: HEW serves as a vehicle to bridge the information and knowledge gap regarding schemes  and  facilities  available  for  women.  It  also  serves  as  a  Project Monitoring Unit (PMU) for all components under Mission Shakti.

(ii)  Saksham  Anganwadi  &  Poshan  2.0  (Mission  Poshan  2.0): Under  this programme,  Anganwadi  Services  Scheme,  POSHAN  Abhiyaan  and  Scheme  for Adolescent Girls has been reorganized into 3 primary verticals: (i) Nutrition Support for  children  below  the  age  of  6  years,  Pregnant  Women,  Lactating  Mothers  and Adolescent Girls (14 -18 years); (ii) Early Childhood Care and Education [3-6 years] and (iii) Anganwadi Infrastructure including modern, upgraded Saksham Anganwadi.

(iii) Mission Vatsalya: Mission Vatsalya (erstwhile Child Protection Services Scheme (ICPS))  is  a  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  (CSS)  which  is  implemented  through States/Union Territories (UTs) to deliver services for better outreach and protection for Children in Need of Care and Protection (CNCP) and Children in Conflict with Law (CCL) which include Institutional Care and Non-Institutional Care in a mission mode with the objective to: (i) Support and sustain Children in difficult circumstances (ii) Develop  context-based  solutions  for  holistic  development  of  children  from  varied backgrounds (iii) Provide scope for green field projects for encouraging innovative solutions (iv) Cement convergent action by gap funding, if required.

The scheme also provides for emergency outreach services (24x7) for children in difficult circumstances through Child Helpline (1098).

These initiatives are transformative schemes designed to address critical social issues and bring about lasting social change in the country including the States of Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, targeting key areas of women and child welfare, aiming to create  a  more  inclusive,  equitable,  and  supportive  environment  for  vulnerable populations.

State/  UT-wise number of beneficiaries  covered/ assisted  under  the  various schemes since its inception is at Annexure .

(e):     During the interim budget FY 2024-25 it was announced to extend healthcare annual coverage of Rs. 5 Lakhs under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) to all Anganwadi workers and helpers. As per the information furnished by National Health Authority (NHA), Ayushman Cards have been generated for approx 8.15 Lakh Anganwadi Workers and Helpers for all States/ UTs except for States  of  Odisha,  West  Bengal  and  NCT  of  Delhi  where  governments  are  not implementing AB-PMJAY.

(f):      In the 15th Finance Commission, components of nutritional support for children below the age of 6 years, pregnant women and lactating mother and Adolescent Girls; Early  Childhood  Care  and  Education  [3-6  years]  and  Anganwadi  infrastructure including  modern,  upgraded  Saksham  Anganwadi  have  been  reorganised  under Mission  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0  for  effective  implementation  of  the scheme and for better nutritional delivery to end beneficiaries.

In order to improve the infrastructure facility of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) various steps  have been undertaken by the Ministry that,  inter  alia,  include  increasing  the funding for drinking water facilities and toilets at Anganwadi Centres from Rs.10,000/to Rs.17,000/- and Rs.12,000/- to Rs.36,000/- respectively.

Under  Mission  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0,  there  is  a  provision  of construction of 50000 AWCs buildings over a period of five years @10000 AWCs per year.  The  cost  norms  for  construction  of  Anganwadi  Centres  in  convergence  with MGNREGS have been revised from Rs.7 Lakh per AWC to Rs.12 Lakh per AWC wherein Rs.8.00 Lakh would be provided under MGNREGS, Rs.2.00 Lakh under 15th FC (or any other untied funds) and Rs.2.00 Lakh by MWCD per AWC to be shared between Centre and States/UTs in the prescribed cost sharing ratio.

Further, States/UTs have also been advised to continue to tap funds for construction of  AWC  buildings  from  various  schemes  such  as  MPLADS,  RIDF,  Finance Commission  Grants  to  Panchayati  Raj  Institutions,  NREGA,  MSDP  of  Ministry  of Minority Affairs, etc.

Directions have been issued to States/UTs to co-locate Anganwadi Centres, which are running on rent  without  sufficient  infrastructure,  at  nearby  Primary  Schools,  where space is available.

During  the  15th  Finance  Commission  cycle,  2  lakh  Anganwadi  Centres  @  40,000 AWCs per year are to be upgraded as Saksham Anganwadis for improved nutrition delivery and for imparting early childhood care  and  development.  Saksham Anganwadis  are  to  be  provided  with  infrastructure  better  than  the  conventional Anganwadi Centres which includes internet/Wi-Fi connectivity, LED screens, water purifier/installation of RO Machine and smart learning equipments.

Further, the Government has also decided to upgrade all Mini AWCs with one worker to full-fledged Anganwadi Centres with one worker and one helper each.

Under Mission Poshan 2.0, Anganwadi workers (AWWs) have been technologically empowered with  the  provision  of  smartphones  for  efficient  monitoring  and  service delivery. The mobile application Poshan Tracker digitizes physical registers used by Anganwadi  workers.  This  improves  the  quality  of  their  work  while  simultaneously allowing them real-time monitoring of all ongoing activities.

In addition to  AWWs,  Smartphones  are  provided  to  Supervisors and Block Coordinators also. Similarly, data recharge support is provided to AWWs, Supervisors and Block Coordinators.

Regular monitoring of growth parameters is essential for identifying children who may be malnourished and making timely interventions. Therefore, Anganwadi centres have been  equipped  with  Growth  Monitoring  devices  like  infantometer,  stadiometer, weighing scale-infant, weighing scale - Mother &Child.

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## Annexure referred to in the reply to part (a) to (d) of the Lok Sabha Un-starred Question No. 695 for answer on 29.11.2024 regarding 'Empowerment of Women'

State/ UT-wise number of beneficiaries covered/ assisted under the various schemes since its inception

| Sl. No.   | State /UTs                         | No. of beneficiaries   | No. of beneficiaries   | No. of beneficiaries    |
|-----------|------------------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|-------------------------|
| Sl. No.   | State /UTs                         | OSC (till 31.10.2024)  | WHL (till 31.10.2024)  | PMMVY (till 26.11.2024) |
| 1         | Andaman & Nicobar Islands          | 2006                   | 254                    | 9193                    |
| 2         | Andhra Pradesh                     | 42437                  | 12260                  | 1748099                 |
| 3         | Arunachal Pradesh                  | 2295                   | 1890                   | 30330                   |
| 4         | Assam                              | 23917                  | 27125                  | 1275830                 |
| 5         | Bihar                              | 40469                  | 55649                  | 3468749                 |
| 6         | Chandigarh                         | 1682                   | 82255                  | 36985                   |
| 7         | Chhattisgarh                       | 45965                  | 34471                  | 998817                  |
| 8         | Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman & Div | 1235                   | 1093                   | 22433                   |
| 9         | Delhi                              | 21120                  | 4412802                | 473089                  |
| 10        | Goa                                | 7051                   | 41005                  | 30828                   |
| 11        | Gujarat                            | 38468                  | 1460844                | 1448683                 |
| 12        | Haryana                            | 44478                  | 21654                  | 858541                  |
| 13        | Himachal Pradesh                   | 3376                   | 43417                  | 306815                  |
| 14        | Jammu & Kashmir                    | 12581                  | 10684                  | 409130                  |
| 15        | Jharkhand                          | 5115                   | 70617                  | 871639                  |
| 16        | Karnataka                          | 28073                  | 33243                  | 2613804                 |
| 17        | Kerala                             | 20620                  | 152353                 | 1081633                 |
| 18        | Ladakh                             | 79                     | 111                    | 6971                    |
| 19        | Lakshadweep                        | 0                      | 0                      | 2281                    |
| 20        | Madhya Pradesh                     | 104072                 | 119485                 | 4231228                 |
| 21        | Maharashtra                        | 33698                  | 116055                 | 3590812                 |
| 22        | Manipur                            | 1746                   | 1194                   | 77522                   |
| 23        | Meghalaya                          | 4004                   | 4059                   | 61187                   |
| 24        | Mizoram                            | 1872                   | 19656                  | 41176                   |
| 25        | Nagaland                           | 1394                   | 3245                   | 39086                   |
| 26        | Odisha                             | 21891                  | 42033                  | 6                       |
| 27        | Puducherry                         | 465                    | 355                    | 38736                   |
| 28        | Punjab                             | 19566                  | 268674                 | 676444                  |
| 29        | Rajasthan                          | 47837                  | 71931                  | 2551557                 |
| 30        | Sikkim                             | 1637                   | 582                    | 14914                   |
| 31        | Tamil Nadu                         | 96173                  | 131669                 | 1561262                 |
| 32        | Telangana                          | 68310                  | 64500                  | 0                       |
| 33        | Tripura                            | 828                    | 556                    | 123910                  |
| 34        | Uttar Pradesh                      | 254873                 | 807340                 | 5882393                 |
| 35        | Uttarakhand                        | 8485                   | 51735                  | 381095                  |
| 36        | West Bengal                        | 4541                   | 0                      | 1638005                 |
|           | Total                              | 1012359                | 8164796                | 36603183                |

*****