Lok Sabha Question No. 10 (STARRED), answered on 2024-02-02
Subject: Welfare of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Raghu Ramakrishna Raju Kanumuru, Manne Srinivas Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *10

TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.02.2024

## WELFARE OF ANGANWADI WORKERS AND HELPERS

- *10. SHRI KANUMURU RAGHU RAMA KRISHNA RAJU: SHRI MANNE SRINIVAS REDDY:

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

- (a) whether thousands of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers have been on strike across various States demanding that the Government solve their long-pending demands;
- (b) if so, the details and the impact thereof on various schemes/programmes since 2014 onwards till date, State-wise;
- (c) the present status of the said demands; and
- (d) whether States issued an appeal to the protesters to abandon their strike and resume duties and also assured that the State Governments would study and resolve their demands in  consultation  with  the  Union  Government  and  if  so,  the  present  status thereof?

## ANSWER

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

- a. to (d) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
2. *****

## Statement referred to in reply to Part (a) to (d) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 10 to be answered on 02.02.2024 regarding 'Welfare of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers'

(a)  to  (d)  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. 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.  The  matters  related  to  administration  and implementation of the scheme fall under the ambit of State Government/ UT administration therefore, recruitment and service related matters of Anganwadi Workers/ Helpers are dealt in concerned States/ UTs. Recently, instances of strike of Anganwadi Workers/ Helpers from few States has come to the notice of this Ministry and as reported the matter has been resolved by the concerned States.

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 issues and grievances being faced by the Anganwadi Workers and Helpers and resolve them on priority. Further, the 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.  Further,  States/  UTs  are  also enhancing the honorarium of Anganwadi Workers/ Helpers from time to time. The additional honorarium provided by the States/UTs is placed at Annexure .

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

- i. 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.
- ii. Promotion : As  per  Saksham  Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 Guidelines issued by the Ministry,  promotional  opportunities  for  Anganwadi  Workers  have  been  enhanced. Previously, 25% posts of Anganwadi Workers with 10 years of experience were filled by promotion of Anganwadi Helpers which has been revised and enhanced to 50% posts  of  Anganwadi  Workers  with  5  years  of  experience.  Similarly,  50%  posts  of Supervisors  shall  be  filled  by  promotion  of  Anganwadi  Workers  with  5  years  of experience subject to fulfilment of other criteria which was 10 years previously.
- iii. 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.
- iv. Uniform : There  is  a  provision  for  set  of  two  uniforms  (saree/suit  per  annum)  to AWW/AWH.
- v. 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.
- vi. 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.
- vii. Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan  (PM-SYM ): State Governments/UT Administrations have been requested to encourage eligible  AWWs/AWHs  to get themselves  enroll  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.
- viii. 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.
- ix. 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.
- x. 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.

******

Annexure Statement referred to in LS Starred Q.No.10 for answer on 02.02.2024 regarding Welfare of  Anganwadi  Workers  and  Helpers  by  SHRI  KANUMURU  RAGHU  RAMA  KRISHNA

RAJU: SHRI MANNE SRINIVAS REDDY:

## 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                                                  |

*****