Lok Sabha Question No. 925 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-25
Subject: Palna Scheme
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Bidyut Baran Mahato, Smt. Sandhya Ray, Dr. Hemant Vishnu Savara, Smt. Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, Shri Chintamani Maharaj, Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal, Shri Lumbaram Choudhary, Dr. Rajesh Mishra, Smt. Kamlesh Jangde, Shri Rajkumar Chahar, Shri Janardan Mishra, Shri Jugal Kishore, Shri Dilip Saikia, Shri Suresh Kumar Kashyap, Shri Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor, Shri Captain Brijesh Chowta, Shri Arun Govil, Smt. Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Dr. Bhola Singh, Shri Dineshbhai Makwana

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 925

TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.07.2025

## PALNA SCHEME

## 925#. SHRI CHINTAMANI MAHARAJ:

DR. BHOLA SINGH:

SHRI ARUN GOVIL:

SMT. KAMLESH JANGDE:

SHRI DILIP SAIKIA:

DR. HEMANT VISHNU SAVARA:

SMT. SANDHYA RAY:

DR. RAJESH MISHRA:

SHRI JASWANTSINH SUMANBHAI BHABHOR:

SHRI CAPTAIN BRIJESH CHOWTA:

SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO:

SHRI DINESHBHAI MAKWANA:

SHRI LUMBARAM CHOUDHARY:

SMT. MALA RAJYA LAXMI SHAH:

SMT. KAMALJEET SEHRAWAT:

SHRI JANARDAN MISHRA:

SHRI JUGAL KISHORE:

SHRI SURESH KUMAR KASHYAP:

SHRI RAJKUMAR CHAHAR:

DR. SANJAY JAISWAL:

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

- (a) the manner in which the Palna Scheme contributes to child welfare, early childhood development, and support for working mothers;
- (b) the  impact  of  the  said  scheme  in  improving  women's  workforce  participation, particularly in semi-urban, rural areas and tribal areas of the country;
- (c) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  establish  new  Anganwadi-cum-Crèches under the said scheme in the next financial year;
- (d) if so, the details thereof, State-wise and district-wise; and
- (e) the current status of implementation of the scheme in the country, State and districtwise?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (e): The Ministry of women and Child Development has introduced Palna Scheme under the Samarthya Vertical of Umbrella Mission Shakti for all States and UTs w.e.f. 01 April 2022, to provide day care facilities and protection to children.

Government's sustained initiatives on education, skilling and employment of women have resulted in increased opportunities for their employment, and more and more women are now in gainful employment, working within or outside their homes. Lack of proper day-care services is, often, a deterrent for women to go out and work. Hence, there is an urgent need for improved quality and reach of day care services/crèches for working women amongst all socio-economic groups both in the organized and unorganized sectors.

To address these difficulties faced by the working mothers in giving due child care and protection  to  their  children,  day-care  crèche  facilities  are  being  provided  through  Palna Scheme. Crèche services formalise the child care responsibilities hitherto considered as part of domestic work. Formalization of care work supports the 'decent work campaign' to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 8 - Decent work and economic growth. This will also enable more mothers, who will be free from unpaid child-care responsibilities, to take up gainful employment.

Anganwadi  centres  are  the  world's  largest  childcare  institutions  dedicated  to  providing essential care and support to children ensuring delivery of care facilities till the last mile. In a  first  of  its  kind  approach,  Ministry  has  extended  the  services  of  childcare  through Anganwadi cum Crèche (AWCC). This will ensure whole day childcare support ensuring their well-being in a safe and secure environment. Anganwadi cum Crèche initiative aims to increase 'women work force participation' in the economy. The objective of Palna Scheme is to provide quality crèche facility in safe and secure environment for children (from ages 6 months - 6 years), nutritional support, health and cognitive development of children, growth monitoring  &  immunization.  Crèche  facilities  under  Palna  are  provided  to  all  mothers, irrespective of their employment status.

Programme Approval Board(PAB) meetings, are held with the State Governments and UT Administrations annually where it is emphasised that they may send proposal for opening more Aganwadi-cum-Creches and operationalize them.

During  the  15 th   Finance  Cycle  i.e.  up  to  FY  2025-26  a  total  of  17,000  Aganwadi-cumCreches  (AWCCs)  have  been  envisioned  for  establishment  under  the  Palna  Scheme. Proposals for establishment of AWCCs  are  received from the respective State Governments/UT  Administrations  who  also  contribute  their  corresponding  share  for  the implementation of the Scheme. Till date, a total of 14,599 AWCCs have been approved by the  Ministry  as  per  proposals  received  from  various  States/UTs.  The  State/UT-wise approved Aganwadi-cum-Creches(AWCCs) is at Annexure.

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## Annexure

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN THE REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (E) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 925 FOR ANSWER ON 25.07.2025 REGARDING 'PALNA SCHEME'

State/UT-wise details of approved Aganwadi-cum-Creches (AWCCs)

|   Sl. No. | State/UT                           |   Approved AWCCs |
|-----------|------------------------------------|------------------|
|         1 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands        |                8 |
|         2 | Andhra Pradesh                     |              108 |
|         3 | Arunachal Pradesh                  |               86 |
|         4 | Assam                              |              500 |
|         5 | Bihar                              |              504 |
|         6 | Chandigarh                         |              210 |
|         7 | Chhattisgarh                       |             1500 |
|         8 | Delhi                              |              502 |
|         9 | Goa                                |               11 |
|        10 | Gujarat                            |               25 |
|        11 | Haryana                            |              628 |
|        12 | Himachal Pradesh                   |              152 |
|        13 | Jammu and Kashmir                  |              317 |
|        14 | Jharkhand                          |             1024 |
|        15 | Kerala                             |              504 |
|        16 | Ladakh                             |                7 |
|        17 | Lakshadweep                        |                8 |
|        18 | Madhya Pradesh                     |              448 |
|        19 | Manipur                            |              702 |
|        20 | Meghalaya                          |             1238 |
|        21 | Mizoram                            |              200 |
|        22 | Nagaland                           |              500 |
|        23 | Odisha                             |             1000 |
|        24 | Puducherry                         |               86 |
|        25 | Punjab                             |              148 |
|        26 | Sikkim                             |               25 |
|        27 | Tamil Nadu                         |              600 |
|        28 | Telangana                          |             1033 |
|        29 | Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu |              190 |
|        30 | Tripura                            |              114 |

| 31   | Uttarakhand   |   202 |
|------|---------------|-------|
| 32   | Karnataka     |  1664 |
| 33   | Maharashtra   |   345 |
| 34   | West Bengal   |    10 |
|      | Total         | 14599 |