Lok Sabha Question No. 3455 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-21
Subject: Palna Scheme
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Chintamani Maharaj, Smt. Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Ms Kangna Ranaut, Shri Mukeshkumar Chandrakaant Dalal, Shri Anurag Sharma, Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat, Shri Yogender Chandolia, Smt. Himadri Singh, Shri Dulu Mahato, Shri Tejasvi Surya, Shri Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3455

TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.03.2025

## PALNA SCHEME

3455.  SHRI ANURAG SHARMA:

SHRI TRIVENDRA SINGH RAWAT:

SHRI YOGENDER CHANDOLIA:

SMT. HIMADRI SINGH:

SHRI DULU MAHATO:

SHRI VISHWESHWAR HEGDE KAGERI:

SHRI TEJASVI SURYA:

SHRI CHINTAMANI MAHARAJ:

SMT. KAMALJEET SEHRAWAT:

MS KANGNA RANAUT:

SHRI MUKESHKUMAR CHANDRAKAANT DALAL:

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

- (a) the  details  of  the  measures  being  taken  to  ensure  stricter  enforcement  of Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) in all eligible companies; and
- (b) the details of the impact of Palna scheme since its launch in 2022 along with the manner in which children have been benefited so far?

## ANSWER

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

- (a):      The 'Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act' (SH Act), 2013 provides for constitution of Internal Committee (IC) where the number of employees is 10 or more and also mandates for constitution of Local Committee (LC) by the District Officer notified under the Act to deal with the cases of workplaces where the number of employees is less than 10 or when the complaint is against the employer itself.

The Government of India has taken numerous steps for effective implementation of the SH Act, 2013. The Ministry of Women and Child Development recently launched the SHe-Box portal duly encompassing various provisions of 'the SH Act, 2013. This portal is an initiative of the Ministry to provide a publicly available centralised repository of information related to Internal Committees (ICs) and Local Committees (LCs) formed across the country, whether in government or private sector. It  also  provides  a  common  platform to file complaints and track the status of such complaints. The portal includes a feature where complaints registered on it will be automatically forwarded to the IC/ LC of the workplaces concerned within the Central Ministries/ Departments, States/ UTs and in Private sector. The portal provides for designating a nodal officer for every workplace who is required to ensure updation of data/ information on a regular basis for real time monitoring of complaints.

For effective implementation of the Act, Ministry endeavors to include IC details of all workplaces  including  all  sectors  across  the  country  whether,  Central  or  State Government departments, Private sector entities or Professional Bodies including all educational/ medical colleges, hospitals etc. on the She-box portal to facilitate the lodging of complaint of aggrieved woman.  In addition to SHe-Box portal, following measures  have  been  taken  by  Government  towards  the  prevention  of  sexual harassment since the enactment of the said Act.

- (i)         Ministry of Women and Child Development being the Nodal Ministry for SH Act observes the Enactment Day i.e. 9th December of the SH Act every year and issues letters/ advisories to all sectors (including Central Government/ State Government/ Private Bodies/ Trade organization/ Educational Institutions/ and other organizations) for effective implementation of the Act and also to constitute IC/ LC immediately.
- (ii)         The Ministry has also issued a Handbook on SH Act, 2013. The Handbook provides information about the Act in an easy-to-use practical manner. The soft copy of  the  Handbook has been uploaded on the Ministry's website for the purposes of mass dissemination and it has also been sent to Ministers and officials concerned of various Ministries/ Departments, State Governments and Union Territory Administrations.
- (iii)       The Ministry has prepared a training module in collaboration with Institute of Secretariat Training and Management (ISTM) for training and Gender Sensitization programmes  of  personnel.  Ministry  also  launched  a  'Guide  on  Gender-Inclusive Communication on 28th November 2023 to help removing gender stereotypes.
- (iv)       The Ministry also offers regular training sessions to key stakeholders, including officers  from  Central  and  State/UT  Governments,  through  a  hybrid  mode.  These sessions  are  conducted  with  the  support  of  its  autonomous  bodies,  such  as  the National  Commission  for  Women  (NCW)  and  the  National  Institute  of  Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD).
- (v)         The  Department  of  Personnel  and  Training,  Government  of  India  has  also issued advisories time to time to all the Central Ministries/ Departments to complete the inquiry in a time bound manner and to include the information related to number of cases filed/ disposed under the SH Act in their annual report.
- (vi)       MWCD has also requested Ministry of Corporate Affairs vide letter dated 26 th June, 2015 to make constitution of the Internal Committee (IC) a mandatory disclosure under the Companies Act, 2013. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs vide its order dated 31 st  July 2018 has accepted the request by amending the Company (Account) Rules, 2014  thereby  making  the  disclosure  regarding  the  implementation  of  SH  Act mandatory within Director's Report.

(vii)      To enforce stricter enforcement of Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) in all  eligible  companies,  amendment  has  been  made  in  the  Companies  (Accounts) Rules, 2014, vide notification dated 31/07/2018 which provides that, every company in its Board Report, to be attached with the Financial Statement filed annually, has to include a statement that the company has complied with provisions relating to the constitution  of  Internal  Complaints  Committee  under  the  Sexual  Harassment  of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 [14 of 2013].

(b):       The  Government  of  India,  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development introduced  Palna  sub-scheme,  a  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  under  Samarthya component  of  Umbrella  Mission  Shakti  w.e.f.  1 st   April,  2022  for  participation  of States/UTs to provide daycare facilities through Anganwadi-cum-Creches (AWCCs) to children (06 months - 06 years) of mothers irrespective of their employment status.

Crèche Workers Under supervision of Anganwadi worker do proper care and safety of children attending the Creche:

i. Provide proper arrangements for sleep and rest of children.

ii. Ensure personal hygiene and Creche helper keep personal hygiene of every child and keep washrooms clean, help for toilet training.

iii. Inculcate proper toilet habits and toilet training.

iv. Facilitate regular health check-ups and referrals in liaison with Asha/AWWs/Primary Health Centre (PHC)/AWC

v. Ensure that the food is hygienically and age appropriately cooked, stored/preserved and fed to the children at appropriate intervals.

vi.  Follow all laid out safety procedures for taking/handing over the child and w.r.t. quality of toys and other materials given to the children.

During the 15 th  Finance Cycle, a total of 17,000 AWCCs have been envisioned to be set up in various States/UTs, out of which, 11395 AWCCs have been approved by the Ministry for operationalization in various States/UTs. As on 28.2.2025, 1761 AWCCs are  operational  with  28783  current  beneficiaries.   Besides  this,  1284  Standalone Creches are also operational across the country with 23368 current beneficiaries.

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