Lok Sabha Question No. 3455 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-11
Subject: Wages of Workers under PM Poshan Scheme
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Parimal Suklabaidya

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO3455

ANSWERED ON- 11.08.2025

## Wages of Workers under PM Poshan Scheme

## †3455. Shri Parimal Suklabaidya:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is making payment of wages to the cooks and other attached staff working in the country especially in Assam under Pradhan Mantri Poshan Yojana (PM POSHAN);
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) if not, whether the Government proposes to make any arrangement to pay wages/salary to these workers; and
- (d) whether there is any provision for payment of wages/salary to the cooks and workers working under the scheme in other States/UTs as well and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a)  to  (d):  Pradhan  Mantri  Poshan  Shakti  Nirman  (PM  POSHAN)  Scheme  is  one  of  the foremost rights based Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented in partnership with the States and  UTs  for  providing  one  hot  cooked  and  nutritious  meal  to  all  children  studying  in  Bal Vatika (just before class-I) and classes I to VIII of Government and Government-aided schools. The Scheme covers about 11 crore children in more than 10.35 lakh schools in all the States/ UTs. For FY 2025-26, budget allocation for the PM Poshan Scheme is Rs. 12,500 crore by Government of India and the State/ UT share as per the  sharing pattern is around Rs. 7,500 crore  including  additional  funds  for  Honorarium  to  Cook-cum-Helpers  and  Supplementary Nutrition items.

The overall  responsibility  for  smooth  functioning  of  the  scheme  including  providing  hot cooked and nutritious meal to the eligible children as well as engagement of cook-cum-helpers (CCHs) lies with the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations. However, these CCHs  are  honorary  workers  who  have  come  forward  for  rendering  social  services.  As  per guidelines  of  the  Scheme,  honorarium  of  Rs.  1000/-  per  month  for  10  months  in  a  year  is prescribed for these CCHs in recognition of their services and the same is being continued. The honorarium expenditure is shared between the Central Government and States and UTs as per the  approved  sharing  pattern,  including  the  State  of  Assam.  The  sharing  pattern  between Central Government and the State Government of Assam is 90:10. The State Governments and UT  Administrations  have  the  authority  to  enhance  the  honorarium  by  providing  additional funds  from  their  own  resources  and  many  State  Governments  and  UT  Administrations  have supplemented the honorarium by providing additional funds.  The State of Assam has reported that the honorarium to CCH is paid upto June, 2025 under PM POSHAN Scheme. The details of  honorarium  provided  to  CCHs  under  the  PM  POSHAN  Scheme  by  the  States  and  UTs including the State of Assam are given at Annexure.

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (D) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3455 FOR 11.08.2025 ASKED BY HON'BLE MP SHRI PARIMAL  SUKLABAIDYA  REGARDING  WAGES  OF  WORKERS  UNDER  PM POSHAN SCHEME.

## Honorarium of Cook cum Helper per month

|   S.No. | States/UTs        | Cooks-cum-Helpers - Honorarium Per Month (in Rs)   | Additional Honorarium per month to cook-cum-helpers provided by States/ UTs (in Rs)   |
|---------|-------------------|----------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|       1 | Andhra Pradesh    | 3000                                               | 2000                                                                                  |
|       2 | Arunachal Pradesh | 2000                                               | 1000                                                                                  |
|       3 | Assam             | 1500                                               | 500                                                                                   |
|       4 | Bihar             | 1650                                               | 650                                                                                   |
|       5 | Chhattisgarh      | 2000                                               | 1000                                                                                  |
|       6 | Goa               | 1000                                               | 0                                                                                     |
|       7 | Gujarat           | 3250                                               | 2250                                                                                  |
|       8 | Haryana           | 7000                                               | 6000                                                                                  |
|       9 | Himachal Pradesh  | 4500                                               | 3500                                                                                  |
|      10 | Jharkhand         | 3000                                               | 2000                                                                                  |
|      11 | Karnataka         | 3700                                               | 2700                                                                                  |
|      12 | Kerala            | 12000                                              | 11000                                                                                 |
|      13 | Madhya Pradesh    | 4000                                               | 3000                                                                                  |
|      14 | Maharashtra       | 2500                                               | 1500                                                                                  |
|      15 | Manipur           | 1000                                               | 0                                                                                     |
|      16 | Meghalaya         | 2000                                               | 1000                                                                                  |
|      17 | Mizoram           | 3000                                               | 2000                                                                                  |
|      18 | Nagaland          | 1000                                               | 0                                                                                     |
|      19 | Odisha            | 2000                                               | 1000                                                                                  |
|      20 | Punjab            | 3000                                               | 2000                                                                                  |
|      21 | Rajasthan         | 2143                                               | 1143                                                                                  |
|      22 | Sikkim            | 1000                                               | 0                                                                                     |
|      23 | Tamil Nadu        | 4100-12500                                         | 3100-11500                                                                            |
|      24 | Telangana         | 3000                                               | 2000                                                                                  |
|      25 | Tripura           | 2500                                               | 1500                                                                                  |
|      26 | Uttar Pradesh     | 2000                                               | 1000                                                                                  |
|      27 | Uttarakhand       | 3000                                               | 2000                                                                                  |
|      28 | West Bengal       | 2000                                               | 1000                                                                                  |
|      29 | A&N Islands       | 1000                                               | 0                                                                                     |
|      30 | Chandigarh        | 4500                                               | 3500                                                                                  |
|      31 | D&N and D &Diu    | 6461                                               | 5461                                                                                  |
|      32 | Delhi             | 1000                                               | 0                                                                                     |
|      33 | Jammu &Kashmir    | 1000                                               | 0                                                                                     |
|      34 | Ladakh            | 1000                                               | 0                                                                                     |
|      35 | Lakshadweep       | 18000-20200                                        | 18000-20200                                                                           |
|      36 | Puducherry        | 10000                                              | 9000                                                                                  |