Lok Sabha Question No. 4674 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-20
Subject: Empowerment of Women and Welfare of Children
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Zia Ur Rehman

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4674

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.03.2026

## EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN AND WELFARE OF CHILDREN

## 4674.  SHRI ZIA UR REHMAN:

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

- (a) whether the Government is aware of malnutrition, lack of anganwadi infrastructure and safety concerns for women and children in Western Uttar Pradesh;
- (b) if so, the details of steps taken under ICDS and other schemes to improve nutrition, childcare and women safety in the said region;
- (c) whether similar challenges persist in other States of the country; and
- (d) if so, the details of national initiatives undertaken to strengthen women empowerment and child welfare in the country?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (d) Various schemes implemented by the Ministry of Women & Child Development for the nutrition, empowerment, welfare and safety of women and children all over the country, including  in  Western  Uttar  Pradesh,  have  been  reviewed  and  clubbed  into  three  Umbrella Missions, viz. (1) Mission Saksham Anganwadi & Poshan 2.0 for improving nutrition & health indicators  (2)  Mission  Shakti,  for  safety,  protection  and  empowerment  of  women;  and  (3) Mission  Vatsalya,  for  protection,  care  and  welfare  of  children  in  difficult  circumstances. Details of the schemes are as under:

(i)  Saksham  Anganwadi  &  Poshan  2.0  (Mission  Poshan  2.0): In  the  15th  Finance Commission, components of nutritional support for children below the age of 6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers, Adolescent Girls (14 -18 years); Early Childhood Care and Education  [3-6  years];  Anganwadi  infrastructure  including  modern,  upgraded  Saksham Anganwadi, Poshan Abhiyaan and Scheme for Adolescent Girls have been reorganised under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0).

Under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, a package of six services are provided to the eligible beneficiaries i.e  Supplementary Nutrition (SNP), Pre-school  Non-Formal Education,  Nutrition  &  Health  Education,  Immunization,  Health  Check-up,  and  Referral Services. Three of the six services, viz., Immunization, Health check-up and Referral Services are related to health and are provided through National Health Mission (NHM) & Public Health Infrastructure. Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 is a Centrally Sponsored scheme. Central  Government  is  responsible  for  the  overall  planning  and  policy  under  the  scheme whereas  its  day-to-day  implementation  falls  under  the  ambit  of  State  Government  or  UT administration.

The following steps have been undertaken to improve the infrastructure facilities at Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) -

- During  15th  Finance  Commission  cycle,  50,000  Anganwadi  Centres  are  being constructed @10000 AWCs per year in convergence with MGNREGS wherein Rs.8.00 Lakh is provided under MGNREGS, Rs.2.00 Lakh under 15th Finance Commission (FC) (or any other untied funds) and Rs.2.00 Lakh by MWCD per AWC shared between Centre and States and UTs in the prescribed cost sharing ratio.
- States and UTs have also been advised to continue to tap funds for construction of AWC buildings from various schemes such as Member  of  Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), Finance Commission Grants to Panchayati Raj Institutions, MultiSectoral Development Programme (MSDP) of Ministry of Minority Affairs, etc.
- Various other initiatives have been undertaken for construction of AWCs under PM JANMAN  and  Dharti  Abha  Janjatiye  Gram  Utkarsh  Abhiyan  for  the  targeted development of Tribal population and VVP (Vibrant Village Programme) - Phase I, focusing on Northern border areas.
- In  order  to  improve  the  infrastructure  facilities  at  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.

Further, Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG) was revised from 01.04.2022 onwards and was subsumed under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0. The Scheme aims at providing nutritional  support  to  Adolescent  Girls  (AGs)  [14-18  years]  for  improving  their  health  and nutritional  status  under  the  nutrition  component  and  providing  them  IFA  supplementation, Health check-up and Referral Service, Nutrition & Health Education and Skilling etc. under non-nutrition component of the Scheme. The targeted beneficiaries under the Scheme are AGs in the age group of 14 to 18 years in Aspirational Districts and all North Eastern States.

(ii)  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-sc hemes '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.

- One Stop Centres (OSCs)One Stop Centre (OSC) provides integrated and immediate support  and  assistance  under  one  roof  to  women  affected  by  violence  and  those  in distress, both in private and public spaces all across the country. It provides services like medical aid, legal aid and advice, temporary shelter, police assistance and psychosocial counselling to needy women.
- Women Helpline (WHL)Women Helpline (WHL-181) provides 24-hour toll-free telecommunication services to support women in both emergency and non-emergency situations. It offers assistance to women affected by violence and provides information about government schemes and services all across the country.
- Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP)Beti  Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme was launched on 22nd January 2015 to help address Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and related issues of empowerment of girls and women over a life cycle continuum. Beti Bachao Beti  Padhao  (BBBP)  scheme  has  transformed  from  policy  initiative  into  national movement by mobilizing various stakeholders, including government agencies, media civil society and general public.
- Nari  AdalatNari  Adalat  scheme  provides  a  platform  for  alternative  grievance redressal for women at the gram panchayat level. The Adalats are mandated to help women in distress at the panchayat level in resolving smaller issues relating to domestic violence, and other gender-based violence by negotiation, mediation, and reconciliation with mutual consent for accessible justice.

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).

- Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)The PMMVY is a Centrally Sponsored  Maternity  Benefit  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. The eligible beneficiaries receive the remaining cash incentive, as per approved norms towards maternity benefit under Janani Suraksha Yojana after institutional delivery, so that on an average a woman gets ₹6,000/ -. Cash incentive  of  ₹6,00 0/-  is  also  provided  under  PMMVY  to  eligible  beneficiaries  for second child subject to the second child being a girl.
- Shakti SadanUnder the overarching 'Mission Shakti', erstwhile schemes of 'Swadhar Greh' for women in difficult circumstances and 'Ujjawala Home' for Prevention of Trafficking,  have  been  merged  w.  e.  f.  01.04.2022  and  known  as  'Shakti  Sadan Scheme',  which  is  an  Integr ated  Relief  and  Rehabilitation  Home-for  women  in distressful  situations  including  trafficked  women.   It  aims  at  creating  a  safe  and enabling  environment  for  the  women  in  such  difficult  situations,  to  enable  them  to overcome the adverse circumstances.
- 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 for  implementation  of  the  scheme  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.
- PalnaPalna Scheme is implemented with the aim of expanding the outreach of crèches to ensure that women everywhere have the opportunity to work and do not drop out from workforce because of care responsibilities. Palna aims to provide day-care crèche facilities to the children (06 months -06 years).
- SANKALP: Hub for Empowerment of Women (HEW)The  SANKALP:  HEW (Hub  for  Empowerment  of  Women)  which  functions  as  a  Project  Monitoring  Unit (PMU) for all components of Mission Shakti. It serves as a single window system to bridge the information and knowledge gap regarding schemes and facilities available for women as well as guide them to avail the benefits and entitlements.

(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).

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