Lok Sabha Question No. 4763 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-20
Subject: Mission Shakti Schemes
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Adhikari Soumendu

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4763 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.03.2026

## MISSION SHAKTI SCHEMES

## 4763.  SHRI ADHIKARI SOUMENDU:

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

- (a) whether the Government proposes to setup adult literacy, information  and  nutrition centres under 'Mission Shakti' Schemes within the existing schools of the country with the help of Anganwadi Workers and Teachers of the school for one hour after the school timings  aiming  to  support  women's  economic  participation  and  child  development nationwide;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (C) whether the Government proposes to instrument the schools for bringing about social, economic and legal empowerment of women belonging to the underprivileged sections of society; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (d):  The  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  is  implementing  Centrally Sponsored Schemes in the country for the welfare of women and children, which are placed under  three  verticals,  viz.  (1)  Mission  Shakti,  for  safety,  protection  and  empowerment  of women; (2) Saksham Anganwadi & Poshan 2.0 for improving nutrition & health indicators in the  country;  and  (3)  Mission  Vatsalya,  for  protection  and  welfare  of  children  in  difficult circumstances.

(1) Mission Shakti :  The 'Mission Shakti' aims at strengthening interventions for women's 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 subschemes '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.

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). It is a demand driven Centrally Sponsored sub scheme,  under  which  funds  are  released  to  the  States/UTs  for  implementation  of  various components.

Further , SANKALP:  HEW  (Hub  for  Empowerment  of  Women)  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.

Hub for Empowerment of Women (HEW) known as SANKALP: HEW (Supportive Action for Nurturing and Knowledge-Based Advancement, Last-Mile Delivery and Potential Realization of Women : Hub for Empowerment of Women), set up at National, State and District levels for empowerment of women with aims to facilitate inter-sectoral convergence of schemes and programs meant for women at Central, State/ UT and district levels with the mandate to create an environment in which women realize their full potential to address gaps in state action for women and for promoting inter-ministerial and inter-sectoral convergence through strengthening  the  processes  that  promote  holistic  empowerment  of  women  by  creating  an environment conducive to social change by improving access and utilization of government schemes.

(2)  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.

Early  Childhood  Care  and  Education  (ECCE)  is  one  of  the  six  services  provided  through Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) located across the country under Anganwadi Services. ECCE component covers children aged 3 -6 years who receive pre-school education at AWCs, while children aged 0 -3 years are reached through structured home visits

(3) 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.

Further,  the  Department  of  School  Education  and  Literacy  is  implementing  an  integrated centrally sponsored scheme for School education- Samagra Shiksha. The scheme treats school education holistically, without segmentation from pre-primary to class XII and aligned with the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 with aim to ensure that all  children  have  access  to  quality  education  with  an  equitable  and  inclusive  classroom environment which should take care of their diverse background, multilingual needs, different academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process. The scheme also provides support for the implementation of the RTE Act.

Under Samagra Shiksha, financial assistance is provided to States and UTs for undertaking various activities for Universalization of School Education including opening/strengthening of new schools upto senior secondary level, construction of school buildings & additional classrooms,  development/strengthening  of  school  infrastructure  in  northern  border  areas under Vibrant Village Programme, setting up, up-gradation and running of Kasturba Gandhi Balika  Vidyalayas,  setting  up  of  Netaji  Subhash  Chandra  Bose  Avasiya  Vidyalayas, construction  of  hostels  for  PVTGs  under  Pradhan  Mantri  Janjati  Adivasi  Nyaya  Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN), construction of hostels under Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DA-JGUA) for unsaturated ST population, free uniforms to eligible children and free  text  books  at  elementary  level,  transport  allowance  and  undertaking  enrolment  & retention drives. Special training for age-appropriate admission of out of school children and residential as well as non-residential training for older children, seasonal hostels / residential camps, special training centres at worksites, transport/ escort facility are also supported to bring out of school children to the formal schooling system including support to complete their education through NIOS/SIOS. Under the student-oriented component for the children with  special  needs,  financial  assistance  is  provided  for  identification  and  assessment  of children with special needs, aids and appliances, braille kits and books, appropriate teaching learning material and stipend to girl students with disability etc.

Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) are residential schools for girls belonging to Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs) such as Schedule Tribe, Schedule Caste, Other  Backward  Class,  Economically  Weaker  Section  of  the  society  in  Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs). The objective of the scheme is to ensure access to quality education for girls from SEDGs and reduce the gender gap at the elementary to senior secondary level by setting up residential schools with boarding facilities

*****