Lok Sabha Question No. 3661 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-13
Subject: Honorarium and Budgetary Allocation to AWWs
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Smt. Pratima Mondal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3661 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.03.2026

## HONORARIUM AND BUDGETARY ALLOCATION TO AWWS

## 3661. SMT. PRATIMA MONDAL:

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

- (a)   whether  it  is  true  that  Anganwadi  and  ICDS  workers  continue  to  receive  honorariums that are disproportionately low relative to their workload;
- (b)   if  so,  whether  the  Government  proposes  a  time-bound  revision  indexed  to  inflation,  if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) whether the Government assessment has pointed out that inadequate budgetary allocation and delayed fund releases are weakening nutrition delivery under ICDS, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a) to (c) Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 is a Centrally Sponsored scheme. Central Government is responsible for policy and planning and the State Governments/UT Administrations are responsible for day-to-day program implementation.

Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and Anganwadi Helpers (AWHs) are honorary workers drawn from the local community who voluntarily come forward to render their services in the area of child care and development to help the local community for which they are paid honorarium. This honorarium is increased from time to time. From 1 st October, 2018, Government of India has  enhanced  the  honorarium  of  AWWs  at  Anganwadi  centres  (AWCs)  from  Rs.3,000/-  to Rs.4,500/- per month and AWHs from Rs.1,500/- to Rs.2,250/- per month as per the defined cost sharing ratio between the Centre and States and UTs. In addition, States and UTs are also paying  additional  monetary  incentives  and  top  ups  to  these  functionaries  from  their  own resources which vary from State to State. Details of additional top ups provided by States and UTs are at Annexure .

Besides, performance linked incentive of Rs.500/- per month is provided to AWWs and Rs.250/per month to AWHs.

Under  Mission  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0,  AWWs  have  been  technologically empowered with the provision of smartphones for efficient monitoring and delivery of services. Poshan Tracker which is a mobile phone application that has digitized physical registers used by Anganwadi workers. This improves the quality of their work while simultaneously enabling them for real-time monitoring of all activities going on in the Anganwadis.

To incentivize and encourage the AWWs and AWHs, various initiatives have been undertaken including the following:

- i. Promotion: Under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, promotional opportunities for AWWs and AWHs have been enhanced. 50% posts of AWWs are to be filled by AWHs with 5 years of experience and 50% posts of Supervisors are to be filled by promotion of AWWs with 5 years of experience subject to fulfilment of other criteria.
- ii. Leave: 20 days' annual leave and paid maternity absence of 180 days and paid absence on abortion/ miscarriage once for 45 days.
- iii.  State  Governments  and  UT  Administrations  have  been  requested  to  encourage  eligible AWWs and AWHs to get themselves enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan (PM-SYM) Pension Scheme, which is a voluntary and contributory pension scheme for the unorganized sector in the country to ensure old age protection.
- iv. Social Security Insurance Schemes: Insurance benefits have been provided to AWWs and AWHs under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) for life cover worth Rs.2.00 lakh (covers life risk, death due to any reason) in the age group of 18 to 50 years and under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana for accidental cover of Rs.2.00 Lakh (accidental death and permanent full disability) /Rs.1.00 Lakh (partial but permanent disability) in the age group of 18-59 years.
- v. Retirement date: States and UTs have been requested to adopt a uniform retirement date i.e 30th April of each year with respect to AWWs and AWHs to ensure proper human resource planning.
- vi. Annual Healthcare coverage of Rs. 5 Lakhs under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) to all AWWs and AWHs in pursuance to budget announcement in FY 2024-25.

Budgetary allocation has been increasing year on year basis during the last three years. The details of budget allocation for the year 2022-23 to 2025-26 in respect of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 are given as under:

(Rupees in crore)

|   Sl. No. | Financial Year   | Budget Allocation (BE)   |
|-----------|------------------|--------------------------|
|         1 | 2022-23          | 20,294.58                |
|         2 | 2023-24          | 20,554.31                |
|         3 | 2024-25          | 21,200.00                |
|         4 | 2025-26          | 21,960.00                |

Further, funds are released to State/UTs in a timely manner based on the schematic norms.

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## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (C) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3661 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.03.2026 REGARDING ' HONORARIUM AND BUDGETARY ALLOCATION TO AWWS '

Details of additional top ups as provided by States and UTs:

|   Sr. No. | State                               | Additional top ups paid AWWs(per month)   | to Additional top ups paid to AWHs (per month)   |
|-----------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|
|         1 | Andhra Pradesh                      | 7,000                                     | 4,750                                            |
|         2 | Bihar                               | 2,500                                     | 1,750                                            |
|         3 | Chhattisgarh                        | 5,500                                     | 2,750                                            |
|         4 | Gujarat                             | 5,500                                     | 3,250                                            |
|         5 | Haryana                             | 10,250                                    | 5,650                                            |
|         6 | Himachal Pradesh                    | 5,500                                     | 3,250                                            |
|         7 | Jammu &Kashmir                      | 600                                       | 300                                              |
|         8 | Jharkhand                           | 5,000                                     | 2,500                                            |
|         9 | Karnataka                           | 7,000                                     | 4,500                                            |
|        10 | Kerala                              | 8,500                                     | 6,750                                            |
|        11 | Madhya Pradesh                      | 8,500                                     | 4,250                                            |
|        12 | Maharashtra                         | 8,500                                     | 5,250                                            |
|        13 | Odisha                              | 5,500                                     | 2,750                                            |
|        14 | Punjab                              | 5,500-6,500                               | 2,750-3,250                                      |
|        15 | Rajasthan                           | 5,510                                     | 3,674                                            |
|        16 | Tamil Nadu                          | 3,200                                     | 1,850                                            |
|        17 | Telangana                           | 9,150                                     | 5,550                                            |
|        18 | Uttar Pradesh                       | 1,500                                     | 750                                              |
|        19 | Uttarakhand                         | 4,800                                     | 3,000                                            |
|        20 | West Bengal                         | 4,500                                     | 4,550                                            |
|        21 | Arunachal Pradesh                   | 3,000                                     | 3,000                                            |
|        22 | Assam                               | 2,000                                     | 1,000                                            |
|        23 | Manipur                             | 1,000                                     | 600                                              |
|        24 | Meghalaya                           | 3,000                                     | 1,000                                            |
|        25 | Mizoram                             | 450                                       | 500                                              |
|        26 | Nagaland                            | Nil                                       | Nil                                              |
|        27 | Sikkim                              | 7,000                                     | 4,500                                            |
|        28 | Tripura                             | 3,500-5,946                               | 2,750-4218                                       |
|        29 | Andaman &Nicobar                    | 7,500                                     | 5,750                                            |
|        30 | Goa                                 | 5,500 -13,500                             | 3,750 - 6,750                                    |
|        31 | Puducherry                          | 1,950                                     | 2,125                                            |
|        32 | Chandigarh                          | 3,600                                     | 1,800                                            |
|        33 | Ladakh                              | 1,300                                     | 650                                              |
|        34 | Delhi                               | 6,720                                     | 3,360                                            |
|        35 | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu | 3,500                                     | 1,750                                            |
|        36 | Lakshadweep                         | 5,500                                     | 4,750                                            |