Lok Sabha Question No. 3597 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-13
Subject: Nirbhaya Fund
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

LOK SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO. 3597 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.03.2026

## NIRBHAYA FUND

## 3597.  SMT. PRIYANKA GANDHI VADRA:

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

- (a) whether the Government has taken cognizance of the NARI Report 2025 by the National Commission  for  women,  which  found  that  29%  of  women  feel  unsafe  on  public transport, if so, the details of initiatives taken to address safety concerns of women in public transport;
- (b) whether the Government has conducted any nationwide assessment on the prevalence of crimes/safety concerns faced by women in public transport, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the  details  of  projects/schemes  implemented  under  Nirbhaya  Fund  for  improving women's safety in public transport, State -wise especially in Kerala;
- (d) the details of funds allocated/ utilised under 'Nirbhaya Fund (Women Safety on Public Road Transport)' during the last five years along with the reasons for the underutilization, State-wise, if any; and
- (e) the details of the funds allocated/utilised under 'Other Schemes Funded from Nirbhaya Fund' in FY 2025-26?

## ANSWER

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

(a) and  (b): The National Commission for Women has not published any NARI Report 2025. 'Police' and 'Public Order' are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. The responsibility to maintain law and order, protection of life and property of the citizens  including  investigation  and  prosecution  of  crime  against  women  is  dealt  by  the respective State Governments. The Central Government gives highest priority to ensure the safety and security of women. Under the 'Whole of Government' appro ach various Ministries carry out their respective interventions. Under Ministry of Home Affairs, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes national crime data in its publication 'Crime in India', which is available on the website of NCRB https://ncrb.gov.in.

(c) and (d): The Government of India has set up a dedicated fund called the 'Nirbhaya Fund' for  implementation  of  initiatives  aimed  at  enhancing  the  safety  and  security  for  women including public transport. All projects/ schemes under Nirbhaya Fund are demand driven. An Empowered Committee (EC) constituted under the framework of Nirbhaya Fund appraises and recommends  the  proposals received from Central Ministries and Departments, State Governments and UTs, based on their requirements. The Projects under Nirbhaya Fund have direct impact on the safety and security concerns of women which include innovative use of technology, provision for real time intervention such as CCTVs ensuring real time monitoring of footage and quick response.

There are various projects funded under Nirbhaya Fund on women's safety and security that include, One Stop Centres (OSCs) which provide integrated support and assistance under one roof to women affected by violence and those in distress. Currently, there are 914 One Stop Centres (OSCs) operational in the country having assisted more than 13.3 lakh women. Women Helpline  (WHL-181)  provides  24x7x365  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 and has assisted  more  than  99  lakh  women  so  far.  WHL  is  integrated  with  Emergency  Response Support  System  (ERSS),  a  pan-India,  single  recognised  number,  i.e.  112,  established  for various emergencies. ERSS has handled over 56 crore calls so far. The Safe City Project under Nirbhaya Fund is implemented by Ministry of Home Affairs in 8 Cities namely, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai.

Further, the Government has provided financial assistance to States and UTs for implementation of projects through Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for safety of women in public transport such as Women Safety in Public Transport of  Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC), Women's safety in passenger vehicles in Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Installation of Vehicle Tracking Devices with SoS button of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), Abhayam Project of Andhra Pradesh, State-wise Vehicle Tracking Platform (VTP) and Installation of CCTV in 100 buses of Sikkim Nationalised Transport (SNT) for Women's safety in Sikkim. Further, the projects/ schemes under Nirbhaya Fund generally have staggered implementation schedule. Upon appraisal  of  a  project/  scheme  by  the  EC,  the  Ministry/Department  concerned  takes approval of its own Competent Financial Authority (CFA) as per the laid down procedure and releases fund to the implementing agencies for implementation of the scheme/ project, as per the requirement. The details of funds released/utilized, State and UT-wise and project -wise in the last five years including in the State of Kerala are at Annexure-I.

(e): The Ministry keeps a very limited amount under Budget Head 'Other Schemes Funded from Nirbhaya Fund', to directly fund projects from Women and Child Development (WCD)/ Social Welfare Departments of States and UTs and any other project that Ministry may propose on its own. Actual expenditure in this Budget Head depends on receipt of proposals from the various State Governments and Union Territories. The funds allocated under Budget Head 'Other Schemes Funded from Nirbhaya Fund' of this Ministry during F inancial Year 20252026 are Rs. 30 Cr. The expenditure under this Budget Head gets recouped from the Nirbhaya Fund for which Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) is the custodian. Based on the receipt of Utilization Certificate/ Statement of Expenditure received from the States, the release of funds is underway. Up to the financial year 2025-26, the total amount released and utilized out of the Nirbhaya fund across all Ministries and States for all completed and outgoing projects is Rs.6766.18 Crore.

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ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (C) & (D) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3597 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.03.2026 REGARDING 'NIRBHAYA FUND'.

STATE AND UT-WISE DETAILS OF TOTAL FUNDS RELEASED AND UTILIZED (SINCE INCEPTION) UNDER NIRBHAYA FUND FOR PROJECTS RELATED TO SAFETY  OF  WOMEN  IN  PUBLIC  TRANSPORT  IMPLEMENTED  BY  THE MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT & HIGHWAYS (RS. IN CRORES)

|   Sl.no | States/ UTs                       |   Fund Released and Utilised |
|---------|-----------------------------------|------------------------------|
|       1 | Andaman &Nicobar Islands          |                        2.6   |
|       2 | Andhra Pradesh                    |                       64.432 |
|       3 | Arunachal Pradesh                 |                        5.496 |
|       4 | Assam                             |                        7.888 |
|       5 | Bihar                             |                        5.24  |
|       6 | Chandigarh                        |                        3.25  |
|       7 | Chhattisgarh                      |                        5.24  |
|       8 | Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu |                        2.6   |
|       9 | Delhi                             |                        6.328 |
|      10 | Goa                               |                        3     |
|      11 | Gujarat                           |                        5.792 |
|      12 | Haryana                           |                        4.192 |
|      13 | Himachal Pradesh                  |                        6.87  |
|      14 | Jammu and Kashmir                 |                        6.328 |
|      15 | Jharkhand                         |                        4.192 |
|      16 | Karnataka                         |                       39.432 |
|      17 | Kerala                            |                        5.792 |
|      18 | Ladakh                            |                        2.6   |
|      19 | Lakshadweep                       |                        2.6   |
|      20 | Madhya Pradesh                    |                        4.192 |
|      21 | Maharashtra                       |                        5.792 |
|      22 | Manipur                           |                        5.496 |
|      23 | Meghalaya                         |                        5.496 |
|      24 | Mizoram                           |                        6.87  |
|      25 | Nagaland                          |                        5.496 |
|      26 | Odisha                            |                        5.24  |
|      27 | Puducherry                        |                        3.25  |
|      28 | Punjab                            |                        4.192 |
|      29 | Rajasthan                         |                        4.192 |
|      30 | Sikkim                            |                       10.44  |
|      31 | Tamil Nadu                        |                        5.792 |

| 32.                                                                                       | Telangana                                                                                 |   15.722 |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------|
| 33.                                                                                       | Tripura                                                                                   |    5.496 |
| 34.                                                                                       | Uttar Pradesh                                                                             |   85.112 |
| 35.                                                                                       | Uttarakhand                                                                               |    5.496 |
| 36.                                                                                       | West Bengal                                                                               |    4.192 |
| Amount spent on Central Activities/ engagements through National Informatics Centre (NIC) | Amount spent on Central Activities/ engagements through National Informatics Centre (NIC) |   70.82  |
| Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Limited (DIMTS)- Project Management Unit      | Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Limited (DIMTS)- Project Management Unit      |    6.77  |

DETAILS OF FUNDS RELEASED AND UTILIZED UNDER NIRBHAYA FUND FOR SAFETY  OF  WOMEN  IN  PUBLIC  TRANSPORT  ONLY  DURING  LAST  FIVE YEARS (RS. IN CRORES).

| Projects   | Projects                                   | Projects                                                                                                                                                                     | Projects                                                                                              |
|------------|--------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Year       | State-wise Vehicle Tracking Platform (VTP) | Installation of Vehicles Tracking Devices with SoS button in Buses of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) with monitoring from Central Command Control Centre | Installation of CCTV in 100 Buses of Sikkim Nationalised Transport (SNT) for Women's Safety in Sikkim |
| 2020- 21   | 139.33                                     | -                                                                                                                                                                            | -                                                                                                     |
| 2021- 22   | 27.92                                      | -                                                                                                                                                                            | -                                                                                                     |
| 2022- 23   | 11.74                                      | 11.53                                                                                                                                                                        | -                                                                                                     |
| 2023- 24   | 15.40                                      | -                                                                                                                                                                            | -                                                                                                     |
| 2024- 25   | 35.51                                      | -                                                                                                                                                                            | 3.57                                                                                                  |

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