Lok Sabha Question No. 2371 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-13
Subject: Salary and Benefits to Anganwadi Workers
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Shafi Parambil, Dr. Kirsan Namdeo

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 2371

TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.02.2026

## SALARY AND BENEFITS TO ANGANWADI WORKER

## 2371.  SHRI SHAFI PARAMBIL: DR. KIRSAN NAMDEO:

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

- (a) whether the Government has any plan to increase the salary, benefits and social security of Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) across the country including Maharashtra, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the  details  of  the  salary  and  other  benefits  given  to  Anganwadi  workers  as  of  31 st December 2025, State-wise;
- (c) whether the Government has taken steps for upliftment and development of Anganwadi Workers (AWWs), if so, the details of the schemes formulated therefor; and
- (d) whether the  Government is considering to release additional Grant-in-aid to Government  of  Maharashtra  to  meet  the  demand  of  Anganwadi  workers  and development of these workers, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (d): Anganwadi Workers and Anganwadi Helpers are honorary workers from the local community who come forward voluntarily to render their services in the area of child care and development to help the local community.

Anganwadi  Workers  (AWWs)  and  Anganwadi  Helpers  (AWHs)  are  paid  a  monthly honorarium which 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; AWHs from Rs.1,500/- to Rs.2,250/- per month as per the defined cost sharing ratio between the centre& the States/UTs. Besides, performance linked incentive of Rs.500/- is provided to AWWs and Rs.250/- per month to AWHs. In addition, States/UTs are also paying additional monetary incentives/top ups to these voluntary workers from their own resources which vary from State to State. The State and UT wise details of additional top up to Anganwadi Workers is placed at Annexure.

Under  Mission  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0,  AWWs  have  been  technologically empowered with the provision of smartphones for efficient monitoring and service delivery. 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. Leave: 20 days annual leave and paid maternity absence of 180 days, paid absence on abortion/ miscarriage once for 45 days.
- ii. 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 sectors in the country to ensure old age protection.
- iii. Promotion : Under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, promotional opportunities for Anganwadi Workers have been enhanced. 50% posts of Anganwadi Workers are to be filled by Anganwadi Helpers with 5 years of experience and 50% posts of Supervisors are to be filled by promotion of Anganwadi Workers with 5 years of experience subject to fulfilment of other criteria.
- iv. Social Security Insurance Schemes: Insurance benefits have been provided to Anganwadi Workers and Helpers 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 30 th April of each year with respect to Anganwadi Workers and Helpers 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 Anganwadi workers and helpers in pursuance to budget announcement in FY 2024-25.

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

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## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) TO (D) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2371 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.02.2026 REGARDING 'SALARY AND BENEFITS TO ANGANWADI WORKER'

Details of additional top ups provided by States/UTs as per Annual Programme Implementation Plan (APIP) 2025-26:

|   Sr. No. | State            | Additional Honorarium paid to AWWs(per month)   |
|-----------|------------------|-------------------------------------------------|
|         1 | Andhra Pradesh   | 7,000                                           |
|         2 | Bihar            | 2,500                                           |
|         3 | Chhattisgarh     | 5,500                                           |
|         4 | Gujarat          | 5,500                                           |
|         5 | Haryana          | 10,250                                          |
|         6 | Himachal Pradesh | 5,500                                           |
|         7 | Jammu &Kashmir   | 600                                             |
|         8 | Jharkhand        | 5,000                                           |
|         9 | Karnataka        | 7,000                                           |
|        10 | Kerala           | 5,700                                           |
|        11 | Madhya Pradesh   | 8,500                                           |
|        12 | Maharashtra      | 8,500                                           |
|        13 | Odisha           | 5,500                                           |
|        14 | Punjab           | 5,500-6,500                                     |
|        15 | Rajasthan        | 5,510                                           |
|        16 | Tamil Nadu       | 3,200                                           |
|        17 | Telangana        | 9,150                                           |

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|   18 | Uttar Pradesh                      | 1,500         |
|------|------------------------------------|---------------|
|   19 | Uttarakhand                        | 4,800         |
|   20 | West Bengal                        | 4,500         |
|   21 | Arunachal Pradesh                  | 3,000         |
|   22 | Assam                              | 2,000         |
|   23 | Manipur                            | 1,000         |
|   24 | Meghalaya                          | 3,000         |
|   25 | Mizoram                            | 450           |
|   26 | Nagaland                           | Nil           |
|   27 | Sikkim                             | 7,000         |
|   28 | Tripura                            | 3,500-5,946   |
|   29 | Andaman &Nicobar                   | 7,500         |
|   30 | Goa                                | 5,500 -13,500 |
|   31 | Puducherry                         | 1,950         |
|   32 | Chandigarh                         | 3,600         |
|   33 | Ladakh                             | 1,300         |
|   34 | Delhi                              | 6,720         |
|   35 | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman& Diu | 3,500         |
|   36 | Lakshadweep                        | 5,500         |

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