Lok Sabha Question No. 5610 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-27
Subject: Safe Hostels and Creches at Workplace
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Babu Singh Kushwaha

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 5610

TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.03.2026

## SAFE HOSTELS AND CRECHES AT WORKPLACE

## 5610. SHRI BABU SINGH KUSHWAHA:

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

- (a)      whether the Government is aware of the lack of the facilities such as safe hostels and creches at  workplaces  despite  the  increasing  work  participation  of  women  in  the  rural  areas  of Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh;
- (b)      if so, the details thereof;
- (c)     whether any scheme is being implemented under 'Mission Shakti' to establish safe hostels and creches for the working women in the said Constituency, if so, the details thereof;
- (d)     whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  the  fact  that  the  malnutrition  remains  a  matter  of concern in the rural areas of said district;
- (e)     if so, the details of the programmes being implemented to alleviate the same along with the steps taken by the Government for the strengthening of Anganwadi Centres; and
- (f)     whether the Government proposes to increase the number of Anganwadi Centres in the said district  and  implement  a  digital  monitoring  system  for  the  surveillance  of  nutritional services, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (f):         Sakhi  Niwas  Scheme  [Working  Women  Hostel  (WWH)]  under  the  overarching Mission Shakti, is a demand driven centrally sponsored scheme where States/UTs assess their requirement as per local needs and their proposals are approved by the Programme Approval Board (PAB) after discussion with States/UTs. The Scheme aims to promote availability of safe and conveniently located accommodation for working women and for those women who are pursuing higher education and training, with Day care facility for children in urban, semi-urban and even rural areas where employment opportunity for women exists.  In this scheme, fund is provided for rental accommodation.

Presently, 8 Sakhi Niwas are functional in the State of Uttar Pradesh under Sakhi Niwas Scheme and there is no Sakhi Niwas functional in Jaunpur district.

Further,  Ministry  of  Finance  (MoF),  Department  of  Expenditure  (DoE)  in  August,  2024  has allocated Rs.5,000/- crores to 28 States under Part (X) (Construction of Working Women Hostels) of  Special  Assistance  to  States  for  Capital  Investment  (SASCI)  Scheme  for  construction  of working women hostels. Under this Scheme, Rs.382.00 crore has been allocated to the government of Uttar Pradesh and State Govt. has submitted 08 proposals for construction of hostels in Districts of 01 in Ghaziabad, 03 in Lucknow and 04 in Gautam Budh Nagar at the total cost of Rs.382.00 crore.  The proposals of State Government have been approved by Department of Expenditure (DoE) and 1 st instalment of Rs.251.83 crore released by Department of Expenditure (DoE)  to the State Government during 2024-25.

During the 15 th  Finance Commission period, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has introduced Anganwadi-cum-Creches (AWCCs)-Palna under the Samarthya Vertical of Umbrella Mission Shakti for all States and UTs w.e.f. 01 April 2022, to provide day care facilities and protection to children.

States/UTs  are  encouraged  to  submit  proposals  for  opening  more  Anganwadi-cum-Creches (AWCCs) in  the  Programme  Approval  Board  (PAB)  meetings  which  are  held  with  the  State Governments  and  UT  Administrations  annually.  In  the  PAB  meeting  2025-26,  no  proposal received from the State of Uttar Pradesh under Anganwadi-cum-Creches (AWCCs).

To address the challenges of malnutrition, Anganwadi services, Poshan Abhiyaan and Scheme for Adolescent girls (of 14-18 years in Aspirational Districts and North-Eastern region) have been subsumed under the umbrella Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0). It  is  a  Centrally  Sponsored  mission,  where  the  responsibility  for  implementation  of  various activities lies with the States and UTs. The Mission is being implemented in all States and UTs in the country including Jaunpur district in the State of Uttar Pradesh.

Under  this  Mission,  Supplementary  Nutrition  is  provided  to  Children  (6  months  to  6  years), Pregnant Women, Lactating Mothers and Adolescent Girls in accordance with the nutrition norms contained in Schedule-II of the National Food Security Act, 2013. These norms have been revised in January 2023. The old norms were largely calorie-specific; however, the revised norms are more comprehensive and balanced in terms of both quantity and quality of supplementary nutrition based  on  the  principles  of  diet  diversity  that  provides  for  quality  protein,  healthy  fats  and micronutrients  (Calcium,  Zinc,  Iron,  Dietary  Folate,  Vitamin  A,  Vitamin-B6  and  Vitamin  B12 ). Extra Supplementary Nutrition is provided to Severely Acutely Malnourished (SAM) children as per National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA).

Ministry  vide  notification  dated  12th  September  2022  issued  Integrated  Nutrition  Support Programme-  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  (2.0),  Rules  2022  to  regulate  the  entitlements specified under the provisions of National Food Security Act, 2013 for every pregnant woman and lactating mother, till six months after childbirth and every child in the age group of six months to six years.

To encourage diet-diversity and consumption of wholesome local produce, Poshan Vatikas have been developed at AWCs. Poshan Vatikas help to meet the important dietary diversity gap that has been repeatedly revealed in different surveys by providing different fruits, nuts, herbs, medicinal plants and vegetables round the year. The main objective of introducing the concept of Poshan Vatika is to encourage community members to cultivate local food crops in their backyards.

Under  this  Mission,  one  of  the  major  activities  undertaken  is  Community  Mobilization  and Awareness Advocacy to educate people on nutritional aspects as adoption of good nutrition habit requires  sustained  efforts  for  behavioral  change.  State  and  UTs  are  conducting  and  reporting regular sensitization activities under Jan Andolans during Poshan Maah and Poshan Pakhwada celebrated in the months of September and March-April respectively. Community Based Events (CBEs) have served as a significant strategy in changing nutritional practices and all Anganwadi workers are required to conduct two Community Based Events every month. A total of  9.8 crore CBEs have been conducted from 2018 to  February 2026 and more than 150 crore Jan Andolan activities have been conducted since 2018 through 15 Jan Andolans.

The 'Poshan Tracker' application was rolled out as an important governance tool. The Poshan Tracker facilitates monitoring and tracking of all AWCs, AWWs and beneficiaries on defined indicators.  Technology  under Poshan Tracker is being leveraged for dynamic identification of stunting, wasting, underweight prevalence among children. It has facilitated near real time data collection for Anganwadi Services such as, opening of AWCs, daily attendance of children, ECCE activities,  Growth  Monitoring  of  children,  Provision  of  Hot  Cooked  Meal  (HCM)/Take Home Ration  (THR-not  raw  ration),  Growth  Measurement  etc.   The  Poshan  Tracker  application  is available here : https://www.poshantracker.in

For last mile tracking of Service Delivery, Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) has developed Facial Recognition System (FRS) in Poshan Tracker Application for distribution of TakeHome Ration to ensure that benefit is given only to the intended beneficiary registered in Poshan Tracker.

The Nominee Module has been introduced in Poshan Tracker to ensure uninterrupted delivery of Take-Home  Ration  (THR)  to  the  beneficiaries;  Pregnant  Women,  Lactating  Mothers,  and Adolescent Girls. If due to any reason, the registered beneficiary is unable to visit the Anganwadi Centre to receive their THR through FRS, she can nominate a nominee on her behalf to receive her THR.

Under Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, two lakh selected AWCs (40,000 AWCs per year) are being strengthened and upgraded for improved nutrition delivery for stimulating the creative, social,  emotional,  cognitive  and  intellectual  development  of  children  under  6  years  of  age  in convergence with education development programmes, providing / adding more services  with better infrastructure including internet/wifi connectivity to be provided wherever possible through BharatNet, LED screens, water purifier/installation of RO Machine and Early Childhood Care and Education with smart learning aids, audio-visual aids and childfriendly learning equipment's, Art Work (Educational painting, practice board for children, information board) and wall painting

(cleaning, sanding, repairing).   Out of this, 1,03,940 Anganwadi Centres have been upgraded to Saksham AWCs as on 09.03.2026.

In  convergence  with  Department  of  School  Education  and  Literacy,  Ministry  of  Education Guidelines for Co-locating Anganwadi Centres within Government Primary Schools have been jointly  launched  on  3 rd September,  2025  to  strengthen  ECCE  and  Foundational  Literacy  and Numeracy (FLN) services. In places where physical co-location is not possible, AWCs are to be mapped with the nearest primary school.

Also  various  other  initiatives  have  been  undertaken  for  construction  of  AWCs  under  PM JANMAN and Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan for the targeted development of Tribal population and Vibrant Village Programme (VVP) -Phase-I, focusing on Northern border areas.

Further, 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,  Multi-  Sectoral  Development  Programme  (MSDP)  of  Ministry  of Minority Affairs, etc.

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