Lok Sabha Question No. 4821 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-20
Subject: Implementation of Poshan Abhiyaan 2.0 and Mission Shakti
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Dharmendra Yadav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4821 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.03.2026

## IMPLEMENTATION OF POSHAN ABHIYAAN 2.0 AND MISSION SHAKTI

## 4821.  SHRI DHARMENDRA YADAV:

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

- (a) whether the Government is aware of the failure in  the ground-level  implementation  of Poshan Abhiyaan 2.0 and Mission Shakti in Uttar Pradesh, particularly with regard to the low remuneration of Anganwadi Workers and the lack of basic facilities;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether a significant portion (approximately 20-30%) of the budget allocated under the Nirbhaya  Fund  and  Mission  Vatsalya  remains  unutilized  due  to  administrative  delays, thereby affecting the timely provision of assistance to victimized women and orphaned children in the said State;
- (d) if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether in view of the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR: 37 per 1,000 live births) and the serious condition of malnutrition in the said State, the Government proposes to establish a concrete accountability mechanism rather than relying solely on publicity measures; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)

(a) & (b) For effective implementation and efficient monitoring, various schemes implemented by the Ministry of Women & Child Development for women and child welfare all over the country including in Uttar Pradesh, have been reviewed and clubbed into three Umbrella Missions viz. (1) Mission  Saksham  Anganwadi  &  Poshan  2.0  for  improving  nutrition  &  health  indicators  (2) Mission Shakti, for safety, protection and empowerment of women; and (3) Mission Vatsalya, for protection, care and welfare of children in difficult circumstances. Details of the schemes are as under:

(i) Saksham Anganwadi & Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0): Under this mission, Anganwadi Services Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyaan and Scheme for Adolescent Girls have been reorganized into 3 primary sub-verticals: (i) Nutrition Support for Children, Pregnant Women & Lactating Mothers and for Adolescent Girls (ii) Early Childhood Care and Education and (iii) Anganwadi Infrastructure including upgraded Saksham Anganwadis.

Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and Anganwadi Helpers (AWHs) are honorary functionaries drawn from the local community who voluntarily contribute to child care and development activities and are paid a monthly honorarium. This honorarium is revised from time to time.

With effect from 1st October, 2018, the Government of India has enhanced the honorarium of AWWs at Anganwadi Centres  from  ₹3,000/ -to  ₹4,500/ -  per  month  and  that  of  AWHs  from ₹1,500/ -to ₹2,250/ -  per month, as per the approved cost-sharing ratio between the Centre and States/UTs. In addition, States/UTs provide supplementary financial incentives and top-ups from their own resources, which vary across States/ UTs.

Further, a performancelinked incentive of ₹500/ -per month is provided to AWWs and ₹250/ - per month to AWHs to encourage better service delivery.

Under  Mission  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0,  various  steps  have  been  undertaken  to improve  the  infrastructure  facilities  at  Anganwadi  Centres  (AWCs).  During  15th  Finance Commission cycle, 50,000 Anganwadi Centres are being constructed @10000 AWCs per year in convergence with MGNREGS wherein Rs.8.00 Lakh is provided under MGNREGS, Rs.2.00 Lakh under 15thFinance Commission (FC) (or any other untied funds) and Rs.2.00 Lakh by MWCD per AWC shared between Centre and States and UTs in the prescribed cost sharing ratio.

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.

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

Also, in order to improve the infrastructure facilities at AWCs various steps have been undertaken by the Ministry that, inter alia, include increasing the funding for drinking water facilities and toilets  at  Anganwadi  Centres  from  Rs.10,000/-  to  Rs.17,000/-  and  Rs.12,000/-  to  Rs.36,000/respectively.

(ii)  Mission  Shakti: Mission  Shakti  aims  at  strengthening  interventions  for  women  safety, security and empowerment. Mission Shakti comprises of two verticals 'Sambal' for safety and security of women and 'Samarthya' for empowerment of women including rural and economically wea ker regions of the country. The 'Sambal' has components of One Stop Centre (OSC), Women Helpline(WHL), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) and Nari Adalat (Nari Adalat).

- One Stop Centre (OSC) -One  Stop  Centre  (OSC)  provides  integrated  and  immediate support and assistance under one roof to women affected by violence and those in distress, both in private and public spaces all across the country. It provides services like medical aid, legal aid and  advice, temporary  shelter, police assistance and  psycho-social counselling  to  needy  women.  rural  and  economically  weaker  regions  of  the  country including the State of Uttar Pradesh. As on date, 96 OSCs are operational in Uttar Pradesh, which has assisted over 3,04,109 women in the State.
- Women Helpline -Women Helpline (WHL-181) provides 24-hour 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  Women  Helpline  is  operational  in  35  States/ Union Territories and also integrated with Emergency Response Support System ERSS-

112. State Government of West Bengal is not implementing Women Helpline. Till 28th February 2026, WHLs have assisted over 9.58 lakh women in the State of Uttar Pradesh.

- Beti  Bachao  Beti  Padhao  (BBBP) -Beti  Bachao  Beti  Padhao  (BBBP)  Scheme  was launched on 22nd January 2015 to help address Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and related issues of empowerment of girls and women over a life cycle continuum. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP)  scheme  has  transformed  from  policy  initiative  into  national  movement  by mobilizing various stakeholders, including government agencies, media civil society and general public. The scheme is implemented in all the districts of the country including the State of Uttar Pradesh. The State of West Bengal is not implementing the scheme.
- Nari Adalat - Nari Adalat scheme provides a platform for alternative grievance redressal for  women  at  the  gram  panchayat  level.  The  Adalats  are  mandated  to  help  women  in distress at the panchayat level in resolving smaller issues relating to domestic violence, and other  gender-based  violence  by  negotiation,  mediation,  and  reconciliation  with  mutual consent for accessible justice. Presently, Nari Adalat is being run on pilot basis in 50 Gram Panchayats in the State of Assam and UT of Jammu & Kashmir and 10 Gram Panchayats in the State of Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh and Mizoram. In FY 2025-26, 10 Gram Panchayats in 13 States and 5 Gram Panchayats of 2 UTs has also been approved for operationalization of Nari Adalat and will be operationalized shortly.

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).

- Pradhan  Mantri  Matru  Vandana  Yojana  (PMMVY)The  PMMVY  is  a  Centrally Sponsored Maternity Benefit Scheme under which cash incentives of ₹5,000/ - is provided

directly  to  the  Bank/Post  Office  account  of  the  beneficiary  in  Direct  Benefit  Transfer (DBT) mode for first child. The eligible beneficiaries receive the remaining cash incentive, as  per  approved  norms  towards  maternity  benefit  under  Janani  Suraksha  Yojana  after institutional  delivery,  so  that  on  an  average  a  woman  gets  ₹6,000/ -.  Cash  incentive  of ₹6,000/ - is also provided under PMMVY to eligible beneficiaries for second child subject to the second child being a girl.

- Shakti SadanUnder the overarching 'Mission Shakti', erstwhile schemes of 'Swadhar Greh'  for  women  in  difficult  circumstances  and  'Ujjawala  Home'  for  Prevention  of Trafficking, have been merged w. e. f. 01.04.2022 and known as 'Shakti Sadan Scheme', which is an Integrated Relief and Rehabilitation Home-for women in distressful situations including trafficked women.  It aims at creating a safe and enabling environment for the women in such difficult situations, to enable them to overcome the adverse circumstances.
- Sakhi NiwasThe Sakhi Niwas Scheme (Working Women Hostel) is a demand driven centrally sponsored scheme, under which funds are released directly to the States/UTs for implementation of the scheme and aims to promote availability of safe and conveniently located accommodation for working women in urban, semi-urban and even rural areas where employment opportunity for women exist.
- PalnaPalna Scheme is implemented with the aim of expanding the outreach of crèches to ensure that women everywhere have the opportunity to work and do not drop out from workforce because of care responsibilities. Palna aims to provide day-care crèche facilities to the children (06 months -06 years).
- SANKALP: Hub for Empowerment of Women (HEW)The SANKALP: HEW (Hub for Empowerment of Women) which 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.

(c)  &  (d)  The  Ministry  is  implementing  a  centrally  sponsored  scheme  namely  "Mission Vatsalya" under which support is provided to State and UT Governments to deliver various services for children in difficult circumstances. The Child Care Institutions (CCIs) established under the scheme support, inter-alia, age- appropriate education, access to vocational training, recreation, health care, counselling etc. and covers both rural and urban children. Under NonInstitutional  Care  Services,  support  is  provided  to  the  children  through  Sponsorship,  Foster Care, Adoption and After Care. The implementation of the scheme lies with respective States and UT Governments.

The details of BE-RE and funds released under Mission Vatsalya during last two financial years is as under:

| S. No.   | Financial Budget Estimate Revised Estimate   | Financial Budget Estimate Revised Estimate   | Financial Budget Estimate Revised Estimate   | Actual      |
|----------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|-------------|
|          | Year                                         | (BE)                                         | (RE)                                         | Expenditure |
| 1        | 2024-25                                      | 1472.17                                      | 1423.15                                      | 1405.53     |
| 2        | 2023-24                                      | 1472.17                                      | 1272.17                                      | 1390.80     |

The trends in funds released during previous two financial years, when compared to the BE -RE of the scheme, do not indicate any significant underutilization of funds.

Nirbhaya Fund is a non-lapsable corpus for safety and security of women which lies with the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) of the Government of India.   The  projects/  schemes  under  Nirbhaya  Fund  are  demand  driven  and  generally  have  a staggered implementation schedule. Some of the appraised projects are directly implemented by Central Ministries/ Departments. However, the majority of the projects are implemented through State  Governments  and  Union  Territory  (UT)  Administrations,  in  which  Central  Government releases  funds  to  States/  UTs  after  approval  of  Competent  Financial  Authority  (CFA),  as  per prescribed fund sharing pattern of respective States/ UTs. Implementation on the ground is done by the Implementing Agencies (IAs) of States or UTs as per the approved timelines.

Under the Nirbhaya Fund, as on date, a total amount of Rs 8212.85 Crore has been allocated. The cumulative amount released and utilized(as on date) from the Nirbhaya Fund is Rs. 6,766.18 crore, which is nearly 82% of the total allocation

(e) & (f) To address the challenges of malnutrition, Anganwadi services, Poshan Abhiyan 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 the State of Uttar Pradesh.

Regarding  accountability  mechanisms,  Poshan  Tracker,  an  ICT  tool,  has  been  rolled  out  for monitoring and tracking of all Anganwadi Centers, AWWs and beneficiaries on defined indicators in  all  States  and  UTs.  Technology  under  Poshan  Tracker  is  being  leveraged  for  dynamic identification of stunting, wasting, under-weight prevalence among children. It has facilitated near real time data collection for Anganwadi Services such as opening of AWCs, daily attendance of children,  ECE  activities,  Growth  Monitoring  of  children,  Provision  of  Hot  Cooked  Meal (HCM)/Take  Home  Ration  (THR-not  raw  ration),  Growth  Measurement  etc.  The  details  are available at the link: https://www.poshantracker.in

Further, 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 Take-Home 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). If due to any reason, the registered beneficiary (Pregnant Women,

Lactating Mother and Adolescent girl) 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.

In 2021, the World Bank conducted a survey on Poshan Abhiyaan in 11 priority states (including Uttar Pradesh) with the highest rates of anemia and stunting. The aim of this survey was to assess the program's delivery of nutrition services. The findings dem onstrated that the services delivered through the Poshan Abhiyaan -the receipt of relevant messages, home visits by the Anganwadi Worker, and attendance at community-based events -were associated with improved nutrition behaviours. The survey also found that the program's nutrition messages reached more than 80% of women, and that 81% of women practiced exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months.

Further,  third-party  evaluation  and  impact  assessments  of  Poshan  Abhiyan  were  conducted by NITI Aayog in 2020 and again in 2025 & they have found its relevance to be satisfactory for tackling malnutrition in the country.

Niti Aayog has got conducted outcome-based evaluation of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 in 2025. Evidence from institutional assessments and household surveys indicated that digitalization has had a multi-dimensional impact on nutrition monitoring, Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), beneficiary authentication, and service delivery efficiency. The Report also  highlighted  Poshan  Tracker  as  a  significant  shift  from  manual,  paper-based  systems  to  a technology-enabled  governance  framework  under  the  Supplementary  Nutrition  Programme (SNP).

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