Lok Sabha Question No. 3606 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-13
Subject: Safety and Welfare of Women and Children
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Zia Ur Rehman

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3606 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.03.2026

## SAFETY AND WELFARE OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN

3606. SHRI ZIA UR REHMAN:

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  is  cognizant  of  the  challenges  being  faced  in  ensuring nutrition,  safety  and  welfare  of  women  and  children,  particularly  in  rural  and economically weaker regions of the country; and
- (b) if  so,  the  details  of  the  steps  that  have  been  taken/proposed  to  be  taken  by  the Government to strengthen nutrition programmes, enhance protection mechanisms and improve overall welfare services for women and children?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b) For effective implementation and efficient monitoring, various schemes implemented by the Ministry of Women & Child Development for nutrition, safety and welfare of women and children all over the country, including in rural and economically weaker regions of the country,  have  been  reviewed  and  clubbed  into  three  Umbrella  Missions  viz.  (1)  Mission Saksham Anganwadi & Poshan 2.0 with the objective to improve 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.

Under this Mission the details of beneficiaries as on 28.02.2026 are as hereunder:

| Children          | 7,67,90,933   |
|-------------------|---------------|
| Pregnant Women    | 57,90,373     |
| Lactating Mothers | 56,43,545     |
| Adolescent Girls  | 15,61,716     |

(ii)  Mission  Shakti: It  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 weaker 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).  The 'Samarthya' has components of Shakti Sadan, Sakhi Niwas, Padhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana  (PMMVY),  Palna  and  SANKALP:  Hub  for  Empowerment  of  Women  (SNKALP: HEW).

As on 31 st January,  2026,  about  1.11  crore  Women  have  been  assisted  through  OSCs  and Women Helpline all over the country.

Under  PMVVY  an  amount  of  Rs.20,  101.00  crore  has  been  paid  to  about  4.27  crore beneficiaries.

(iii)  Mission  Vatsalya: Mission  Vatsalya  includes  the  Integrated  Child  Protection  Scheme (ICPS) for better outreach and protection for children in need and care in a mission mode with the  objective  to:  (i)  Support  and  sustain  Children  in  difficult  circumstances.  (ii)  Develop context-based  solutions  for  holistic  development  of  children  from  varied  backgrounds. (iii)Provide scope for encouraging innovative solutions, (iv) Cement convergent action.

Under Mission Vatsalya about 82,005 children are in institutional care and there are 3799 Child Care Institutes.

In  addition  to  this,  the  Government  of  India  earmarks  a  certain  percentage  of  the  national budget exclusively for women and girls. In the gender budget statement of FY 2026-27, an allocation of Rs. 5.01 lakh crore has been reported for welfare of women and girls, including their nutrition, safety, empowerment etc.

A total of 53 Ministries/Departments and 5 UTs have reported Gender Budget allocations in FY  2026-27.  Ministries/Departments  that  have  reported  more  than  30%  of  their  total allocations  in  the  Gender  Budget  for  FY  2026-27  are  Ministry  of  Women  &  Child Development (81.73%), Department of Rural Development (69.92%), Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (48.60%), Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation (48.04%), Department of Food and Public Distribution (46.34%), Department of Health and Family Welfare (40.44%), Ministry of New & Renewable   Energy(39.05%),   Department   of   Higher   Education   ((32.25%),  Ministry  of Panchayati Raj (30.93%), Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (30.22%) and Department of School Education and literacy (30.10%).

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