Lok Sabha Question No. 4824 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-20
Subject: Honorarium to AWWs and AWHs in Karnataka
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri E Tukaram

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4824

TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.03.2026

## HONORARIUM TO AWWS AND AWHS IN KARNATAKA

## 4824.  SHRI E TUKARAM:

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

- (a) the  total  number  of  posts  of  Anganwadi  Workers  (AWWs)  and  Anganwadi  Helpers (AWHs) lying vacant in Karnataka as per records of the Central Government;
- (b) whether the Central Government has reviewed the present honorarium amount given to AWWs and AWHs, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  Central  Government  proposes  to  increase  its  share  of  honorarium  for AWWs and AWHs in Karnataka; and
- (d) if  so,  the  details  of  amount  proposed  to  be  increased  indicating  the  likely  date  of implementation  thereof  and  if  not,  the  reasons  for  not  increasing  the  Central  share despite repeated demands and rising cost of living?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (d):        Anganwadi  Workers (AWWs) and Anganwadi Helpers (AWHs) are honorary workers  drawn  from  the  local  community  who  voluntarily  come  forward  to  render  their services in the area of child care and development to help the local community for which they are paid honorarium. This honorarium 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 and AWHs from Rs.1,500/- to Rs.2,250/- per month as per the defined cost sharing ratio between the Centre and States and UTs. In addition, States and UTs are also paying additional monetary incentives and top ups to these functionaries from their own resources which vary from State to State. Details of additional top ups provided by States and UTs are at Annexure .

Besides,  performance  linked  incentive  of  Rs.500/-  per  month  is  provided  to  AWWs  and Rs.250/- per month to AWHs.

Under  Mission  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0,  AWWs  have  been  technologically empowered with the provision of smartphones for efficient monitoring and delivery of services.

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. Promotion:  Under  Mission  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0,  promotional opportunities for AWWs and AWHs have been enhanced. 50% posts of AWWs are to be filled by AWHs with 5 years of experience and 50% posts of Supervisors are to be filled by promotion of AWWs with 5 years of experience subject to fulfilment of other criteria.
- ii. Leave: 20 days' annual leave and paid maternity absence of 180 days and paid absence on abortion/ miscarriage once for 45 days.
- iii. 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 sector in the country to ensure old age protection.
- iv. Social Security Insurance Schemes: Insurance benefits have been provided to AWWs and AWHs 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 AWWs and AWHs 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 AWWs and AWHs in pursuance to budget announcement in FY 2024-25.

As  per  the  data  available  on  Poshan  Tracker  (February,  2026),  a  total  of  3,809  posts  of Anganwadi  Workers  and  12,022  posts  of  Anganwadi  Helpers  are  vacant  in  the  State  of Karnataka.

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 including recruitment of staff for implementation of the scheme. The matter regarding filling up of vacant posts at various  levels  is  regularly  taken  up  with  them  through  sustained  engagements  and  video conferences so as to ensure uninterrupted delivery of services to the beneficiaries.

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Annexure

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (D) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4824 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.03.2026 REGARDING ' HONORARIUM TO AWWS AND AWHS IN KARNATAKA '

## DETAILS OF ADDITIONAL TOP UPS AS PROVIDED BY STATES AND UTS:

|   Sr. No. | State                               | Additional top ups paid AWWs(per month)   | to Additional top ups paid AWHs (per month)   |
|-----------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|
|         1 | Andhra Pradesh                      | 7,000                                     | 4,750                                         |
|         2 | Bihar                               | 2,500                                     | 1,750                                         |
|         3 | Chhattisgarh                        | 5,500                                     | 2,750                                         |
|         4 | Gujarat                             | 5,500                                     | 3,250                                         |
|         5 | Haryana                             | 10,250                                    | 5,650                                         |
|         6 | Himachal Pradesh                    | 5,500                                     | 3,250                                         |
|         7 | Jammu &Kashmir                      | 600                                       | 300                                           |
|         8 | Jharkhand                           | 5,000                                     | 2,500                                         |
|         9 | Karnataka                           | 7,000                                     | 4,500                                         |
|        10 | Kerala                              | 8,500                                     | 6,750                                         |
|        11 | Madhya Pradesh                      | 8,500                                     | 4,250                                         |
|        12 | Maharashtra                         | 8,500                                     | 5,250                                         |
|        13 | Odisha                              | 5,500                                     | 2,750                                         |
|        14 | Punjab                              | 5,500-6,500                               | 2,750-3,250                                   |
|        15 | Rajasthan                           | 5,510                                     | 3,674                                         |
|        16 | Tamil Nadu                          | 3,200                                     | 1,850                                         |
|        17 | Telangana                           | 9,150                                     | 5,550                                         |
|        18 | Uttar Pradesh                       | 1,500                                     | 750                                           |
|        19 | Uttarakhand                         | 4,800                                     | 3,000                                         |
|        20 | West Bengal                         | 4,500                                     | 4,550                                         |
|        21 | Arunachal Pradesh                   | 3,000                                     | 3,000                                         |
|        22 | Assam                               | 2,000                                     | 1,000                                         |
|        23 | Manipur                             | 1,000                                     | 600                                           |
|        24 | Meghalaya                           | 3,000                                     | 1,000                                         |
|        25 | Mizoram                             | 450                                       | 500                                           |
|        26 | Nagaland                            | Nil                                       | Nil                                           |
|        27 | Sikkim                              | 7,000                                     | 4,500                                         |
|        28 | Tripura                             | 3,500-5,946                               | 2,750-4218                                    |
|        29 | Andaman &Nicobar                    | 7,500                                     | 5,750                                         |
|        30 | Goa                                 | 5,500 -13,500                             | 3,750 - 6,750                                 |
|        31 | Puducherry                          | 1,950                                     | 2,125                                         |
|        32 | Chandigarh                          | 3,600                                     | 1,800                                         |
|        33 | Ladakh                              | 1,300                                     | 650                                           |
|        34 | Delhi                               | 6,720                                     | 3,360                                         |
|        35 | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu | 3,500                                     | 1,750                                         |
|        36 | Lakshadweep                         | 5,500                                     | 4,750                                         |

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