Parliament Question: Beneficiaries of Women and Child Development Schemes

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2491 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.02.2026 BENEFICIARIES OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT SCHEMES 2491. SHRI AJAY KUMAR MANDAL: Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state: (a) whether the implementation of schemes related to women and child development is progressing at a slow pace in Bhagalpur district of Bihar; (b) if so, the details thereof; (c) the number of Anganwadi Centres currently functional along with the number of such Centres proposed in the said district; (d) the number of women and children who have been benefited under the POSHAN Abhiyaan and the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana in the said district till date; and (e) the details of the steps taken by the Government in the said district to promote women's empowerment, ensure their safety and improve nutritional outcomes in the said district? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR) (a) to (e): Various schemes implemented by the Ministry of Women & Child Development (MoWCD) for welfare of women and children all over the country, including in Bhagalpur district of Bihar, 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 Umbrella Missions 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. (ii) Mission Shakti: It comprises of two verticals ‘Sambal’ and ‘Samarthya’ for safety, security and empowerment of women, respectively. I. Sambal - The following schemes have been included under the Sambal vertical: One Stop Centres (OSC) - for providing integrated support and assistance to women affected by violence and those in distress, both in private and public spaces in a convergent and coordinated manner under one roof; Women Helplines (181-WHL) is a 24 x 7 x 365 toll-free emergency/non-emergency response system that is integrated with ERSS (112) and other existing helplines/institutions; Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) - launched with an aim to address declining Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) and related issues of empowerment of girls and women over a life cycle continuum; Nari Adalat – a pilot initiative aimed at empowering women by ensuring justice and to offer services such as alternate dispute resolution, grievance redressal, counselling, evidence-based decision-making, pressure group tactics, negotiation, mediation, and reconciliation. II. Samarthya - The following schemes have been included under ‘Samarthya’ vertical: Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) - a Centrally Sponsored Maternity Benefit Scheme under which cash incentives flow to the beneficiaries in Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode for the first child and the second girl child; Shakti Sadan - an Integrated Relief and Rehabilitation Home for women in distress situations including trafficked women; Sakhi Niwas - to promote availability of safe and conveniently located accommodation for working women in urban, semi-urban and also in rural areas where employment opportunities for women exist; National Hub for Empowerment of Women (NHEW) - to facilitate intersectoral convergence of schemes and programs meant for women at National level, State/ UT level and district level and Palna that aims to increase the participation of women in work force in the economy by providing quality crèche facility in safe and secure environment for children. (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. The number of Anganwadi Centres functional in Bhagalpur district is 3078. The details of number of beneficiaries under the POSHAN Abhiyaan and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana schemes in Bhagalpur District are as under:Mission/ Category Number of Scheme Beneficiaries Pregnant Women 19,648 Mission Saksham Anganwadi & Poshan 2.0 (as on 31.01.2026) Lactating Mothers 20,316 Children (0-6 2,47,400 years) Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (as on Beneficiaries paid 1,12,424 08.02.2026) *****