Parliament Question: Funds for the Welfare of Women and Children

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3618 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.03.2026 FUNDS FOR THE WELFARE OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN 3618. SMT. SANDHYA RAY: Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state: (a) the details of the increase in the total budget of the Ministry in the Union Budget 2026-27 along with the goals set for the welfare of women and children in the country; (b) the details of the benefits likely to accrue through the Saksham Anganwadi & Poshan 2.0, 'Mission Shakti' and 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' schemes under the said budget in Bhind- Datia districts of Madhya Pradesh; (c) whether the Government has prepared a special action plan for reducing malnutrition rate, eradicating anaemia and strengthening Anganwadi infrastructure in the said districts, if so, the details thereof; (d) whether the Government is contemplating to provide additional assistance for modernisation of Anganwadi centres, digital monitoring and empowerment of women self- help groups in the said districts, if so, the details thereof; and (e) whether the Government proposes to take any initiative to develop the said districts as a model district during 2026-27, if so, the details thereof ANSWER MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI) (a) to (e) The Government accords utmost priority to the overall welfare of Women and Children in the country following the whole of the Government approach where various Ministries including Ministry of Women and Child Development work through their schemes and interventions. For effective implementation and efficient monitoring, various schemes are implemented by the Ministry of Women & Child Development for nutrition, safety and welfare of women and childrenall over the country, including in Bhind-Datia districts of Madhya Pradesh. In the Ministry, Component Schemes have been clubbed under 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. The details of the increase in the total budget of the Ministry in the Union Budget 2026-27 for achieving the goals under the programmes/schemes viz. Saksham Anganwadi & Poshan 2.0, Mission Shakti and Mission Vatsalya are at Annexure. The details of the beneficiaries under Saksham Anganwadi & Poshan 2.0, and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana under 'Mission Shakti' in Bhind-Datia districts of Madhya Pradesh are hereunder: Mission/Scheme Category Number of Beneficiaries Bhind Datia Mission Saksham Anganwadi & Poshan 2.0 (as Pregnant women 6,314 3,689 on 28.02.2026 ) Lactating Mothers 6,467 3,941 Children(0-6 1,20,062 73,397 years) Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (as Maternity Benefits 94,428 52,977 on 09.03.2026) Under other component Schemes of Mission Shakti, the initiatives taken and progress made are as follows: • 57 One Stop Centre (OSCs) are operational in Madhya Pradesh as on date, out of which, one OSC in Bhind and one OSC in Datia district are operational. Till 31st December 2025, OSCs have assisted over 13.37 lakh women in the country. • Till 31st January 2026, through Women Help Line (WHL), over 97.81 lakh women have been assisted in the country including those in Madhya Pradesh. • 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. The scheme is implemented in all the districts of the country including the districts in Bhind-Datia of Madhya Pradesh Under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, there is a provision for the construction of Anganwadi Centre (AWC) buildings in convergence with the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G). States/UTs have also been advised to mobilize additional resources for AWC construction through schemes such as the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), Finance Commission Grants to Panchayati Raj Institutions, and the Multi-Sectoral Development Programme (MSDP) of the Ministry of Minority Affairs. Further, there is provision to strengthen and upgrade AWCs for improved nutrition delivery for stimulating the creative, social, emotional, cognitive and intellectual development of childrenunder 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 child-friendly learning equipment’s, Art Work (Educational painting, practice board for children, information board) and wall painting (cleaning, sanding, repairing). In the district of Bhind 446 AWCs have been sanctioned and in Datiya 342 AWCs have been sanctioned for upgradation into Saksham Anganwadis. Several Steps have also been undertaken by the Ministry for digital monitoring of schemes :- • A new portal, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana Software (PMMVYSoft) has been launched, under which Aadhaar authentication through UIDAI and National Payment Corporations of India (NPCI) verification is ensured so that funds are directly transferred to their DBT-enabled Aadhaar-seeded bank or post office accounts. • IT systems have been leveraged to strengthen and bring about transparency in nutrition delivery support systems at the Anganwadi Centres. 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. Data from Poshan Tracker is used to identify beneficiaries. The States/UTs have also been advised to discontinue the use of physical registers and use Poshan Tracker to reduce work load of Anganwadi workers and improving their efficiency. To track last mile Service Delivery, Facial Recognition System (FRS) is used for distribution of Take-Home Ration to ensure that benefit is given only to the intended beneficiary registered in Poshan Tracker. Similarly, other Ministries have also taken initiatives towards welfare of women and children. • Ministry of Tribal Affairs: Under Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) there is a provision for construction of AWCs in Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) areas. For Datiya 23 AWCs and for Bhind 1 AWCs have been sanctioned for construction under PM JANMAN. Additionally, the Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA) launched by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs focuses on convergence, outreach, and saturation in tribal villages, under which 875 AWCs have been sanctioned for construction. • Ministry of Health and Family Welfare: Ministry is implementing Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) strategy in a life cycle approach under National Health Mission (NHM), which includes certain specific interventions to address nutrition and anaemia concerns among women and children, across all States/UTs in the country through its various programmes viz. Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB), Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs), Mother’s Absolute Affection (MAA) Programme, Lactation Management Centres, National Deworming Day (NDD), Vitamin A Supplement Programme, Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Days (VHSNDs) etc.• Ministry of Rural Development: Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY- NRLM) launched in June 2011, is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme which aims at mobilizing rural poor women households into Self Help Groups (SHGs) and provide them long-term support so that they diversify their livelihoods, improve their incomes and lead a better-quality life. Further, as on 31st Jan 2026, the Mission is implemented in 7178 blocks in 755 districts across 28 States (Including Madhya Pradesh) and 6 UTs (except Delhi and Chandigarh). Cumulatively, 10.05 crore women have been mobilized into nearly 91 lakh SHGs.Annexure (Rs. in crores) BE 2025-26 BE 2026-27 Total enhancement in BE 2026-27 w.r.t BE 2025-26 26889.69 28183.06 (+) 1293.37 Scheme-wise Budget Estimates (BE) for FY 2026-27 (Rs. in crores) S.No. Scheme Amount 1. Saksham Anganwadi & Poshan 2.0 23100.00 2. Mission Vatsalya 1550.00 3. Mission Shakti 3200.00 4. Other Scheme Funded from Nirbhaya Fund 40.00 Total (Schemes) 27890.00 Non-Scheme (including Secretariat & Autonomous 5. 293.06 Bodies) Total (Scheme+Non-Scheme) 28183.06 *****