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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 1st 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 30th 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.
*****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. State Additional top ups paid to Additional top ups paid to
No. AWWs (per month) 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
3,500 1,750
Daman & Diu
36 Lakshadweep 5,500 4,750
*****