Parliament Question: Infrastructure of Anganwadi centres

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 634 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.02.2026 INFRASTRUCTURE OF ANGANWADI CENTRES 634. DR. ASHOK KUMAR MITTAL: Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state: (a) whether many Anganwadi centres lack proper buildings and facilities, if so, details thereof, if not, reasons therefor; (b) whether vacancies among Anganwadi workers continue to persist, if so, details thereof, if not, reasons therefor; (c) whether these shortages have affected service delivery to children, if so, details thereof, if not, reasons therefor; and (d) what measures Government is taking to upgrade infrastructure and ensure adequate staffing across Anganwadis? ANSWER MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI) (a) to (d): Under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, in order to improve the infrastructure facilities at Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) various steps have been taken by the Ministry that, inter alia, include increasing the funding for drinking water facilities and toilets at Anganwadi Centres from Rs.10,000/- to Rs.17,000/- and Rs.12,000/- to Rs.36,000/- respectively. Also, there has been a provision of construction of 50000 AWCs buildings over a period of five years @10000 AWCs per year in convergence with MGNREGS wherein Rs.8.00 Lakh is provided under MGNREGS, Rs.2.00 Lakh under 15th Finance Commission (FC) (or any other untied funds) and Rs.2.00 Lakh by MWCD per AWC shared between Centre and States/UTs in the prescribed cost sharing ratio. Further, States/UTs have also been advised to continue to tap funds for construction of AWC buildings from various schemes such as Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), Finance Commission Grants to Panchayati Raj Institutions, Multi- Sectoral Development Programme (MSDP) of Ministry of Minority Affairs, etc. Under Mission Poshan 2.0, two lakh Anganwadi Centres located in Government buildings @40,000 AWCs per year are strengthened as Saksham Anganwadis for delivery of improvednutrition and for Early Childhood Care and Education in the 15th Finance Commission cycle. Saksham Anganwadis are provided with better infrastructure than the conventional Anganwadi centres with LED screens, water filtration system, Poshan Vatika, ECCE material and BALA paintings. Under PM JANMAN for the targeted development of 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), a total of 2,500 Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) has been sanctioned for construction across the country. Under Dharti Abha Janjati Gram Unnat Abhiyan, to improve the socio-economic conditions of tribal communities, 875 AWCs have been sanctioned for construction across the country. Under VVP (Vibrant Village Programme) - Phase I, focusing on Northern border areas, 101 AWCs have also been sanctioned for construction in the relevant States and UTs. In convergence with Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education Guidelines for Co-locating Anganwadi Centres within Government Primary Schools have been jointly launched on 3rd September, 2025 to strengthen ECCE and Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) services. In places where physical co-location is not possible, AWCs are to be mapped with the nearest primary school. Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 is a Centrally Sponsored scheme. The implementation of the scheme falls under the ambit of State Governments and UTs administration. 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. The State and UT wise details of infrastructure and staff vacancies are available at the link: https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics. ******