Parliament Question: Welfare and Protection Services for Women and Children

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3599 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.03.2026 WELFARE AND PROTECTION SERVICES FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN 3599. SHRI MANOJ TIWARI: Will the MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware that the availability/accessibility of welfare and protection services for women and children are limited in Delhi, particularly in the North- East Delhi Parliamentary Constituency; (b) if so, the details thereof; (c) the number of Anganwadi centres, One Stop Centres, Shakti Sadans and Child Care Institutions currently functioning in the said area; (d) whether the Government has any proposal to strengthen safety, nutrition, rehabilitation and skill development services for women and children in the said Constituency; (e) if so, the details thereof along with the projects approved, funds allocated and current status of implementation; and (f) if not, the reasons therefor along with the steps proposed to improve the availability of such services in the said area? ANSWER MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI) (a) to (f) The Government gives utmost priority to the safety, security, health, education, nutrition, rehabilitation and empowerment of women and children and has adopted multi-pronged approach to address their educational, social and economic empowerment across the country including North-East Delhi Parliamentary Constituency. Mission Shakti aims at strengthening interventions for women safety, security and empowerment. Mission Shakti comprises of two verticals ‘Sambal’ for safety and security of women and‘Samarthya’ for empowerment of women. Mission Shakti is Centrally Sponsored Scheme and implemented in NCT of Delhi including the North-East Delhi Parliamentary Constituency. Sambal has components of One Stop Centre (OSC), Women Helpline (WHL), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) and Nari Adalat (Nari Adalat). Samarthya has components of Shakti Sadan, Sakhi Niwas, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), Palna and SANKALP: Hub for Empowerment of Women (SANKALP: HEW). One Stop Centre (OSC) provides integrated and immediate support and assistance under one roof to women affected by violence and those in distress, both in private and public spaces all across the country. It provides services like medical aid, legal aid and advice, temporary shelter, police assistance and psycho-social counselling to needy women. In the NCT of Delhi, the 11 operational One Stop Centres have provided assistance to 43,079 women. Women Helpline (WHL-181) provides 24-hour toll-free telecommunication services to support women in both emergency and non-emergency situations. It offers assistance to women affected by violence and provides information about government schemes and services all across the country including the NCT of Delhi. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme was launched to help address Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and related issues of empowerment of girls and women over a life cycle continuum. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme has transformed from policy initiative into national movement by mobilizing various stakeholders, including government agencies, media civil society and general public. Nari Adalat is an 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 at Gram Panchayat level. Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) is a maternity benefit scheme under which cash incentives flow to beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode for the first child and the second girl child. So far, 5,80,790 women have been benefitted under the scheme in the NCT of Delhi. Shakti Sadan is an integrated relief and rehabilitation home for women in distress situations, including trafficked women. Two Shakti Sadans are functional in the NCT of Delhi, and 820 women have been benefited since inception up to 31st December, 2025. Sakhi Niwas provides safe and conveniently located accommodation for working women. Presently, 14 Sakhi Niwas are functional in the NCT of Delhi, and over 6,800 women have benefited. Palna aims to provide quality crèche facilities in a safe and secure environment for children. As on date, 502 Anganwadi-cum-Crèches (AWCCs) are operational in the NCT of Delhi. SANKALP: Hub for Empowerment of Women (HEW) facilitates inter-sectoral convergence of schemes and programmes meant for women at the national, State/UT, and district levels. Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0) integrates Anganwadi Services, Poshan Abhiyaan and the Scheme for Adolescent Girls, adopting a lifecycle approach to reduce malnutrition and strengthen human capital. It is a flagship programme of the Government of India and represents one of the world’s largest and unique programmes for early childhood care and development of children. The beneficiaries under this scheme are children in the age group of 0-6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers across the country; and also, in 218 districts, adolescent girls (14-18 years of age).Being a universal self-selecting Scheme, any person falling under these categories can enrol at AWCs to avail the Anganwadi services. Under the Scheme following six services are provided through the platform of Anganwadi Centres to the eligible beneficiaries: i.Supplementary Nutrition (SNP) under which there is special focus on undernourished children. ii. Pre-school Non-formal Education, also referred to as Early Childhood Care and Education iii. Nutrition & Health Education iv. Immunization, v. Health Check-up, and vi. Referral Services. Three of the six services, viz., Immunization, Health check-up and Referral Services are related to health and are provided through NHM & Public Health Infrastructure. The number of AWCs functioning in NCT of Delhi including North-East Delhi Parliamentary constituency may be accessed from public dashboard of Poshan tracker which is available at www.Poshantracker.in Mission Vatsalya scheme is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) which is implemented through States and Union Territories to deliver services for Children in Need of Care and Protection (CNCP) and Children in Conflict with Law (CCL) which include Institutional Care and Non- Institutional Care. Under the scheme Institutional Care is provided through Child Care Institutions (CCIs), as a rehabilitative measure. The programmes and activities in homes inter- alia include age-appropriate education, access to vocational training, recreation, health care, counselling etc. Under the Non-Institutional Care component, support is extended for Adoption, Foster Care, After Care and Sponsorship. The Child Care Institutions (CCIs) established under the Mission Vatsalya scheme support, inter-alia, age-appropriate education, access to vocational training, recreation, health care, counselling etc. Total Registered CCIs including funded CCI is 88 in the NCT of Delhi including North-East Delhi Parliamentary constituency. Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, Mission Shakti and Mission Vatsalya are Centrally Sponsored Scheme and implementation of these scheme lies with the State Governments / UT Administrations. Funds are being released on the basis of guidelines of Department of Expenditure, prescribed for Single Nodal agency (SNA) or SNA SPARSH of the Public Financial Management System (PFMS). Further, once in a year, the Programme Approval Board (PAB)/ Annual Programme Implementation Plan (APIP) monitors with States and UTs, the progress of activities under the scheme and reviews status of achievement of objectives, effective delivery of services to women and children including rural and marginalized communities. Apart from this, officials of the Ministry continuously review the scheme through meetings, video conferencing and by making field visits to States/UTs from time to time. *****