Parliament Question: Welfare and safety of women and children

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 4315 TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.04.2026 WELFARE AND SAFETY OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN 4315. DR. SASMIT PATRA: Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state: (a) the latest data on malnutrition, anemia, child stunting and wasting among women and children across the country, State-wise and how these indicators have changed during the last five years; (b) the number of cases reported relating to crimes against women and children, including trafficking, child labour, child marriage and sexual offences, State-wise during the last five years; (c) whether Government has conducted any assessment of the effectiveness of schemes aimed at improving nutrition, safety and welfare of women and children, and the major gaps identified in implementation; and (d) the corrective measures proposed to strengthen welfare and protection? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR) (a) to (d): Under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, Poshan Tracker Digital Application has been introduced as an ICT based governance tool for monitoring and tracking of nutrition services on defined indicators. The state wise information on malnutrition among children under 5 is available on the Poshan Tracker public dashboard at the given link: https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics. Further, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) keeps record of Children and women suffering from anaemia. As per National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5, State-wise, data on prevalence of anemia among children and women in the country is placed at the Annexure. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes the data on the number of cases of trafficking, child labour, child marriage in its publication 'Crime in India'. The said report is available at the given link: https://www.ncrb.gov.in/crime-in-india.html. A third-party evaluation and impact assessment of Poshan Abhiyaan was conducted by NITI Aayog in 2020 and it has found its relevance to be satisfactory for tackling malnutrition in the country. Niti Aayog has also got conducted outcome-based evaluation of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 in 2025. Evidence from institutional assessments and household surveys indicated that in its current form, Mission Poshan 2.0 represents the Government’s latest effort to holistically combat malnutrition and promote child development, by building onpast programs with a converged and strengthened approach. Also, the study found that the SAMARTHYA vertical of Mission Shakti including Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) is highly relevant and PMMVY Scheme has good awareness at grassroot level. Further, study mentions Shakti Sadan emerges as a critical safety net for highly marginalized women survivors of violence, trafficking, and abandonment. Women consistently described Shakti Sadan as their first experience of dignity, care, and security, highlighting its transformative role in rehabilitation. Additionally, Sakhi Niwas contributes meaningfully to women’s economic mobility and autonomy by providing safe accommodation near work or study sites, thus enabling employment continuity and reducing vulnerabilities. Across schemes, impact is strongest where services intersect with real-life vulnerabilities and institutional convergence is effective. Continued focus on financial autonomy, tailored support for high- risk groups, and integrated service delivery will be key to deepening the transformative impact of Samarthya. Following are the ongoing steps by the Ministry to strengthen welfare and protection of the women and children: • In order to strengthen transparency and accessibility in service delivery with respect to reliefs and rehabilitation to women in distress, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) launched Mission Shakti Portal (https://missionshakti.wcd.gov.in/) on 22.01.2025. • The Sexual Harassment Electronic Box (SHe-Box) Portal (https://shebox.wcd.gov.in/) launched by the Ministry of WCD as a digital governance initiative for effective implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act (PoSH Act), 2013, is a major step towards women empowerment by ensuring them a safer workplace and an easy access to a redressal mechanism. • One Stop Centres (OSC) under Mission Shakti provide 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. • Women Helpline (WHL-181) provides 24-hour toll-free telecommunication service to support women in both emergency and non-emergency by providing information about government schemes and services. It is integrated with Emergency Response Support System ERSS-112. • Under the overarching ‘Mission Shakti’, ‘Shakti Sadan Scheme is an Integrated Relief and Rehabilitation Home for women in distress situations including trafficked women, which aims at creating a safe and enabling environment. • Sakhi Niwas Scheme (Working Women Hostel) under the overarching Mission Shakti, is a demand driven Centrally Sponsored Scheme, under which funds are released directly to the States and UTs for implementation of the scheme. The scheme aims to promote availability of safe and conveniently located accommodation for working women in urban, semi-urban and in rural areas where employment opportunity for women exists. • The Government of India adopts a whole of government approach to address offences targeting women and children, with concerned Ministries implementing legal, technological, enforcement and victim-support/ rehabilitation interventions within their respective mandates. *****Annexure STATE AND UT WISE PREVALENCE OF ANEMIA AMONG CHILDREN AND WOMEN (SOURCE: NFHS-5, 2019-21) Sr. Children age 6-59 months who are All women age 15-49 years who are States/UTs No. anaemic (%) anaemic (%) 1 Andhra Pradesh 63.2 58.8 2 A&N Islands 40.0 57.5 Arunachal 40.3 56.6 3 Pradesh 4 Assam 68.4 65.9 5 Bihar 69.4 63.5 6 Chandigarh 54.6 60.3 7 Chhattisgarh 67.2 60.8 8 DNH & DD 75.8 62.5 9 Goa 53.2 39.0 10 Gujarat 79.7 65.0 11 Haryana 70.4 60.4 Himachal 53.0 55.4 12 Pradesh Jammu & 65.9 72.7 13 Kashmir 14 Jharkhand 67.5 65.3 15 Karnataka 65.5 47.8 16 Kerala 39.4 36.3 17 Ladakh 92.5 92.8 18 Lakshadweep 43.1 25.8 19 Madhya Pradesh 72.7 54.7 20 Maharashtra 68.9 54.2 21 Manipur 42.8 29.4 22 Meghalaya 45.1 53.8 23 Mizoram 46.4 34.8 24 Nagaland 42.7 28.9 25 NCT Delhi 69.2 49.9 26 Odisha 64.2 64.3 27 Puducherry 64.0 55.1 28 Punjab 71.1 58.7 29 Rajasthan 71.5 54.4 30 Sikkim 56.4 42.1 31 Tamil Nadu 57.4 53.4 32 Telangana 70.0 57.6 33 Tripura 64.3 67.2 34 Uttar Pradesh 66.4 50.4 35 Uttarakhand 58.8 42.6 36 West Bengal 69.0 71.4 *****