SRINAGAR: The Union Government on Friday informed Parliament that Jammu and Kashmir provides an additional monthly top-up of Rs 600 to Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and Rs 300 to Anganwadi Helpers (AWHs) over and above the Central honorarium, while stating that there is no announcement on any further revision of the Central honorarium.
In a written reply to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur said Anganwadi Workers and Helpers are honorary community-based workers who receive honorarium, which was last enhanced by the Centre with effect from October 1, 2018.
The Minister said the Central Government currently provides a monthly honorarium of Rs 4,500 to Anganwadi Workers and Rs 2,250 to Anganwadi Helpers under the prescribed Centre-State cost-sharing pattern. In addition, States and Union Territories provide varying levels of financial top-ups from their own resources.
According to the statement placed before Parliament, Jammu and Kashmir provides an additional Rs 600 per month to Anganwadi Workers and Rs a300 per month to Anganwadi Helpers, while neighbouring Ladakh pays top-ups of Rs 1,300 and Rs 650, respectively.
The Government also said performance-linked incentives of Rs 500 per month for Anganwadi Workers and Rs 250 per month for Anganwadi Helpers are provided under the scheme.
Highlighting welfare measures, the Ministry said Anganwadi Workers and Helpers have been provided smartphones under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, enabling real-time monitoring through the Poshan Tracker application, which has digitised physical registers maintained at Anganwadi centres.
The reply further stated that the Centre has enhanced promotional opportunities by reserving 50 per cent of Anganwadi Worker posts for eligible Helpers and 50 per cent of Supervisor posts for eligible Anganwadi Workers, subject to prescribed criteria.
Other benefits include 20 days of annual leave, 180 days of paid maternity leave, 45 days of paid leave for miscarriage or abortion, eligibility under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan pension scheme, life and accident insurance under PMJJBY and PMSBY, and annual health insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakh under Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
The Ministry said Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 has been onboarded onto the SNA SPARSH platform to improve transparency and ensure timely release of funds through a “just-in-time” payment mechanism. It added that regular reviews and video conferences are conducted with States and Union Territories to monitor utilisation of funds, including payments of honorarium and incentives.
