SRINAGAR: The Union Government on Friday informed Parliament that Jammu and Kashmir received Rs 33.79 crore under Mission Vatsalya during 2025-26 for the care, protection, rehabilitation and reintegration of children in difficult circumstances, while asserting that the scheme is backed by a digital monitoring system integrated with child protection and police databases.
Replying to a starred question in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annpurna Devi said Mission Vatsalya, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented in partnership with States and Union Territories, provides both institutional and non-institutional care for children, including orphans, abandoned and vulnerable children.
According to the statement laid before the House, Rs 33.79 crore was released to Jammu and Kashmir under the scheme during 2025-26, while Ladakh received Rs 3.20 crore.
The Minister said the scheme promotes family-based care and treats institutionalisation as a measure of last resort. Eligible children under sponsorship, foster care and aftercare receive Rs 4,000 per month. Beneficiaries of the PM CARES for Children Scheme below the age of 18 years who are living with relatives also receive the same monthly assistance under Mission Vatsalya.
The Government said the Ministry has developed a unified Mission Vatsalya Portal for real-time monitoring and service delivery. The platform integrates the TrackChild portal and the Khoya-Paya application and is linked with the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, enabling police to match missing children’s FIRs with the national database.
The reply stated that the scheme’s emergency response mechanism operates through the 24×7 Child Helpline (1098), with dedicated Women and Child Development control rooms established in every State and Union Territory. The helpline has also been integrated with the Emergency Response Support System (112) and the Women Helpline (181) to strengthen child protection services.
The Minister informed Parliament that the implementation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 is primarily the responsibility of State Governments and Union Territory administrations. District Child Protection Units, functioning under the supervision of District Magistrates, are the nodal agencies responsible for delivering child protection services and implementing child welfare legislation.
The Centre further said it undertakes periodic reviews of Mission Vatsalya through Project Approval Board (PAB) meetings with States and Union Territories to assess annual action plans, fund utilisation and implementation progress, while ensuring that resources are effectively used to achieve the scheme’s objectives.
