SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir supported 6,962 children under Mission Vatsalya during 2025-26, including 1,870 beneficiaries receiving institutional care and 5,092 supported through non-institutional services, according to data presented by the Union Government in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development said 338 Anganwadi Centres in Jammu and Kashmir had also been approved for upgradation into Saksham Anganwadis during the 15th Finance Commission cycle. Of these, 86 were sanctioned in 2022-23, 50 in 2023-24 and 202 in 2024-25.
Ladakh, meanwhile, had 14 Anganwadi Centres approved for upgradation and supported 578 children under Mission Vatsalya in 2025-26, comprising 96 beneficiaries under institutional care and 482 under non-institutional care.
JK’s 6,962 Mission Vatsalya beneficiaries included 5,092 receiving non-institutional support such as sponsorship, foster care and after-care services, while 1,870 were supported through institutional care facilities. The Union territory accounted for about 2.8 per cent of the 251,109 beneficiaries supported nationally under the two categories during the financial year.
The figures were provided by Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur in response to Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1267 on women empowerment and child nutrition.
Across India, 80,511 children received institutional care and 170,598 benefited from non-institutional care under Mission Vatsalya in 2025-26. JK’s institutional-care beneficiaries represented about 2.3 per cent of the national total, while its non-institutional beneficiaries accounted for about 3 per cent.
Among states and Union territories, Maharashtra recorded the highest number of non-institutional beneficiaries at 32,520, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 20,572 and Karnataka with 18,673. JK’s 5,092 beneficiaries placed it below these leading states but above several other Union territories and states.
The Ministry said Mission Vatsalya is being implemented across all states and Union territories under a Centrally Sponsored framework to provide care, protection and welfare services to children in difficult circumstances. Its institutional care component provides services through Child Care Institutions, while non-institutional support includes sponsorship, foster care and after-care.
The Mission also provides 24×7 emergency outreach services through Child Helpline 1098, which has been integrated with the Emergency Response Support System-112 of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, the Ministry said 338 Anganwadi Centres in JK and 14 in Ladakh had been approved for conversion into Saksham Anganwadis. Nationally, 2 lakh Anganwadi Centres located in government buildings have been sanctioned for upgradation during the 15th Finance Commission cycle.
The Ministry said Saksham Anganwadis are intended to provide improved nutrition and early childhood care and education, with facilities including LED screens, water filtration systems, Poshan Vatikas, early childhood education material and Building as Learning Aid paintings.
The Poshan Tracker digital platform is being used as an information and communication technology-based governance tool to monitor Anganwadi Centres, Anganwadi Workers and beneficiaries against defined indicators. The Ministry said the system was facilitating near-real-time monitoring of activities at nearly 14 lakh Anganwadi Centres across the country.
Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 covers children below six years, pregnant women, lactating mothers and adolescent girls aged 14-18 years in Aspirational Districts and the North-Eastern region. Supplementary nutrition is provided according to norms under the National Food Security Act, 2013, which were revised in January 2023 to place greater emphasis on dietary diversity and balanced nutrition.
The Centre also said Mission Shakti was being implemented through two broad components, Sambal and Samarthya, focusing on women’s safety, security and empowerment.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, benefits worth Rs 21,118 crore had been provided to around 4.54 crore women across India from the scheme’s launch on January 1, 2017, until July 20, 2026. The scheme provides Rs 5,000 through direct benefit transfer for the first child, while eligible beneficiaries can receive Rs 6,000 for a second child if the child is a girl, subject to prescribed conditions.
For 2025-26, the Ministry said 42,822 beneficiaries received support under Shakti Sadan, 56,815 under Sakhi Niwas and 43,000 under Palna. The SANKALP Hub for Empowerment of Women functions as a single-window mechanism to improve access to information about government schemes and entitlements.
The Ministry said the three umbrella missions — Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, Mission Shakti and Mission Vatsalya — together form the Centre’s framework for addressing child nutrition, women’s safety and empowerment, and the protection and welfare of children in difficult circumstances.
