Jammu Kashmir Gives Rs 600 Top-Up to Anganwadi Workers, Among Lowest in India | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir provides an additional honorarium of Rs 600 per month to Anganwadi Workers (AWWs), one of the lowest top-ups in the country, according to data tabled in the Lok Sabha on Friday, even as the Union Government reiterated that frontline workers such as ASHAs and Anganwadi staff are honorary community volunteers and that States are responsible for additional financial support beyond central incentives.

The figures were placed before Parliament in response to a Question, answered on February 13, 2026, by Minister of State for Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur. As per the Annexure to the reply, Jammu and Kashmir provides Rs 600 per month as additional honorarium to AWWs from its own resources. In comparison, Haryana provides Rs 10,250, Telangana Rs 9,150, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra Rs 8,500 each, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka Rs 7,000 each, while Ladakh provides Rs 1,300 per month.

The Centre stated that Anganwadi Workers and Anganwadi Helpers are honorary workers drawn from the local community and are paid a monthly honorarium that was enhanced by the Government of India from October 1, 2018, to Rs 4,500 per month for AWWs and Rs 2,250 for Helpers, as per the defined cost-sharing ratio between the Centre and States/UTs. In addition, performance-linked incentives of Rs 500 per month for AWWs and Rs 250 for Helpers are provided. States and UTs may grant additional top-ups from their own budgets, which vary significantly.

Under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, Anganwadi workers have been provided smartphones and are using the Poshan Tracker mobile application, which digitises physical registers and enables real-time monitoring of services delivered at Anganwadi centres. Promotional avenues have also been expanded, with 50 per cent of Anganwadi Worker posts to be filled by Helpers with five years of experience, and 50 per cent of Supervisor posts to be filled by promotion from eligible Anganwadi Workers.

The reply further detailed social security entitlements available to Anganwadi Workers and Helpers, including insurance cover under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, which provides Rs 2 lakh for life risk, and the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, which provides Rs 2 lakh for accidental death or permanent full disability and Rs1 lakh for partial permanent disability. They are also eligible for annual health coverage of Rs 5 lakh under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. States and UTs have been requested to encourage enrolment under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan pension scheme to ensure old-age protection. Additional service conditions include 20 days of annual leave, 180 days of paid maternity leave, and 45 days of paid leave in case of miscarriage or abortion.

In a separate reply in the Lok Sabha the same day, Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda reiterated that Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) are envisaged as community health volunteers and receive task-based and performance-linked incentives rather than a fixed salary structure. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare provides technical and financial support to States and UTs under the National Health Mission based on their Programme Implementation Plans.

ASHAs receive fixed monthly incentives for routine and recurring activities along with performance-based incentives under various national health programmes. ASHA Facilitators are paid Rs 300 per supervisory visit and undertake around 20 such visits per month. Following the rollout of Ayushman Arogya Mandir, ASHAs are eligible for team-based incentives of up to Rs 1,000 per month along with Auxiliary Nurse Midwives, subject to performance indicators. They are also covered under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, are eligible for Rs 3,000 per month pension after the age of 60 under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan scheme, and are provided annual health coverage of Rs 5 lakh under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. A one-time recognition amount of Rs 20,000 is approved for ASHAs exiting the programme after completing a minimum of 10 years of service.

The Centre reiterated that strengthening the public healthcare system, including decisions on additional honorarium and timely payments to ASHAs and Anganwadi workers, rests primarily with State and Union Territory governments. The data placed before Parliament shows that Jammu and Kashmir’s Ra 600 monthly top-up to Anganwadi Workers is among the lowest additional honoraria provided by States and UTs.