Jammu Kashmir Pays Among Lowest Top-Ups to Anganwadi Workers | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir provides one of the lowest additional honorariums to Anganwadi workers in the country, according to data placed in the Lok Sabha by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The figures show that the Union Territory pays an additional Rs. 600 per month to Anganwadi workers and Rs.300 to Anganwadi helpers, amounts that are significantly lower than those provided by most other states.

The data was disclosed in response to an unstarred parliamentary question on honorariums and budgetary allocations for Anganwadi workers under the Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0. The programme supports the network of Anganwadi centres that deliver nutrition, early childhood care, and health services under the broader Integrated Child Development Services framework.

The parliamentary reply shows that the additional financial support provided by Jammu and Kashmir is far below what many states pay their frontline nutrition workers. While the Union Territory provides a monthly top-up of Rs.600 for Anganwadi workers, several states provide substantially higher support. Haryana, for instance, pays an additional Rs.10,250 per month, while Telangana provides Rs.9,150 and Kerala Rs.8,500. Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh also provide Rs.8,500 each, while Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Sikkim offer Rs.7,000 as additional honorarium.

Even states that provide relatively modest supplements pay more than Jammu and Kashmir. Uttar Pradesh pays Rs.1,500 per month as an additional top-up to Anganwadi workers, while Assam provides Rs.2,000 and Bihar Rs.2,500. Similar disparities are visible in the case of Anganwadi helpers as well. In Jammu and Kashmir they receive a top-up of Rs.300 per month, whereas helpers in states such as Kerala receive Rs.6,750, those in Telangana Rs.5,550 and those in Andhra Pradesh Rs.4,750.

The Union government informed Parliament that Anganwadi workers and helpers are honorary community workers drawn from local communities to support child development and nutrition programmes. Their basic honorarium is determined by the Centre while states and Union Territories can provide additional incentives from their own resources. Since October 2018, the Centre has fixed the base honorarium at Rs.4,500 per month for Anganwadi workers and Rs.2,250 for Anganwadi helpers. In addition, performance-linked incentives of Rs.500 per month for workers and Rs.250 for helpers are provided under the programme.

The government also told Parliament that financial allocations for the national nutrition programme have increased over the past few years. Budget allocations under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 rose from Rs.20,294.58 crore in 2022-23 to Rs.21,960 crore in 2025-26, reflecting an expansion of the programme’s coverage and services.

Officials said several measures have been introduced to improve working conditions and welfare for Anganwadi staff, including promotion opportunities within the system, leave benefits and social security coverage. Workers are also covered under government insurance schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, while healthcare coverage of up to Rs.5 lakh has been extended to them under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

The Union government clarified that while it frames policy and shares programme costs, the responsibility for day-to-day implementation and additional payments to Anganwadi staff rests with the states and Union Territories. The data presented in Parliament indicates that despite the expansion of nutrition programmes across the country, the level of financial support provided to frontline workers continues to vary widely from state to state, with Jammu and Kashmir among those offering the lowest additional honorarium.