Two lakh anganwadi posts lie vacant in the country: WCD

There are over 24 lakh anganwadi staffers working across various centres in the country, and two lakh posts for anganwadi workers and helpers are lying vacant, the Lok Sabha was told on Friday.

Minister of State for Women and Child Development Ministry Virendra Kumar said a package of six essential services comprising supplementary nutrition (SNP), immunisation, health check-up, referral services, pre-school non-formal education and nutrition and health education are provided to the targeted beneficiaries.

About 1.09 lakh anganwadi worker positions are vacant, while 1.18 lakh positions for anganwadi helpers are unoccupied, he said in a written reply.

He also said a total of 12.8 lakh anganwadi workers and 11.6 lakh anganwadi helpers are working across the country.

Bihar has the highest number of vacant anganwadi posts, with 53,000 unoccupied positions, he said.

Out of the total number of anganwadi centres, 86.15 per cent of them, which is about 12.83 lakh, are running from concrete buildings, the remaining 13.85 per cent are operating from make-shift buildings, he said, adding there are 13.63 lakh operational anganwadi kendras in the country.

"The government has made provision of funds for providing medicine kit of Rs 1,500 per annum for anganwadi centres and Rs 750 per annum for mini-aganwadi centres and other administrative expenses under anganwadi services are Rs 2,000 per annum for anganwadi centres and Rs 1,000 per annum for mini-anganwadi centres," he said.