NEW DELHI: A total of 14,599 Anganwadi cum Crèches (AWCCs) have been approved by the Centre, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.
In a written reply, Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Savitri Devi, said these AWCCs will ensure full-day childcare support for children, thereby ensuring their well-being in a safe and secure environment.
The Anganwadi cum Crèche initiative aims to increase women’s workforce participation in the economy.
The maximum number of AWCCs set up so far are in Chhattisgarh (1,500), Meghalaya (1,238), Telangana (1,033), Jharkhand (1,024), Odisha (1,000), Manipur (702), and Tamil Nadu (600).
The minister said that Anganwadi centres are the world's largest childcare institutions, dedicated to providing essential care and support to children, ensuring delivery of childcare services up to the last mile.
In a first-of-its-kind approach, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has extended childcare services through the Anganwadi cum Crèche (AWCC) initiative.
The objective of the Palna Scheme is to provide quality crèche facilities in a safe and secure environment for children (aged 6 months to 6 years), along with nutritional support, healthcare, cognitive development, growth monitoring, and immunization.
Crèche facilities under Palna are provided to all mothers, irrespective of their employment status.
“During the 15th Finance Cycle, i.e., up to FY 2025–26, a total of 17,000 Anganwadi cum Crèches (AWCCs) are envisioned for establishment under the Palna Scheme. Proposals for the establishment of AWCCs are received from the respective state governments/UT administrations, who also contribute their corresponding share for the implementation of the scheme. Till date, a total of 14,599 AWCCs have been approved by the Ministry as per proposals received from various States/UTs,” Devi said.