Uttar Pradesh has made significant progress in the welfare of women and children under ‘Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0’. Under the initiative, more than 98.42% of children have been mapped for nutrition services, while 99.97% institutional deliveries have been recorded. | File Pic (Representative Image)
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh has made significant progress in the welfare of women and children under ‘Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0’. Under the initiative, more than 98.42% of children have been mapped for nutrition services, while 99.97% institutional deliveries have been recorded. According to a report by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Uttar Pradesh is operating 1,89,736 Anganwadi centers. Under the nutrition campaign, the state successfully completed nutrition mapping of 1,43,31,611 children out of a target of 1,45,62,081 children up to 6 years of age. In the state, 99.97% of pregnant women are opting for institutional deliveries. A total of 93,65,940 beneficiaries are being covered through 40,580 health workers for maternal care services.As part of a major infrastructure upgrade, Uttar Pradesh has converted all 22,290 mini Anganwadi centers into regular Anganwadi centers in accordance with the Annual Program Implementation Plan 2022-23. In addition, approval has been granted to upgrade 23,697 Anganwadi centers into ‘Saksham Anganwadi centers’, marking a significant expansion in early childhood care and development facilities.Under ‘Mission Shakti’, strong outcomes have been recorded through ‘One Stop Centers’, which have assisted 2,96,173 women up to October 31, 2025. Against a sanctioned strength of 124 centers, 96 One Stop Centers are currently operational in the state. Of these, 64 are functioning in dedicated buildings and 26 are operating from government premises. The women’s helpline has emerged as a critical support system, having assisted 9,18,860 women up to December 31, 2025. The helpline service has been integrated with a common helpline number and the emergency response support system to ensure prompt assistance.
Under ‘Mission Vatsalya’, the state is operating 191 Child Care Institutions across all 75 districts, providing institutional care to 5,125 beneficiaries. The mission also offers non-institutional care services to vulnerable children and families.
The ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ scheme is being implemented across all 75 districts, with improved convergence observed with the health and family welfare system.Providing a major boost to women-centric infrastructure, the state has received approval for 8 working women hostels with a total capacity of 4,000 beds under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment scheme. The central government has sanctioned Rs 381.56 crore for this initiative, out of which Rs 251.83 crore has already been released to the state. Under the ‘Samarthya component’, ten new ‘Shakti Sadan’ facilities are being developed, of which four were approved in the Project Approval Board meeting for the year 2025-26. In addition, 8 Sakhi Niwas facilities are currently operational, with 3 new facilities approved during the current financial year.
The ‘Pradhan Mantri Matri Vandana Yojana’ is being effectively implemented across the state, although beneficiary-specific data for the period up to February 2, 2026 is currently under compilation. Offices of the Women and Child Development Department are fully operational in all 75 districts.The Ministry of Women and Child Development stated that the state’s strong focus on strengthening infrastructure and service delivery systems has led to substantial improvements in health and nutrition outcomes, with special emphasis on reaching the most vulnerable sections of society.