Anganwadi Attendance Rises to 96%: Minister
The government has already released Rs 4 crore in 2025–26 to expedite works in the final stage.
Vijayawada: Minister for women and child welfare Gummidi Sandhya Rani on Thursday informed the Legislative Assembly that attendance in Anganwadi centres has increased from 70 per cent to 96 per cent, following measures taken by the state government to strengthen infrastructure and improve services for children and mothers across Andhra Pradesh.
Replying to questions raised by MLAs Panchakarla Ramesh Babu and Mohammad Nazeer, the minister said 55,746 Anganwadi centres are functioning under 257 ICDS projects across the state. Of these, 21,756 centres operate in their own buildings, 10,566 in other government buildings, while 23,424 are functioning in rented premises.
She said 2,922 Anganwadi buildings are currently under construction. Among them, 948 are in the finishing stage, 873 at slab level, 351 at roof level, 269 at lintel stage, 429 at basement level, and 52 at the foundation stage.
Proposals worth Rs 193.92 crore are under consideration to complete these buildings, including Rs 48.52 crore for structures nearing completion. The government has already released Rs 4 crore in 2025–26 to expedite works in the final stage.
Under the PM-JANMAN scheme, Rs 9.36 crore was released in 2025 for constructing 78 Anganwadi buildings in Srikakulam, Parvathipuram Manyam and Alluri Sitarama Raju districts. An additional Rs 4 crore has been sanctioned to complete pending buildings and Rs 1.94 crore for completed structures.
Sandhya Rani said Anganwadi centres provide nutritious food, pre-school education and health check-ups for children below six years, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
The government has distributed 5G-enabled smartphones worth Rs 75 crore to 58,204 Anganwadi workers, supervisors and block coordinators, enabling mobile app-based 100 per cent data entry and real-time monitoring of services.
“As a result, attendance in Anganwadi centres has increased from 70 per cent to 96 per cent,” she said, adding that 5,000 mini Anganwadi centres have been upgraded into full-fledged centres.
