Palna Scheme: Creche Services Under Mission Shakti
Why in the news
Fresh data showed how far the Palna creche scheme has reached, with March 2025 coverage numbers and fund releases.
About Palna
- Reworked version of the National Creche Scheme (2022) and part of Samarthya within Mission Shakti.
- Need: more nuclear families and working women require quality day care.
- Treats childcare as formal work, not unpaid domestic labour, in line with SDG 8.
- Goals: safe creches for ages 6 months to 6 years, better nutrition, health and cognition, enforcing Maternity Benefit Act Section 11A and helping mothers work.
Funding split
| Central share | Where applied |
|---|---|
| 100% | UTs without legislature |
| 90% | NE and special category states |
| 60% | General states and UTs with legislature (state/UT pays 40%) |
Design
- Services with Mission Poshan 2.0: day care, early stimulation, pre-school for ages 3-6, local nutrition and health care.
- Open 7.5 hours a day, 26 days a month, within 0.5-1 km of homes or workplaces.
- Standalone creche: one worker and one helper; AWCC: existing Anganwadi staff plus one creche worker and one helper.
- Monthly honorarium for worker/helper: ₹6,500/₹3,250 (standalone) and ₹5,500/₹3,000 (AWCC); states may top up.
Progress (March 2025)
- 1,761 AWCCs operational with 28,783 beneficiaries.
- 1,284 standalone creches operating with 23,368 beneficiaries.
- 2024-25 target: 17,000 new AWCCs.
- Funds in 2024-25 (till 19 December 2024): ₹150.11 crore allocated, ₹43.66 crore released.
Exam angle
- Umbrella: Mission Shakti.
- Linked: ICDS and Poshan 2.0.