Question : National Creche Scheme

(a) whether any special provision has been made for women in the Budget and if so, the details thereof;

(b) the details of provisions made for Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme (RGNCS) and expenditure incurred thereon during the last five years and the current year;

(c) whether the Government has made any cuts in the funding to National Crèche scheme and if so, the details thereof; and

(d) whether the grants have not been paid to many crèches and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor?

(a) & (b) Ministry of Women and Child Development implements the National Crèche Scheme for the children of working mothers as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme through States/ UTs with effect from 01.01.2017 to provide day care facilities to children (age group of 6 months to 6 years) of working mothers. The provision made and the expenditure incurred during last five years under the scheme are given below:-

Year BE (in Crore) Expenditure (in Crore)
2016-17 150.00 124.62
2017-18 200.00 48.79
2018-19 128.39 29.77
2019-20 50.00 47.77
2020-21 75.00 11.60

(c) & (d): Government is making appropriate allocation for the National Creche Scheme based on the expenditure incurred during the previous years. The release of funds depends on submission of utilization certificate and statement of expenditure against the funds released during the previous financial year as per the provisions of General Financial Rules. Ever since the out break of COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent restrictions, the functioning of creches has been affected as the children were not able to attend creches. This is the primary reasons for lesser expenditure during the previous financial year.
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