Salary and Allowances of ASHA workers

Salary and Allowances of ASHA workers

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2165
TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 22nd MARCH, 2022

SALARY AND ALLOWANCES OF ASHA WORKERS

2165: SMT. JHARNA DAS BAIDYA:
Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

(a) whether Government is considering a plan to increase the salary and allowances of ASHA workers;

(b) if so, the details thereof, if not, whether any concrete step would be taken in this regard by Government in future; and

(c) the number of instances when the salary and allowances of ASHA workers have been increased during the last five years?

ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
(DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR)

(a) to (c) ASHAs are envisaged to be community health volunteers and are entitled to task/activity based incentives. ASHAs receive a fixed monthly incentive of Rs. 2000 per month for routine and recurring activities and the details are placed at Annexure-I. Additionally, they are provided performance-based incentives for a varied set of activities under various National Health Programmes and is placed at Annexure-II. States/UTs in their programme implementation plans have also been given flexibility to provide a range of monetary incentives to the ASHAs and the details is placed at Annexure-III.

After the launch of the Ayushman Bharat scheme with operationalisation of Ayushman Bharat- Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs), ASHAs are now additionally eligible for

Team Based Incentives (TBIs) along with ANMs based on monitored performance indicators (up to Rs. 1000 per month).
The Government has also approved a cash award of Rs. 20,000/- and a citation to ASHAs who leave the programme after working as ASHAs for minimum of 10 years, as acknowledgement of their contribution.

The ASHA benefit package was introduced acknowledging significant contribution and commitment of ASHAs. The package providing coverage for:

i) Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Beema Yojana (PMJJBY) with a benefit Rs. 2.00 Lakh in case of death of the insured (annual premium of Rs. 330 contributed by GOI).

ii) Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Beema Yojana (PMSBY) with a benefit of Rs. 2.00 lakh for accidental death or permanent disability; Rs. 1.00 lakh for partial disability (annual premium of Rs. 12 contributed by GOI).

iii) Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan Dhan (PM-SYM) with pension benefit of Rs. 3000 pm after age of 60 years (50% contribution of premium by GOI and 50% by beneficiaries).

However, in view of the significant contribution towards the COVID-19 pandemic related work by ASHAs, States were advised to pay an additional incentive of Rs.1000/- per month for those ASHAs engaged in COVID-19 related work using the resources of COVID-19 Health System Preparedness and Emergency Response Package.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package, Insurance Scheme has been introduced for all health workers, including ASHAs. This insurance scheme provides an insurance cover of Rs. 50.00 Lakhs in-case of loss of life on account of COVID-19 related duty.

Annexure-I

The details of incentives for routine and recurring activities given to ASHAs

Annexure-II

Annexure-III

 State-wise details of monetary incentives provided to the ASHAs

1. Andhra Pradesh provides balance amount to match the total incentive of Rs.10,000/month; 
2. Arunachal Pradesh-provides 100% top up; 
3. Bihar- 1000/- per ASHA per month linked with functionality of five specified 06 activities (started in FY 2019-20);
4. Chhattisgarh-75% of matching amount of the incentives over and above the incentives earned by an ASHA as a top up on an annual basis;
5. Delhi- 3000/- PM for functional ASHA (against the 12 core activities perform by ASHA);
6. Gujarat provides 50% top up;
7. Haryana- 4000/month from June-2018 and 50% top-up;
8. Himachal Pradesh- 2000/month;
9. Karnataka-Rs. 4000/month – recently introduced replacing the top up incentive;
10. Kerala-Rs.5000/month in FY 2020-21;
11. Odisha-Rs. 1000 /month from state fund launched on April 1st, 2018;
12. Rajasthan- 2700/month through ICDS;
13. Sikkim -Rs. 6000/month;
14. Telangana provides balance amount to match the total incentive of 6000/- pm;
15. Tripura provides 100% top up against 08 specified activities and 33% top-up based on other activities;
16. Uttarakhand- Rs.5000/year and 1000/month;
17. Uttar Pradesh- 750/- per ASHA per month linked with functionality of five specified activities (started from March 2019); and
18. West Bengal-Rs. 3000/month.

Source: Rajya Sabha PDF