Earn without capitalGovernment scheme workChecked Oct 2026

ASHA Worker (Accredited Social Health Activist)

आशा कार्यकर्ता · आशा स्वयंसेविका

A woman from the village or basti who links families to the health system: pregnancies, newborns, vaccination, TB and more. Paid per task plus a small fixed amount, not a salary.

For womenNot yet confirmed with people doing this work

The short answer

Respected, close to home and open to married women with Class 10, but it is not a job and the money is small and irregular. The central fixed incentive is ₹2,000 a month; what you actually receive depends on your state's top-up and how many tasks you complete. Take it up if you want to do this work and can treat the income as a supplement.

Money to start: None
Education: 10th pass
Vehicle: Not needed
Skill: Learnt on the job

An ASHA is chosen from among the women of her own village, or her own slum cluster in a town, and looks after roughly a thousand people. She registers pregnant women, goes with them for check-ups and delivery, visits newborns at home, reminds families of vaccination days, helps on Village Health and Nutrition Days, gives basic medicines and follows up TB and other patients. She is officially an honorary volunteer under the National Health Mission. There is no salary: she is paid a fixed monthly amount for routine tasks and a separate incentive for each listed task she completes, and most states add something of their own. Calls come at any hour, including at night for deliveries.

What you need

You must be a woman living in that village, or in that slum or vulnerable cluster in a town.
Married, widowed or divorced women are the stated category, preferably aged 25 to 45.
Class 10 is the norm, with preference for Class 12. Age and education can be relaxed where no suitable woman is available.
Selection is local, through the Gram Sabha or the city or district health society. There is no national examination.
Aadhaar and a bank account. Training is given after selection, in stages.

How the money works

Payment comes from the National Health Mission through the state, into your bank account. One part is a fixed monthly amount for routine and recurring activities. The rest is an incentive for each completed task from an official list, such as an institutional delivery, a full course of vaccination or TB treatment follow-up. Your state may add a fixed top-up or match the incentives.

Task incentives depend on the number of pregnancies, births and patients in your area, so a small village earns less.
Payments are often delayed by weeks or months, and ASHAs in several states have protested about this.
ASHAs are covered under government insurance and pension schemes on stated conditions. Ask your block office which ones you are enrolled in.

What people actually take home

We do not estimate earnings ourselves. Each line below is someone else's figure, with who said it and when.

ASHAs receive a fixed monthly incentive of ₹2,000 for routine and recurring activities across the country, according to the Health Ministry's reply in Parliament in March 2025. Central incentives were last revised in September 2022.
Government or regulatorMarch 2025 · National Health Mission: ASHA incentives (July 2025)
The NHM schedule lists the routine tasks behind that amount, for example ₹200 for each Village Health and Nutrition Day session and ₹400 for monthly listing and updating of the eligible population.
Government or regulatorJuly 2025 · National Health Mission: ASHA incentives (July 2025)
States add their own amounts, and these differ widely. One reply in Parliament lists ₹3,500 a month per ASHA for Maharashtra as the state's addition.
Government or regulator2025 · Lok Sabha unstarred question on ASHA incentives

What we could not find

A current state-by-state table of top-ups that we could read in full.
What an average ASHA receives in a month in total. It varies with the state and the area.

Ask before you start	Where to ask
What does the state add to the central ₹2,000, and what did ASHAs here actually receive last month?	A working ASHA in the next village, or the Block Community Mobiliser at the PHC
Is there a vacancy for my village or ward, and when is the selection?	The ANM or Medical Officer at your PHC, or the Gram Panchayat
How late are payments running?	ASHAs already working in your block

Is it legal where you live?

All India
ASHAs are honorary volunteers under the National Health Mission, not government employees. They have no pay scale, and the selection criteria and state top-ups are set by guidelines and state orders that can change.
As of Oct 2026 · Vikaspedia: Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA)

How to start

Ask at your Primary Health Centre or Gram Panchayat whether the ASHA position for your village or ward is vacant.
Talk to a working ASHA about the hours, the night calls and what she is really paid.
Apply when the vacancy is announced locally, with your Class 10 certificate, Aadhaar, residence proof and bank details.
Attend the selection meeting and, once chosen, complete each round of training.
Keep your own register of every task you complete and every payment received, so that you can claim what is missed.

What is good about it

Work in your own village or ward, among people you know.
Open to married, widowed and divorced women with Class 10.
Free training in health care, and a path towards ANM or nursing courses for those with Class 12.
Standing and trust in the community.

What is hard about it

Not a job: no salary, no pay scale, and the fixed amount is small.
Payments are frequently late.
Calls at night and in emergencies, and long days during health campaigns and surveys.
Extra duties get added by the administration without extra pay.
Income depends on the number of cases in your area.

Traps to avoid

Anyone asking for money to get you selected. Selection is local and free.
Websites advertising 'ASHA recruitment' with an application fee. Vacancies are notified by the district health society or the PHC.

Where this can lead

Questions people ask

What is the salary of an ASHA worker?+

There is no salary. The central government pays a fixed ₹2,000 a month for routine tasks and an incentive for each listed task completed. States add their own amounts, which differ widely. Ask a working ASHA in your block what she actually receives.

Who can become an ASHA?+

A woman resident of the village or urban cluster, usually married, widowed or divorced, preferably aged 25 to 45 and educated to Class 10. The age and education conditions can be relaxed if no suitable woman is available.

Is ASHA a government job?+

No. An ASHA is an honorary volunteer under the National Health Mission and is paid incentives, not a salary.

Sources

Pay rates, fees and rules change often and differ by city. Confirm them with the company or the regulator before you commit money or leave other work.

Compare with

Anganwadi Worker and Helper

आंगनवाड़ी कार्यकर्ता और सहायिका · अंगणवाडी सेविका आणि मदतनीस

Government scheme work

Running the neighbourhood Anganwadi centre for young children and mothers: pre-school, hot meals, weighing and records. A fixed monthly honorarium from the centre and the state, but not a government job.

Money to start

None

Education

10th pass

Vehicle

Not needed

Bank Sakhi and BC Sakhi (banking agent from a self-help group)

बैंक सखी / बीसी सखी · बँक सखी