Lok Sabha Question No. 480 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-09
Subject: Nutrition to Children under POSHAN Abhiyaan
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Rajeshbhai Naranbhai Chudasama

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 480

TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.12.2022

## NUTRITION TO CHILDREN UNDER POSHAN ABHIYAAN

## 480.   SHRI RAJESHBHAI CHUDASAMA:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has proposed to provide additional nutrition to children through Anganwadis under POSHAN Abhiyaan in the country;
- (b) whether  any survey has  been  conducted  so  far to collect data on the requirements for finalization of supply, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has appointed any agency for the purchase and supply of food in this regard, if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the mechanism adopted for proper monitoring of the POSHAN Abhiyaan?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

- (a)       Nutritional  support  is  provided  to  children  (6  months  to  6  years)  under  the Supplementary Nutrition Programme of Anganwadi Services Scheme, a  component of Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 or Mission Poshan 2.0 (earlier ICDS). This is an integrated  nutrition  support  programme  approved  in  2022  which  aligns  the  key  subcomponents of Angawadi Services and Poshan Abhiyaan.

Supplementary  Nutrition  is  provided  as  per  the  nutritional  norms  specified  under  the National  Food  Security  Act.  Under  Poshan  2.0,  focus  is  on  diet  diversity,  food fortification, leveraging traditional systems of knowledge and popularizing use of millets. Nutrition awareness strategies under Poshan 2.0 aim to develop sustainable health and well-being with focus on local, wholesome foods to bridge dietary gaps.

- (b) & (c) The implementation of the Supplementary Nutrition Programme  of Anganwadi Services Scheme under  Poshan 2.0 is vested with States Governments.

However, in order to streamline procurement and supply of nutrition under the Supplementary Nutrition Programme, Government has issued Streamlined Guidelines to all States/UTs on 13.01.2021, which also cover issues related to quality assurance, supply chain management, roles and responsibilities of duty holders and procedure for procurement for transparency, efficiency and accountability in delivery of supplementary nutrition. These guidelines recommend that supply chain process in the States must be made transparent for functionaries to ensure uninterrupted supply to the last mile, which are compliant with FSSAI  registration-licensing process for entities involved in manufacture, storage and distribution of food to ensure food safety and hygiene.

(d)        POSHAN  Abhiyaan  seeks  to  achieve  improvement  in  nutritional  status  of Children under 6 years, Adolescent Girls, Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers.  IT systems have therefore been leveraged to strengthen and bring about transparency in nutrition delivery support systems. The 'Poshan Tracker' application was rolled out by this Ministry on 1 st March 2021 through National e-Governance Division (NeGD), as an important  governance  tool.  Technology  under  Poshan  Tracker  is  being  leveraged  for dynamic  identification  of  stunting,  wasting,  under-weight  prevalence  among  children; and last mile tracking of nutrition service delivery.

The  Poshan  Tracker  facilitates  near  real-time  monitoring  and  tracking  of  all AWCs, AWWs and beneficiaries on defined indicators. Beneficiaries are being Aadhar seeded to ensure last mile tracking and delivery of services. Poshan Tracker will help Mission Poshan 2.0 in generating data, providing feedback to Program Managers and documenting the impact of scheme on nutrition indicators. The Ministry/ States/ Districts can  thus  make  effective  timely  interventions,  based  on  the  data  from  tracker  and evaluate the progress of different components.

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