Lok Sabha Question No. 4969 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-04-01
Subject: PM POSHAN
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Sisir Kumar Adhikari, Rajashree Mallick

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4969

TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.04.2022

## PM POSHAN

## 4969.  SHRI SISIR KUMAR ADHIKARI: SHRIMATI RAJASHREE MALLICK:

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

- (a) whether PM-POSHAN (2021), a centrally sponsored scheme, is expected to cover 11.8 crore children in 11.2 lakh schools in the country to ensure that the children are getting required nutrition and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether against an actual expenditure of Rs. 12.88 thousand crore in 2020-21 the  revised  estimates  have  been  slashed  to  Rs.  10.23  thousand  crore  in 2021- 22 and has continued to be same for 2022-23;
- (c) if  so,  the  manner  in  which  the  objectives  of  various  schemes  of  Mid-DayMeals and ICDS to overcome the challenge in continuing the scheme for the children  from  marginalised  sections  of  the  population  deprived  of  nutritious food are proposed to be achieved within the budget estimates made therefor;
- (d) the  targets  set  by  the  Government  to  reduce  stunting,  wasting  and  anemia under Poshan Abhiyan;
- (e) the reasons for worsening poverty and hunger levels in the country in recent past; and
- (f) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  achieve  nutritional  targets  in  a  time bound manner?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (c)         The  Government  has  approved  the  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme 'Pradhan  Mantri  Poshan  Shakti  Nirman  (PM  POSHAN)'  for  providing  one  hot cooked  meal  in  Government  and  Government  -  aided  Schools  from  2021-22  to 2025-26.  The Scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Education. Under the Scheme, there is provision of hot cooked meal to children of pre-schools or Bal Vatika (before class I) in primary schools also in addition to the 11.80 crore children of  classes  I  to  VIII  studying  in  11.20  lakh  schools.   The  Scheme  is  implemented across  the  country  covering  all  the  eligible  children  without  any  discrimination  of gender and social class.The main objectives of the PM POSHAN Scheme (earlier known as Mid-Day Meal Scheme) are to address two of the pressing problems for majority of children in India, viz. hunger and education by improving the nutritional status of eligible children in Government and Government-aided schools as well as encouraging poor children,  belonging  to  disadvantaged  sections,  to  attend  school more  regularly  and  help  them  concentrate  on  classroom  activities.  Nutrition  and food norms under the scheme are as under:

| S. No.                              | Items                               | Primary                             | Upper Primary                       |
|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| A. Nutrition norm per child per day | A. Nutrition norm per child per day | A. Nutrition norm per child per day | A. Nutrition norm per child per day |
| 1.                                  | Calorie                             | 450                                 | 700                                 |
| 2.                                  | Protein                             | 12 gms                              | 20 gms                              |
| B. Food norms per child per day     | B. Food norms per child per day     | B. Food norms per child per day     | B. Food norms per child per day     |
| 1.                                  | Food grains                         | 100 gms                             | 150 gms                             |
| 2.                                  | Pulses                              | 20 gms                              | 30 gms                              |
| 3.                                  | Vegetables                          | 50 gms                              | 75 gms                              |
| 4.                                  | Oil & fat                           | 5 gms                               | 7.5 gms                             |
| 5.                                  | Salt & condiments                   | As per need                         | As per need                         |

BE  for  2021-22  is  Rs  11,500  crore,  however,  the  RE  has  been  reduced  to 10233.75  crore  as  per  the  outlay  appraised  by  Expenditure  Finance  Committee (EFC) and approved by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). The same is likely to be sufficient as per the existing norms as progressively schools are being reopened. Accordingly, the same is proposed as BE for 2022-23.

(d)        Government  launched  POSHAN Abhiyaan  (Prime  Minister's  Overarching Scheme  for  Holistic Nutrition) on 8 th March  2018 to address  the problem  of malnutrition  in  the  country.  The  goals  of  POSHAN  Abhiyaan  are  to  achieve improvement  in  nutritional  status  of  Children  from  0-6  years,  Adolescent  Girls, Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers, in a time bound manner with fixed targets as under:

|   S.No | Objective                                                                                         | Target   |
|--------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------|
|      1 | Prevent and reduce Stunting in children (0- 6 years)                                              | @2%p.a.  |
|      2 | Prevent and reduce under-nutrition (underweight prevalence) in children (0-6 years)               | @2%p.a.  |
|      3 | Reduce the prevalence of anaemia among young Children (6- 59 months)                              | @3%p.a.  |
|      4 | Reduce the prevalence of anaemia among Women and Adolescent Girls in the age group of 15-49 years | @3%p.a.  |
|      5 | Reduce Low Birth Weight (LBW)                                                                     | @2%p.a.  |

The  Abhiyaan  aims  to  reduce  malnutrition  in  the  country  in  a  phased  manner, through  a  life  cycle  approach,  by  adopting  a  synergized  and  result  oriented approach.

(e)        As  per  the  report  (2020)  of  the  United  Nations  Development  Programme entitled  'Charting  pathways  out  of  multidimensional  poverty:  Achieving  the  SDGs,' the  incidence  of  multidimensional  poverty  in  India  has  significantly  reduced  from 55.1% in 2005 to 27.9% in 2015-2016.

(f)        The Government has accorded high priority to the issue of malnutrition and is making  serious  efforts  to  address  this  issue.  Government  implements  Anganwadi Services Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyaan, Pradhan Mantri  Matru Vandana Yojana and Scheme  for  Adolescent  Girls  under  the  Umbrella  Integrated  Child  Development Services  Scheme  (ICDS)  as  targeted  interventions  for  Children  under  6  years, Pregnant  Women  and  Lactating  Mothers  and  Adolescent  Girls,  throughout  the country.  POSHAN  Abhiyaan  aims  to  reduce  malnutrition  in  a  phased  manner, through  a  life  cycle  approach,  by  adopting  a  synergised  and  result  oriented approach. All these schemes address in one or other aspects related to nutrition and have the potential to improve nutritional outcomes in the country.

Further,  Mission  Poshan 2.0,  an  integrated  nutrition  support  programme  has  been announced in budget 2021-22 for all States/UTs. It seeks to strengthen nutritional content,  delivery,  outreach  and  outcomes  with  focus  on  developing  practices  that nurture health, wellness and immunity to disease and malnutrition. Steps have been taken to improve nutritional quality and testing in accredited labs, strengthen delivery and leverage technology under Poshan Tracker to improve governance. States/UTs have been advised to promote use of AYUSH systems for prevention of malnutrition and related diseases. A programme to support development of Poshan Vatikas at Anganwadi Centres to meet dietary diversity gap leveraging traditional knowledge in nutritional practices has also been taken up. Guidelines were issued for transparency and accountability  in  delivery  of  supplementary  nutrition  and  to  track nutritional outcomes on 13.01.2021.

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