Lok Sabha Question No. 4869 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-31
Subject: Digitization of Anganwadis
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Vishnu Dutt Sharma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4869

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 31.03.2023

## DIGITIZATION OF ANGANWADIS

## 4869.  SHRI VISHNU DATT SHARMA:

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

- (a) whether the Government is implementing Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, as Centrally Sponsored Schemes;
- (b) if so, the number of anganwadis that were digitally empowered, the number of Anganwadis Poshan Vatikas set up and where fortified rice & millets are being provided,  under  the  scheme,  in  the  Madhya  Pradesh  in  general  and  in  the districts of Panna, Katni and Chhatarpur in particular;
- (c) whether aspirational districts were to be given special focus under the scheme; and
- (d) if  so,  whether  the  special  focus  has  been  put  on  Chhatarpur  of  Madhya Pradesh, for it being an aspirational district?

## ANSWER

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

(a).  Government  has  accorded  high  priority  to  the  issue  of  malnutrition  and  is implementing Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, (Mission Poshan 2.0), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme which includes key schemes such as the POSHAN Abhiyaan, Anganwadi Services and Scheme for Adolescent Girls as direct targeted interventions to  address  the  problem  of  malnutrition  in  the  country.  It  seeks  to  address  the challenges of malnutrition in children, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers through a strategic shift in nutrition content and delivery and by creation of a convergent eco-system to develop and promote practices that nurture health, wellness and immunity.

(b)   Poshan Abhiyan, a mission mode programme launched by the Government in 2018  has  been  re-aligned  under  Mission  Poshan  2.0.  One  of  the  core  planks  of Poshan Abhiyan is use of Technology in the fight against malnutrition. For the first time, under the Abhiyan, smartphones and growth monitoring devices (GMDs), such as  Infantometer,  Stadiometer  and  Weighing  Scales  have  been  provisioned  for  all Anganwadi Centres. Since the launch of the Abhiyaan, close to 11 lakh smart phones and 12.5 lakh Growth Monitoring Devices have been procured across the country. Further, under the Abhiyaan, IT systems have been leveraged to strengthen and bring about  transparency  in  nutrition  delivery  support  systems,  through  the  application, 'Poshan Tracker'. Technology under Poshan Tracker is being leveraged for inter alia, dynamic identification of stunting, wasting, under-weight prevalence among children; and last mile tracking of nutrition service delivery.

In the State of Madhya Pradesh,all the 52 districts have been covered and the data of around 97,163 AWCs is captured under the Poshan Tracker application. The details of Poshan Vatikas and digital coverage in the three districts of Madhya Pradesh is as follows,

| District   |   Number of Anganwadi Centres registered on Poshan Tracker |   Number of AWCs having Poshan Vatikas |
|------------|------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| Panna      |                                                       1492 |                                    587 |
| Katni      |                                                       1712 |                                    828 |
| Chhatarpur |                                                       2058 |                                    920 |

Further,  under  Wheat  Based  Nutrition  programme  (WBNP),  Fortified  Rice  are allocated States/UTs wise, not district wise.

The State of Madhya Pradesh has been allocated 19980 MTs of Fortified Rice during FY 2021-22 and 45415 MTs of Fortified Rice during FY 2022-23.

(c  to  d)  Under  Saksham  Anganwadi,  across  the  country  2  lakh  Anganwadi Centres  (AWCs) (40,000 AWCs per year) would be strengthened and upgraded for improved nutrition delivery and for early childhood care and development for  children under 6 years of age. Saksham Anganwadis would have better infrastructure including internet/wifi connectivity, LED screens and smart learning and audio-visual aids and child-friendly  learning  equipment.  This  year  40,000  AWCs  have  been  identified  in aspirational districts for upgradation. In Chhatarpur district under Madhya Pradesh, 300 Anganwadis have been selected in the current FY for upgradation as Saksham Anganwadis and funds have also been released for the same to the State of Madhya Pradesh.

Further, the revised Scheme of Adolescent Girls targets adolescent girls in the age group of 14-18 years (who are outside the mid-day meal scheme) in the North East Region and Aspirational Districts in a focused manner to address both nutrition and non-nutrition elements.. From the district of Chhatarpur of Madhya Pradesh, 18,078 Adolescent girls have been registered on Poshan Tracker.

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