Lok Sabha Question No. 4854 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-31
Subject: Poshan Vatika in Anganwadi Centres
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Janardan Singh Sigriwal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4854

TO BE ANSWERED ON 31.03.2023

## 'POSHAN VATIKA IN ANGANWADI CENTRES'

## 4854  SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL

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

- (a) whether  the Government  is  in the process  for setting  up  of  Poshan Vatika/Poshan Udyan in Anganwadi centres across the country;
- (b) if so, the details and salient features thereof;
- (c) the details of such Vatikas set up so far in the country including Bihar; and
- (d) the  other  steps  being  taken  by  the  Government  to  improve  the  nutritional outcomes   of children, adolescents, pregnant women and lactating mothers in the country?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (c) POSHAN Abhiyaan (erstwhile National Nutrition Mission) was launched in March 2018 to achieve improvement in nutritional status of Children from 0-6 years, Adolescent Girls, Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers in a time bound manner and to achieve reduction in stunting and wasting in children (0-6 years) as well as reduction in anemia in women, children and adolescent girls. The Abhiyaan has been rolled out in all the 36 States/UTs. A  key plank of the Abhiyaan to enable the right kind of nourishment are the Poshan Vatikas or Nutri-gardens that are being set up across  the  country  to  provide  easy  and  affordable  access  to  fruits,  vegetables, medicinal  plants  and  herbs.  To  encourage  diet-diversity  and  consumption  of wholesome local produce, around 4 lakhs Poshan Vatikas have been developed at AWCs. 1.10 lakh medicinal plants were planted in 21 districts  in 6  States of  Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Mizoram during Poshan Pakhwada 2021.

During  Poshan  Maah  2022,  activities  for  setting-up  nutri-gardens  or  retro-fitting Poshan  Vatikas  with  backyard  poultry  /  fishery  units  was  carried  out  across  the country.  More  than 1.5  lakh events  on  retrofitting  Poshan  Vatikas  with  backyard poultry  and  fishery  units  have  been  reported.  Also,  more  than  75  thousand sensitization camps have been conducted to promote millets and backyard kitchen gardens.

Through  Poshan  Vatikas,  aim  is  to  provide  a  fresh  and  regular  supply  of  locally produced fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants to women and children straight from a nutri-garden at or near an Anganwadi Centre. Poshan Vatikas can play an important role in enhancing dietary diversity by providing key micronutrients through local fruits and vegetables. Poshan Vatikas are a good example of convergent action on-ground. Beyond the reward of locally available  wholesome produce, it will  reduce  external dependency and make communities Atmanirbhar for their nutritional security. As per Scheme Guidelines for Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0), indicative salient features of Poshan Vatikas recommend plants/herbs/trees that may be cultivated:

- i. Green  vegetables)-  Spinach  (palak),  Methi,  Amaranthus  Spr.  (Choulai), Asparagus  (Shatawari),  Bacopamonnieri  (Brahmi),  Boerhavia  (punarnava), Chenopodium (Bathua), Dioscorea (Ratalu)
- ii. Medicinal Plants/ Fruit Trees (5-6 tress): Moringa (Sahajan), Papita, Karhipatta, Lemon (Nimbu), Amla, Punica (Anar) etc
- iii. Boundary crops- Shatawari, Lemon grass, Giloy ete

The State/UT wise number of Anganwadis equipped with Poshan Vatikas including the state of Bihar is at Annexure I.

(d) Launched on 8 th  March, 2018, by the Hon'ble Prime Minister, POSHAN Abhiyaan aims to improve nutritional outcomes for children, adolescents, pregnant women & lactating mothers.  The Abhiyaan is a key component of Mission Poshan 2.0 which 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.

Mission  Poshan  2.0  is  designed  to  address  the  issue  of  malnutrition  through transparency,  accountability,  balanced  diets,  diet  diversity  and  quality,  greater grassroots involvement and last-mile delivery of services supported by key strategies, viz., corrective strategies to address nutrition related deficiencies, nutrition awareness strategies  to  develop  good  eating  habits  for  sustainable  health  and  well-being, strategies for communication and development of green eco-systems such as Poshan Vatikas  at  or  near  Anganwadi  Centres,  wherever  possible  and  in  Government  led schools and Gram Panchayat lands where benefits can easily be given to women and children.  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 through regional meal plans to bridge dietary gaps.. Further, greater emphasis is being given on the use of millets for preparation of Hot Cooked Meal and Take Home rations (not raw  ration)  at  Anganwadi  centres  for  Pregnant  Women,  Lactating  Mothers  and Children below 6 years of age, as millets have high nutrient content which includes protein, essential fatty acid, dietary fibre, B-Vitamins, minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, folic acid and other micro-nutrients thus helping to tackle anemia and other micronutrient  deficiencies  common  among  women  and  children.  Further,  under  Mission Poshan 2.0, only fortified rice is being allocated to States/UTs

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State/UT wise number of AWCs equipped with Poshan Vatika

| State/UT                         |   Anganwadi Centres equipped with Poshan Vatika |
|----------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|
| Andaman And Nicobar Islands      |                                             521 |
| Andhra Pradesh                   |                                             524 |
| Arunachal Pradesh                |                                             238 |
| Assam                            |                                            5075 |
| Bihar                            |                                            6333 |
| Chandigarh                       |                                              65 |
| Chhattisgarh                     |                                             485 |
| Delhi                            |                                             566 |
| Goa                              |                                              86 |
| Gujarat                          |                                            6193 |
| Haryana                          |                                           13956 |
| Himachal Pradesh                 |                                             685 |
| Jammu And Kashmir                |                                           28078 |
| Jharkhand                        |                                            8722 |
| Karnataka                        |                                           34753 |
| Kerala                           |                                           17647 |
| Ladakh                           |                                              50 |
| Lakshadweep                      |                                              19 |
| Madhya Pradesh                   |                                           42839 |
| Maharashtra                      |                                           19213 |
| Manipur                          |                                             860 |
| Meghalaya                        |                                            1845 |
| Mizoram                          |                                             963 |
| Nagaland                         |                                             180 |
| Odisha                           |                                           40915 |
| Puducherry                       |                                              38 |
| Punjab                           |                                            5853 |
| Rajasthan                        |                                            4080 |
| Sikkim                           |                                            1308 |
| Tamil Nadu                       |                                           20400 |
| Telangana                        |                                           13531 |
| Dadra Nagar Haveli & Daman & Diu |                                             246 |
| Tripura                          |                                            2681 |
| Uttar Pradesh                    |                                           41106 |
| Uttarakhand                      |                                             827 |
| West Bengal                      |                                               0 |
| Grand Total                      |                                          320881 |