Lok Sabha Question No. 4028 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-24
Subject: Study on Malnutrition among Women and Children
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Krupal Balaji Tumane, Bhavana Gawali (Patil)

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4028 TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.03.2023

## STUDY ON MALNUTRITION AMONG WOMEN AND CHILDREN

## 4028.  SHRI KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE: SHRIMATI BHAVANA PUNDALIKRAO GAWALI:

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

- a. whether the Government has conducted any study or survey to find out the level of malnutrition among women and children across the country, if so, the details and outcome thereof;
- b. the total number of malnourished children in the country and the number among them falling in the category of more severely malnourished;
- c. the number and percentage of malnourished children, State/UT-wise;
- d. the names of the districts and States in the country where the number of the said children is maximum/minimum; and
- e. the measures taken by the Government to tackle the problem of malnutrition among children all over the country so far?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (c)    The  data  on  nutritional  indicators  is  captured under  the  National  Family Health Surveys (NFHS) conducted periodically by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The last round, NFHS-5, was conducted during 2019-21. As per NFHS-5, the prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight among children under 5 years of age is  35.5%,  19.3%  and  32.1%  and  the  prevalence  of  underweight  among  women  is 18.7%. As per the survey, 7.7% children under 5 years of age are severely wasted. The State/UT-wise prevalence of malnutrition among children is annexed.

Further,  under  Poshan Tracker, the  ICT application for monitoring  service  delivery under Mission Poshan 2.0, out of approximately 5.6 crore children measured in the month  of  February  2023,  the  percentage  of  malnourished  (moderate  and  severe) children is 7.7%.

(d) The name of districts and states in country where maximum/minimum stunting/ wasting/ underweight among children under 5 years of age are  as under:

| Children under 5 years who are stunted (height for- age (%)   | Children under 5 years who are wasted (weight-for -height)   | Children under 5 years who are wasted (weight-for -height)   | Children under 5 years who are underweight (weight-for-age) (%)   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Maximum Minimum                                               | Maximum                                                      | Minimum                                                      | Maximum Minimum                                                   |

| States/ UTs   | Meghalay a (46.5%)                         | Puducherry ( 20.0%)                | Maharashtr a (25.6%)        | Chandigarh ( 8.4%)              | Bihar (41.0%)                                 | Mizoram (12.7%)               |
|---------------|--------------------------------------------|------------------------------------|-----------------------------|---------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|-------------------------------|
| District s    | Pashchimi Singhbhu m (Jharkhan d ) (60.6%) | Jagatsinghap ur ( Odisha ) (13.2%) | Karimganj ( Assam) (48.0% ) | North Distri ct (Sikkim) (4.5%) | Pashchimi Singhbhu m (Jharkhan d ) (62.4%) ct | South Distri (Sikkim) (7.2 %) |

(e)       The Government has accorded high priority to the issue of malnutrition and is implementing  several  schemes  like  POSHAN  Abhiyaan,  Anganwadi  Services, Scheme for Adolescent Girls and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) as direct targeted interventions to address the problem of malnutrition in the country. POSHAN Abhiyaan launched on 8th March 2018, aims to achieve improvement in nutritional status of Adolescent Girls, Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers in a time  bound  manner  by  adopting  a  synergised  and  result  oriented  approach.  The Abhiyaan has been rolled out across 36 States/UTs.

Further, the efforts under the Supplementary Nutrition Programme under Anganwadi Services and POSHAN Abhiyaan have been rejuvenated and converged as 'Saksham Anganwadi  and  POSHAN  2.0'  (Mission  Poshan  2.0).  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.

Poshan 2.0 focuses on Maternal Nutrition, Infant and Young Child Feeding Norms, Treatment  of  MAM/SAM  and  Wellness  through  AYUSH.  It  rests  on  the  pillars  of Convergence,  Governance,  and  Capacity-building.  POSHAN  Abhiyaan  is  the  key pillar  for  Outreach  and  will  cover  innovations  related  to  nutritional  support,  ICT interventions, Media Advocacy and Research, Community Outreach and Jan Andolan. Steps have been taken to improve nutritional quality and testing in accredited labs, strengthen delivery and leverage technology under the 'Poshan Tracker', a robust ICT enabled  platform  to  improve  governance  with  regard  to  real  time  monitoring  of provisioning of supplementary nutrition for prompt supervision and management of services.

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 micro-nutrient deficiencies  in  women  and  children.  Further,  in  order  to  address  the  challenge  of malnutrition arising from micro-nutrient deficiency, only fortified rice is being allocated to States/UTs. This year, so far, 1226115 MT of fortified rice has been allocated.

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Annexure

| Prevalence of Underweight, Stunting, Wasting & Severe wasting in children under 5 years as per NFHS-5   | Prevalence of Underweight, Stunting, Wasting & Severe wasting in children under 5 years as per NFHS-5   | Prevalence of Underweight, Stunting, Wasting & Severe wasting in children under 5 years as per NFHS-5   | Prevalence of Underweight, Stunting, Wasting & Severe wasting in children under 5 years as per NFHS-5   | Prevalence of Underweight, Stunting, Wasting & Severe wasting in children under 5 years as per NFHS-5   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| S. No.                                                                                                  | State                                                                                                   | Stunted                                                                                                 | Underweight                                                                                             | Wasting                                                                                                 |
| 1.                                                                                                      | Andaman & Nicobar                                                                                       | 22.5                                                                                                    | 23.7                                                                                                    | 16                                                                                                      |
| 2.                                                                                                      | Andhra Pradesh                                                                                          | 31.2                                                                                                    | 29.6                                                                                                    | 16.1                                                                                                    |
| 3.                                                                                                      | Arunachal Pradesh                                                                                       | 28                                                                                                      | 15.4                                                                                                    | 13.1                                                                                                    |
| 4.                                                                                                      | Assam                                                                                                   | 35.3                                                                                                    | 32.8                                                                                                    | 21.7                                                                                                    |
| 5.                                                                                                      | Bihar                                                                                                   | 42.9                                                                                                    | 41                                                                                                      | 22.9                                                                                                    |
| 6.                                                                                                      | Chandigarh                                                                                              | 25.3                                                                                                    | 20.6                                                                                                    | 8.4                                                                                                     |
| 7.                                                                                                      | Chhattisgarh                                                                                            | 34.6                                                                                                    | 31.3                                                                                                    | 18.9                                                                                                    |
| 8.                                                                                                      | Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu                                                                      | 39.4                                                                                                    | 38.7                                                                                                    | 21.6                                                                                                    |
| 9.                                                                                                      | Delhi                                                                                                   | 30.9                                                                                                    | 21.8                                                                                                    | 11.2                                                                                                    |
| 10.                                                                                                     | Goa                                                                                                     | 25.8                                                                                                    | 24                                                                                                      | 19.1                                                                                                    |
| 11.                                                                                                     | Gujarat                                                                                                 | 39                                                                                                      | 39.7                                                                                                    | 25.1                                                                                                    |
| 12.                                                                                                     | Haryana                                                                                                 | 27.5                                                                                                    | 21.5                                                                                                    | 11.5                                                                                                    |
| 13.                                                                                                     | Himachal Pradesh                                                                                        | 30.8                                                                                                    | 25.5                                                                                                    | 17.4                                                                                                    |
| 14.                                                                                                     | Jammu & Kashmir                                                                                         | 26.9                                                                                                    | 21                                                                                                      | 19                                                                                                      |
| 15.                                                                                                     | Jharkhand                                                                                               | 39.6                                                                                                    | 39.4                                                                                                    | 22.4                                                                                                    |
| 16.                                                                                                     | Karnataka                                                                                               | 35.4                                                                                                    | 32.9                                                                                                    | 19.5                                                                                                    |
| 17.                                                                                                     | Kerala                                                                                                  | 23.4                                                                                                    | 19.7                                                                                                    | 15.8                                                                                                    |
| 18.                                                                                                     | Lakshadweep                                                                                             | 32.0                                                                                                    | 25.8                                                                                                    | 17.4                                                                                                    |
| 19                                                                                                      | Ladakh                                                                                                  | 30.5                                                                                                    | 20.4                                                                                                    | 17.5                                                                                                    |
| 20.                                                                                                     | Madhya Pradesh                                                                                          | 35.7                                                                                                    | 33.0                                                                                                    | 19.0                                                                                                    |
| 21.                                                                                                     | Maharashtra                                                                                             | 35.2                                                                                                    | 36.1                                                                                                    | 25.6                                                                                                    |
| 22.                                                                                                     | Manipur                                                                                                 | 23.4                                                                                                    | 13.3                                                                                                    | 9.9                                                                                                     |
| 23.                                                                                                     | Meghalaya                                                                                               | 46.5                                                                                                    | 26.6                                                                                                    | 12.1                                                                                                    |
| 24.                                                                                                     | Mizoram                                                                                                 | 28.9                                                                                                    | 12.7                                                                                                    | 9.8                                                                                                     |
| 25.                                                                                                     | Nagaland                                                                                                | 32.7                                                                                                    | 26.9                                                                                                    | 19.1                                                                                                    |
| 26.                                                                                                     | Odisha                                                                                                  | 31.0                                                                                                    | 29.7                                                                                                    | 18.1                                                                                                    |
| 28.                                                                                                     | Puducherry                                                                                              | 20.0                                                                                                    | 15.3                                                                                                    | 12.4                                                                                                    |
| 29.                                                                                                     | Punjab                                                                                                  | 24.5                                                                                                    | 16.9                                                                                                    | 10.6                                                                                                    |
| 30.                                                                                                     | Rajasthan                                                                                               | 31.8                                                                                                    | 27.6                                                                                                    | 16.8                                                                                                    |
| 30.                                                                                                     | Sikkim                                                                                                  | 22.3                                                                                                    | 13.1                                                                                                    | 13.7                                                                                                    |
| 31.                                                                                                     | Tamil Nadu                                                                                              | 25.0                                                                                                    | 22.0                                                                                                    | 14.6                                                                                                    |
| 32.                                                                                                     | Telangana                                                                                               | 33.1                                                                                                    | 31.8                                                                                                    | 21.7                                                                                                    |
| 33.                                                                                                     | Tripura                                                                                                 | 32.3                                                                                                    | 25.6                                                                                                    | 18.2                                                                                                    |
| 34.                                                                                                     | Uttar Pradesh                                                                                           | 39.7                                                                                                    | 32.1                                                                                                    | 17.3                                                                                                    |
| 35.                                                                                                     | Uttarakhand                                                                                             | 27.0                                                                                                    | 21.0                                                                                                    | 13.2                                                                                                    |
| 36.                                                                                                     | West Bengal                                                                                             | 33.8                                                                                                    | 32.2                                                                                                    | 20.3                                                                                                    |
|                                                                                                         | India                                                                                                   | 35.5                                                                                                    | 32.1                                                                                                    | 19.3                                                                                                    |

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