Lok Sabha Question No. 47 (STARRED), answered on 2022-12-09
Subject: POSHAN Abhiyaan
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo, Jayanta Kumar Roy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *47

TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.12.2022

## 'POSHAN ABHIYAAN'

- *47      SHRIMATI SANGEETA KUMARI SINGH DEO: DR. JAYANTA KUMAR ROY:

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

- (a) whether the Government has launched 'POSHAN  Abhiyaan' to improve nutritional indicators among women and children and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the  details  of  targets  set  and  achievements  made  under  'POSHAN  Abhiyaan' during each of the last three years and the current year;
- (c) whether as per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5, cases of prevalence  of  anaemia  in  children  and  adolescent  girls  and  cases  of  stunting have also increased and if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise; and
- (d) the steps taken by the Government to bring down such prevalence of anaemia and stunting among women, children and adolescent girls in the country along with  the  funds  allocated/utilized  under  'POSHAN  Abhiyaan'  during  each  of  the last three years and the current year?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) to (d)  A statement is laid on the Table of the House

******

## Statement Referred to in Reply to Part (a) to (d) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No.47 to be Answered on 09.12.2022 asked by Shrimati Sangeeta Kumari Singh DEO and  Dr. Jayant Kumar Roy  regarding " POSHAN ABHIYAAN'

- (a)         POSHAN  Abhiyaan,  a  flagship  scheme  of  the  Government  was  launched  in 2018  to  address  the  challenges  of  malnutrition  by  adopting  a  synergised  and  result oriented  approach.  The  programme  makes  interventions  by use of technology, behavioural change through convergence and lays-down targets to be achieved across different parameters. The Abhiyaan has been rolled-out in all States and UTs.
- (b)       POSHAN Abhiyaan was launched 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:

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|   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 achievements under POSHAN Abhiyaan are as follows:

- i. Under POSHAN Abhiyaan, all the districts of 36 States/UTs have been covered.
- ii. Under Poshan Abhiyan, for the first time, the Anganwadi worker was empowered with  mobile  devices.  Anganwadi  workers  have  been  provided  with  11.22  lakh smart phones. Besides, to promote regular growth monitoring, 12.65 lakh Growth Monitoring  Devices,  such  as  Infantometer,  Stadiometer,  Weighing  Scale  for Mother and Infant, Weighing Scale for Child,  have been procured by States/UTs under the Abhiyaan.
- iii. IT systems have been leveraged to strengthen and bring about transparency in nutrition  delivery  support  systems. The  'Poshan Tracker'  application  was  rolled out  on  1 st March  2021  through  National  e-Governance  Division  (NeGD),  as  an important governance tool. Around 13.9 lakh AWCs have started using the ICT Application.
- iv. A  Web  and  App  based  'Grievance  Redressal  Cell'  has  been  established  for effective service delivery and beneficiary feedback.
- v. Streamlined guidelines issued on 13th January, 2021  to ensure greater transparency and accountability and quality in nutrition service delivery.
- vi. Under key component of Jan Andolan, total five (5) Poshan Maahs and four (4) Poshan Pakhwadas held across the country since 2018.
- vii. Approx., 50+ crore Jan Andolan based activities have been conducted since the launch of the Abhiyaan.
- viii. Recently  held  Poshan  Maah2022  during  the  month  of  September  witnessed approximately 17 crore Jan Andolan based activities throughout the country.
- ix. More than 4 lakh Poshan Vatikas have been developed and 1.10 lakh Medicinal Saplings have been planted across the country.
- x. More  than  10  lakh  Frontline  Functionaries  have  been  trained  on  thematic modules
- xi. Around  3.70  crore  Community  Based  Events  (CBEs)   have  been  organized since the launch of the Abhiyaan in a convergent manner in Anganwadi Centres with field functionaries.
- xvii. 10.14 crore beneficiaries have been registered under Poshan Tracker (as on 3011-2022). Details are as follows:
- xviii. 86.39% of beneficiaries registered on the Poshan Tracker have been successfully Aadhar verified.
- xviii. For  the  first  time,  Migration  facility  for  pregnant  women  and  lactating  mothers from one AWC to another within and outside a State has been facilitated under the Poshan Tracker. Migration facility from one category to another category of beneficiary is also available. Integration of the Poshan Tracker with RCH portal is under process
- xviii. Area-wise diet charts for pregnant women were laid on the Table in Lok Sabha on 15 th September 2020 and 23 rd September 2020. Further, the diet charts have also been uploaded on Ministry's website in English and Hindi.
- xviii. Best  Practices  on  use  of  millets  and  improvement  in  SAM  children  were recognized and selected for the PM's Award for Excellence for promotion of Jan Bhagidari  in  Poshan  Abhiyaan  on  21st  April  2022.  These  best  practices  were shared  with  all  States/UTs.  These  included  Mission  Sampurna  Poshan  in Asifabad, Telangana, Mera Bachccha Abhiyaan Model in Datia, Madhya Pradesh and Project Sampoorna in Bongaigaon, Assam.
- xviii. The estimated number of underweight, malnourished and severely malnourished children under 5 years of age is obtained under National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. As per the recent report  of  NFHS-5  (2019-21),  the  nutrition  indicators  for  children  under  5  years have improved as compared with NFHS-4 (2015-16). Wasting has improved from 21% (NFHS-4) to 19.3 % (NFHS-5), Under nutrition has improved from 35.7% (NFHS-4) to 32.1% (NFHS-5) and stunting has improved from 38.4%(NFHS-4) to 35.5% (NFHS-5)
- xix. A national Poshan Helpline has been made available for beneficiaries and public Through  the  help  line  a  beneficiary  can  raise  a  concern  about  the  services offered under Mission Poshan 2.0.

| Total Beneficiaries   | Lactating Pregnant   | Lactating Pregnant   | Children (0-6M)   | Children (6m-3y)   | Children (3y-6y)   | Adolescent Girls (14-18 y)   |
|-----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|-------------------|--------------------|--------------------|------------------------------|
| Total Beneficiaries   | Mothers              | Women                | Children (0-6M)   | Children (6m-3y)   | Children (3y-6y)   | Adolescent Girls (14-18 y)   |
| 101456672             | 5053003              | 7928715              | 4400327           | 40825291           | 41604731           | 16,44,605                    |

(c) The prevalence of anemia among children aged 6-59 months in the country as per the National Family Health Survey 5 (2019-21) is 67.1 percent and the prevalence of anemia among adolescents (women aged 15-19 years)  is 59.1 percent. The State and UT-wise details is attached at Annexure I.

The  prevalence  of  Stunting  has  reduced  from  38.4%  in  NFHS  4  to  35.5%  in NFHS 5. The State/UT wise details are attached at Annexure II.

(d) Government has accorded high priority to the issue of malnutrition and is making  serious  efforts  to  address  this  issue.  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.

Government  released  Streamlined  Guidelines dated 13.1.2021 for greater transparency, accountability and quality in the nutrition support programme and service delivery.  These  guidelines  emphasize  on  ensuring  the  quality  of  supplementary nutrition, highlights roles and responsibilities of duty holders, IT enabled data management  and  monitoring,  leveraging  of  traditional  knowledge  through  AYUSH, procurement and convergence for achieving good nutritional outcomes.

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.  A  programme  to  support  development  of Poshan  Vatikas  at  Anganwadi  centers  to  meet  dietary  diversity  gaps  leveraging traditional knowledge in nutritional practices has also been taken up.

Further,  the  Government  of  India  has  launched  Anemia  Mukt  Bharat  (AMB) strategy  with  the  target  to  reduce  anemia  in  women,  children  and  adolescents  in  life cycle approach. The 6x6x6 strategy under AMB implies six age groups, six interventions and  six  institutional  mechanisms.  The  six  interventions  under  Anemia  Mukt  Bharat strategy  include,  Prophylactic  Iron  Folic  Acid  Supplementation,  Periodic  de-worming, Intensified  year-round  Behaviour  Change  Communication  Campaign,  Testing  and treatment of anemia, using digital methods and point of care treatment, Convergence and coordination with other line departments and ministries for strengthening implementation  etc

Under POSHAN Abhiyaan, total Central funds amounting to Rs. 5402.95 crores have been released since 2017-18 and States/UTs have utilized Rs. 3572.77 crores ( as on 31 st March, 2022 ) to  ensure eradication of malnutrition among the beneficiaries of the country. Details of funds released/ utilized under Poshan Abhiyan in each of the last three years is as under,

| Financial Year   |   Fund Allocated/ Released (Rs. in crores) |
|------------------|--------------------------------------------|
| FY 2019-20       |                                    1714.58 |
| FY 2020-21       |                                     208.44 |
| FY 2021-22       |                                     145.97 |

Funds have not been released to States/UTs, so far, in the year 2022-23.

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Annexure I State and UT-wise prevalence of anemia among children and adolescent girls

| State/UT                      | Children 6-59 years   | Children 6-59 years   | Adolescent girls   | Adolescent girls   |
|-------------------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
| Round                         | NFHS 4                | NFHS 5                | NFHS 4             | NFHS 5             |
| Andhra Pradesh                | 58.6                  | 63.2                  | 61.1               | 60.1               |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands49.0 |                       | 40.0                  | 68.1               | 44.9               |
| Arunachal Pradesh             | 54.2                  | 56.6                  | 48.2               | 48.5               |
| Assam                         | 35.7                  | 68.4                  | 42.7               | 67.0               |
| Bihar                         | 63.5                  | 69.4                  | 61.0               | 65.7               |
| Chandigarh                    | 73.1                  | 54.6                  | 74.7               | 57.7               |
| Chhattisgarh                  | 41.6                  | 67.2                  | 45.5               | 61.4               |
| DND & DD                      | 82.0                  | 75.8                  | 75.9               | 63.9               |
| Goa                           | 48.3                  | 53.2                  | 30.5               | 44.5               |
| Gujarat                       | 62.6                  | 79.7                  | 56.5               | 69.0               |
| Haryana                       | 71.7                  | 70.4                  | 62.7               | 62.3               |
| Himachal Pradesh              | 53.7                  | 55.4                  | 52.7               | 53.2               |
| Jammu & Kashmir               | 53.8                  | 72.7                  | 49.9               | 76.2               |
| Jharkhand                     | 69.9                  | 67.5                  | 65.0               | 65.8               |
| Karnataka                     | 60.9                  | 65.5                  | 45.3               | 49.4               |
| Kerala                        | 35.7                  | 39.4                  | 37.8               | 32.5               |
| Ladakh                        | 91.4                  | 92.5                  | 81.6               | 96.9               |
| Lakshadweep                   | 53.6                  | 43.1                  | 59.0               | 31.4               |
| Madhya Pradesh                | 68.9                  | 72.7                  | 53.2               | 58.1               |
| Maharashtra                   | 53.8                  | 68.9                  | 49.7               | 57.2               |
| Manipur                       | 23.9                  | 42.8                  | 21.1               | 27.9               |
| Meghalaya                     | 48.0                  | 45.1                  | 52.1               | 52.5               |
| Mizoram                       | 19.3                  | 46.4                  | 21.3               | 34.9               |
| Nagaland                      | 26.4                  | 42.7                  | 26.3               | 33.9               |
| NCT Delhi                     | 59.7                  | 69.2                  | 55.1               | 51.6               |
| Odisha                        | 44.6                  | 64.2                  | 51.0               | 65.5               |
| Puducherry                    | 44.9                  | 64.0                  | 55.0               | 58.4               |
| Punjab                        | 56.6                  | 71.1                  | 58.0               | 60.3               |
| Rajasthan                     | 60.3                  | 71.5                  | 49.1               | 59.4               |
| Sikkim                        | 55.1                  | 56.4                  | 48.7               | 46.7               |
| Tamil Nadu                    | 50.7                  | 57.4                  | 54.2               | 52.9               |
| Telangana                     | 60.7                  | 70.0                  | 59.7               | 64.7               |
| Tripura                       | 48.3                  | 64.3                  | 52.2               | 67.9               |
| Uttar Pradesh                 | 63.2                  | 66.4                  | 53.7               | 52.9               |
| Uttarakhand                   | 59.8                  | 58.8                  | 46.4               | 40.9               |
| West Bengal                   | 54.2                  | 69.0                  | 62.2               | 70.8               |

Annexure II State/UT wise prevalence of stunting among children under five years of age as per National Family Health Survey (NFHS)

| S. No.                      | State/UT                  | Stunting (%)     | Stunting (%)     |
|-----------------------------|---------------------------|------------------|------------------|
| S. No.                      | State/UT                  | NHFS 4 (2015-16) | NHFS 5 (2019-21) |
|                             | INDIA                     | 38.4             | 35.5             |
| 1                           | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 23.3             | 22.5             |
| 2                           | Andhra Pradesh            | 31.4             | 31.2             |
| 3 Arunachal                 | Pradesh                   | 29.4             | 28               |
| 4                           | Assam                     | 36.4             | 35.3             |
| 5                           | Bihar                     | 48.3             | 42.9             |
| 6                           | Chandigarh                | 28.7             | 25.3             |
| 7                           | Chhattisgarh              | 37.6             | 34.6             |
| 8 Dadra & Nagar Daman & Diu | Haveli and                | 37.2             | 39.4             |
| 9                           | Delhi                     | 31.9             | 30.9             |
| 10                          | Goa                       | 20.1             | 25.8             |
| 11                          | Gujarat                   | 38.5             | 39               |
| 12                          | Haryana                   | 34               | 27.5             |
| 13                          | Himachal Pradesh          | 26.3             | 30.8             |
| 14                          | Jammu & Kashmir           | 27.4             | 26.9             |
| 15                          | Jharkhand                 | 45.3             | 39.6             |
| 16                          | Karnataka                 | 36.2             | 35.4             |
| 17                          | Kerala                    | 19.7             | 23.4             |
| 18                          | Lakshadweep               | 26.8             | 32               |
| 19                          | Ladakh                    | 30.9             | 30.5             |
| 20 Madhya                   | Pradesh                   | 42               | 35.7             |
| 21                          | Maharashtra               | 34.4             | 35.2             |
| 22                          | Manipur                   | 28.9             | 23.4             |
| 23                          | Meghalaya                 | 43.8             | 46.5             |
| 24                          | Mizoram                   | 28.1             | 28.9             |
| 25                          | Nagaland                  | 28.6             | 32.7             |
| 26                          | Orissa                    | 34.1             | 31               |
| 27                          | Puducherry                | 23.7             | 20               |
| 28                          | Punjab                    | 25.7             | 24.5             |
| 29                          | Rajasthan                 | 39.1             | 31.8             |
| 30                          | Sikkim                    | 29.6             | 22.3             |
| 31                          | Tamil Nadu                | 27.1             | 25               |
| 32                          | Telangana                 | 28               | 33.1             |
| 33                          | Tripura                   | 24.3             | 32.3             |
| 34                          | Uttar Pradesh             | 46.3             | 39.7             |
| 35                          | Uttarakhand               | 33.5             | 27               |
| 36                          | West Bengal               | 32.5             | 33.8             |

The note for supplementary is at the attachment