Lok Sabha Question No. 601 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-09
Subject: Utilisation of Funds under POSHAN Abhiyaan
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Arvind Dharmapuri

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 601

TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.12.2022

## 'UTILISATION OF FUNDS UNDER POSHAN ABHIYAAN'

- 601 SHRI ARVIND DHARMAPURI

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

- (a) the funds released and utilized under the Prime Minister's Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition (POSHAN) till December, 2022 ;
- (b) whether  the  Ministry  has  studied  the  reasons  for  non-utilisation  of  the  funds released by  the  Union  Government,  since  the  inception  of  this  scheme  by  the States;
- (c) the steps taken by Government to ensure maximum utilisation of funds by States under the said scheme; and
- (d) whether the Ministry has conducted any study on the results of this scheme since 2017 and if so, the details and the outcome thereof ?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) 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.
- (b) Poshan  Abhiyaan  was  launched  in  the  year  2018.  Technology,  Behaviour change and Convergence are the key planks of Poshan Abhiyan. Funds allocated to States/UTs  under  the  Abhiyan  were  not  fully  utilised,  due  to,  inter  alia,  inability  of States/UTs to conduct Jan Andolan activities and Community Based events, following the  onset  of  Covid-19  pandemic.  However,  any  unutilized  fund  /  excess  expenditure incurred during a particular year under POSHAN  Abhiyaan  is  adjusted  in  the allocation/release of the succeeding year.
- (c)  The Government is making efforts to ensure maximum utilisation of funds by States under  the  said  scheme.  States/  UTs  are  encouraged  to  undertake  activities  under

Poshan Pakhwada (March) and Poshan Maah (September) every year. For the Poshan Maah 2022, close to 16 crore activities were conducted across all States/UTs. Further, Ministry is constantly engaging with the States/UTs to ensure saturation of procurement of Smartphones and Growth Monitoring Devices for the Anganwadi Centres under the Abhiyan.  Best  practices  and  innovations  are  also  shared  across  States  and  UTs  to ensure adoption and inspiration for innovations for good health and nutrition practices. States/UTs  are  advised  to  utilise  the  funds  allocated  under  various  components  of POSHAN Abhiyaan as per the cost norms for effective implementation of the scheme. States/  UTs  are  mandated  to  submit  their  Convergence  Action  Plan  and  Annual Programme Implementation Plan to the Ministry to ensure effective utilisation of funds

(d) Development  Monitoring  &  Evaluation  Office(DMEO)  under  NITI  Aayog  has conducted  Sectoral  Evaluation  of  schemes  including  POSHAN  Abhiyaan  in  the  year 2020. As  per  the  findings  of  the  report,  performance  of  the  Poshan  Abhiyan  scheme was found Satisfactory in categories of Relevance, Sustainability and Equity.

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