Lok Sabha Question No. 3006 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-08-09
Subject: Development of Children through of Anganwadi Centres
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Ravindra Dattaram Waikar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3006 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.08.2024

## DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN THROUGH OF ANGANWADI CENTRES

†3006. SHRI. RAVINDRA DATTARAM WAIKAR:

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

- (a) whether the Government has achieved its goals and objectives of improving the overall development, health facilities, education and nutritional status of poor children through Anganwadi Centres in different States of the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, State and district-wise in Maharashtra; and
- (c) the effective steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to improve the condition of Anganwadi Centres in different States of the country including Maharashtra?

## ANSWER

## MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a)  &  (b):   In  the  15th  FC,  under  Mission  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0, emphasis is given for nutritional support for children below the age of 6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers, Adolescent Girls (14 - 18 years); Early Childhood Care and  Education  (ECCE)  [3-6  years];  Anganwadi  infrastructure  including  modern, upgraded Saksham Anganwadi, Poshan Abhiyaan and Scheme for Adolescent Girls have been reorganized under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0).

Mission Poshan 2.0 focuses on Maternal Nutrition, Infant and Young Child Feeding Norms, Treatment of Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM)/Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and Wellness through Ayush practices to reduce wasting and under-weight prevalence besides stunting and anaemia. 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.

Various rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted since 199293  have  shown  improvement  in  malnutrition  indicators  in  children  across  India. Details of these indicators for children under 5 years since NFHS-1 to NFHS-5 are given below:

| NFHS Survey         |   Underweight % |   Wasting% |   Stunting% |
|---------------------|-----------------|------------|-------------|
| NFHS-1 (1992-93)*   |            53.4 |       17.5 |        52   |
| NFHS-2 (1998-99)**  |            47   |       15.5 |        45.5 |
| NFHS-3 (2005-6)***  |            42.5 |       19.8 |        48   |
| NFHS-4 (2015-16)*** |            35.8 |       21   |        38.4 |
| NFHS-5 (2019-21)*** |            32.1 |       19.3 |        35.5 |

* Under 4 years
- ** Under 3 years
- *** Under 5 years

The above table gives a representative picture of malnutrition indicators among all children of 0-3 years, 0-4 years and 0-5 years age at that time. The table shows that level of malnutrition among children has been generally coming down during the last 30 years.

The projected population of all children up to 5 years in India for the year 2021 is 13.75  crore  (source:  Population  Projections  for  India  and  States  2011-2036, National Commission on Population, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare). However, only 7.65 crore children up to 5 years are enrolled in Anganwadis and registered on Poshan Tracker of the Ministry of Women & Child Development as per June 2024 data  of  Poshan  Tracker.  7.37  crore  of  these  children  were  measured  on  growth parameters. 36.5% of these children have been found to be stunted, 16.4% children have been found to be underweight and 6% children have been found to be wasted.

Further, the projected population of all children in India up to 6 years for the year 2021 is 16.1 crore. As per June 2024 data of Poshan Tracker, 8.91 crore children (0-6  years)  are  enrolled  in  Anganwadis  out  of  whom  8.57  crore  children  were measured on growth parameters. 35.6% of these children (0-6 years) have been found  to  be  stunted  and  17.2%  children  (0-6  years)  have  been  found  to  be underweight.

Government has launched Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi (PBPB) initiative on 10th May, 2023 for upskilling of all anganwadi workers across the country to build their capacity to provide ECCE and nutrition service to the children below six years of age. As on June  2024,  under  Poshan  Bhi  Padhai  Bhi,  11,364  State  Level  Master  Trainers

(CDPOs, Supervisors and Additional Resource Persons) have been trained across the country.

State Wise details of beneficiaries including State of Maharashtra are at Annexure I.

(c):    To  improve  infrastructure  at  the  existing  AWCs  across  the  country  various efforts have been made. In order to rationalise the number of Anganwadi centres across the country vis-à-vis the registered beneficiaries, Government of India has, directed  States/UTs  to  co-locate  Anganwadi  Centres,  which  are  running  on  rent without sufficient infrastructure, at nearby Primary Schools, where space is available Further, the Government has decided to upgrade all Mini AWCs with one worker to a full- fledged Anganwadi Centre with one worker and one helper.

Under  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0,  for  the  15th  Finance  Commission cycle,  two  lakh  Anganwadi  Centres  located  in  Government  buildings  @  40,000 AWCs per year are to be strengthened and upgraded for improved nutrition delivery to beneficiaries and for delivery of ECCE to stimulate the creative, social, emotional, cognitive and intellectual development of children under 6 years of age. Till date, 92108 AWCs have been sanctioned for upgradation to Saksham Anganwadi.

Under MGNREGS component, beginning from FY 2021-22, 50000 AWCs building are to be constructed over a period of five years @10000 AWCs per year. The cost norms for construction of Anganwadi Centres in convergence with MGNREGS have been revised to Rs.12 Lakh per AWC wherein Rs.8.00 Lakh would be provided under MGNREGS, Rs.2.00 Lakh under 15th FC (or any other untied funds) and Rs.2.00 Lakh by MWCD per AWC to be shared between Centre and States/UTs in the prescribed cost sharing ratio.

Under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, in convergence with Pradhan Mantri Janjati Aadivasi Nyay Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) scheme, construction of 1050 AWCs have been sanctioned. State wise details of number of AWCs including State of Maharashtra sanctioned for construction are at Annexure II

During F.Y.  2023-24, an  amount  of  Rs.  2132.28  lakh  and  Rs  1782.24  lakh  was released  to  State  of  Maharashtra  for  construction  of  Toilet  in  9830  AWCs  and providing Drinking water connections in 17473 AWCs respectively.

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Statement in regards to part (a) & (b) of Lok Sabha Un-Starred Question No. 3006 On 'Development Of Children Through of Anganwadi Centres' raised by  Shri. Ravindra Dattaram Waikar  due for answer on 09.08.2024

State-Wise number  of  beneficiaries registered  under  the  Mission  Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 as per Poshan Tracker data as on 30.06.2024:

|   S.No | Name of State/UT                   |   Number of Beneficiaries |
|--------|------------------------------------|---------------------------|
|      1 | Andaman & Nicobar Islands          |                     12905 |
|      2 | Andhra Pradesh                     |                   3272799 |
|      3 | Arunachal Pradesh                  |                     98460 |
|      4 | Assam                              |                   3336585 |
|      5 | Bihar                              |                  10923272 |
|      6 | Chhattisgarh                       |                   2714583 |
|      7 | Dadra & Nagar Haveli - Daman & Diu |                     39772 |
|      8 | Delhi                              |                    688836 |
|      9 | Goa                                |                     57683 |
|     10 | Gujarat                            |                   3676203 |
|     11 | Haryana                            |                   2009647 |
|     12 | Himachal Pradesh                   |                    581853 |
|     13 | J&K                                |                    838143 |
|     14 | Jharkhand                          |                   3464451 |
|     15 | Karnataka                          |                   3928840 |
|     16 | Kerala                             |                   2188686 |
|     17 | Ladakh                             |                     18481 |
|     18 | Lakshadweep                        |                      4514 |
|     19 | Madhya Pradesh                     |                   7684764 |
|     20 | Maharashtra                        |                   7011640 |
|     21 | Manipur                            |                    324410 |
|     22 | Meghalaya                          |                    438884 |
|     23 | Mizoram                            |                    138669 |
|     24 | Nagaland                           |                    136165 |
|     25 | Odisha                             |                   4246696 |

| 26.   | Puducherry    | 36344        |
|-------|---------------|--------------|
| 27.   | Punjab        | 1600841      |
| 28.   | Rajasthan     | 4450703      |
| 29.   | Sikkim        | 42025        |
| 30.   | Tamil Nadu    | 4066408      |
| 31.   | Telangana     | 2080636      |
| 32.   | Tripura       | 365995       |
| 33.   | Chandigarh    | 44220        |
| 34.   | Uttar Pradesh | 22554563     |
| 35.   | Uttarakhand   | 845448       |
| 36.   | West Bengal   | 8710855      |
|       | Total         | 10,26,34,979 |

Annexure II

Statement in regards to part (c) of Lok Sabha Un-Starred Question No. 3006 On 'Development Of Children Through of Anganwadi Centres' raised by Shri. Ravindra Dattaram Waikar  due for answer on 09.08.2024

State-Wise number of AWCs to be constructed under PM JANMAN.

| S No.   | Name of State/UT   |   No. of AWCs to be constructed |
|---------|--------------------|---------------------------------|
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh     |                             170 |
| 2       | Bihar              |                              49 |
| 3       | Chhattisgarh       |                              54 |
| 4       | Gujarat            |                              67 |
| 5       | Jharkhand          |                             111 |
| 6       | Karnataka          |                              20 |
| 7       | Kerala             |                               7 |
| 8       | Madhya Pradesh     |                             217 |
| 9       | Maharashtra        |                              68 |
| 10      | Manipur            |                              13 |
| 11      | Odisha             |                              58 |
| 12      | Rajasthan          |                              10 |
| 13      | Tamil Nadu         |                              26 |
| 14      | Telangana          |                              85 |
| 15      | Tripura            |                              88 |
| 16      | Uttar Pradesh      |                               1 |
| 17      | Uttrakhand         |                               6 |
|         | Total              |                            1050 |

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