Lok Sabha Question No. 4171 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-20
Subject: Objectives of Saksham Anganwadi
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Adv. Chandra Shekhar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4171

TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.12.2024

## OBJECTIVES OF SAKSHAM ANGANWADI

## 4171.    ADV. CHANDRA SHEKHAR:

Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state:

- (a) the manner in which the Government ensures that the objectives of Mission Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0  are met effectively to address malnutrition;
- (b) the measures being implemented to monitor and evaluate the impact of these programs  on  vulnerable  populations,  particularly  in  rural  and  underserved areas;
- (c) the steps taken/proposed to be taken to enhance the capacity of Anganwadi workers in delivering quality nutrition services, considering the reported gaps in training and resources; and
- (d) the manner in which the Government addresses the disparities in access to these services State-wise, especially in aspirational districts?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)

(a)  Under  the  15th  Finance  Commission,  various  components  like  Anganwadi services,  Poshan  Abhiyaan  and  Scheme  for  Adolescent  girls  (of  14-18  years  in Aspirational  Districts  and  North-Eastern  region)  have  been  subsumed  under  the umbrella  Mission  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0  (Mission  Poshan  2.0)  to address the challenge of malnutrition. It is a Centrally Sponsored mission, where the responsibility  of  implementation  and  day-to-day  execution  of  activities  is  with  the States and UTs. This mission is a universal self-selecting umbrella scheme that is being  implemented  across  the  country  including  rural,  underserved  areas  and aspirational districts.

The objectives of Mission are as follows:

- To contribute to the development of human capital in the country;
- Address challenge of malnutrition;
- Promote nutrition awareness and good eating habits for sustainable health and wellbeing

Nutrition goes beyond mere eating of food; it requires proper digestion, absorption, and metabolism which are influenced by factors like sanitation, education and access to  safe  drinking  water.  As  malnutrition  requires  a  multi-sectoral  approach  involving dimensions of food, health, water, sanitation and education, it is crucial to effectively address the issue of malnutrition. The challenge of malnutrition is being addressed under  Mission  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0  by  establishing  cross  cutting convergence amongst 18 Ministries/Departments.

Under Mission Poshan 2.0 a new strategy has been made for reduction in malnutrition and  for  improved  health,  wellness  and  immunity  through  activities  like  community engagement,  outreach,  behavioral  change,  and  advocacy.  It  focuses  on  Maternal Nutrition,  Infant  and  Young  Child  Feeding  Norms,  treatment  of  Severe  Acute Malnutrition (SAM)/ Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) and wellness through AYUSH practices to reduce prevalence of wasting, stunting, anaemia and being underweight.

Under this scheme, Supplementary Nutrition is provided to Children (6 months to 6 years),  Pregnant  Women,  Lactating  Mothers  and  Adolescent  Girls  to  beat  the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition by adopting a life cycle approach. Supplementary nutrition is provided in accordance with the nutrition norms contained in Schedule-II of the National Food Security Act. These norms have been revised and upgraded last year. The old norms were largely calorie-specific; however, the revised norms are more comprehensive and balanced in terms of both quantity and quality of supplementary nutrition based on the principles of diet diversity that provides quality protein, healthy fats and micronutrients.

Fortified rice is being supplied to AWCs to meet the requirement of micro-nutrients and to control anaemia among women and children. Greater emphasis is being laid on the use of millets for preparation of Hot Cooked Meal at least once a week and Take Home ration at Anganwadi centers.

Ministries of Women & Child Development and Health & Family Welfare have jointly released the protocol for Community Management of Malnutrition (CMAM) to prevent and treat severely acute malnutrition in children and for reducing associated morbidity and mortality.

Under this Mission, one of the major activities undertaken is Community Mobilization and Awareness Advocacy leading to a Jan Andolan to educate people on nutritional aspects. State and UTs are conducting and reporting regular sensitisation activities under  community  engagement  programmes  during  Poshan  Maahs  and  Poshan Pakhwadas  celebrated  in  the  months  of  September  and  March-April  respectively. Community Based Events (CBEs) have served as a significant strategy in changing nutritional  practices  and  all  Anganwadi  workers  are  required  to  conduct  two Community Based Events every month.

(b) to (d) Hon'ble PM has launched PM- JANMAN (Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan) on 15th November, 2023. The Mission is aimed at targeted development of 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) residing in 18 States and a UT. This Mission focuses on 11 critical interventions related to 9 key Ministries including Ministry of Women and Child Development.

Under  PM-JANMAN,  a  total  of  2139  AWCs  has  been  sanctioned  for  construction across the country as on date for which funds amounting to Rs. 256.68 crore has been allocated out of which Rs. 138.12 crore is released.

IT  systems  have  been  leveraged  to  strengthen  and  bring  about  transparency  in nutrition delivery systems at the Anganwadi centres. The 'Poshan Tracker' application was rolled out on 1st March, 2021 as an important IT governance tool. It facilitates monitoring  and  tracking  of  all  Anganwadi  Centres  (AWCs),  Anganwadi  Workers (AWWs) and beneficiaries on defined indicators. Poshan Tracker is being leveraged for  dynamic  identification  of  stunting,  wasting,  under-weight  prevalence  among children.

The  mobile  application  has  also  facilitated  digitization  and  automation  of  physical registers used by AWWs that helps in improving their quality of work. Poshan Tracker is available in 24 languages including Hindi and English. It has facilitated near real time  data  collection  for  Anganwadi  Services  such  as,  daily  attendance,  Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), Provision of Hot Cooked Meal /Take Home Ration, Growth Measurement etc.

National eGovernance Division (NeGD) regularly conducts field level trainings/workshops  directly  for  Anganwadi  Workers  regarding  use  of  the  Poshan Tracker Application. Multiple rounds of trainings have  been held both virtually and physically, in various districts across the country.

Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi (PBPB) launched by MWCD in 2023 is a path breaking Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) program to ensure that India has a high-quality pre-school network with well-trained Anganwadi workers which is in alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. PBPB advocates for a play-based, joyful lowcost  Teaching  Learning  Materials  (TLMs),  Do-It-Yourself  (DIY)  kit,  activity-based learning pedagogy, targeted specifically at developmental milestones of 0-3-yearold children  as  well  as  3-6-year  old  children.  It  also  advocates  using  simple  teachinglearning  material  and  indigenous  toys  which  are  locally  sourced  and  culturally acceptable.

A Two-Tier Training Implementation Model is being followed throughout the country for Training of functionaries. Tier 1 involves two days training of State Level Master Trainers (SLMTs). Tier 2 involves a 3 Days Training of Anganwadi Workers (AWWs). Up to 16 th  December 2024, 26,425 SLMTs and 71,745 Anganwadi Workers have been trained under PBPB programme.

An MoU was signed between Ministry of Women and Child Development and Ministry of  AYUSH  for  the  nutritional  improvement  in  adolescent  girls  through  Ayurveda interventions. Under the MoU, both ministries have collaborated for implementation of a pilot project in five Aspirational Utkarsh Districts (Dhubri-Assam, BastarChhattisgarh,  West  Singhbhum-  Jharkhand,  Gadchiroli-Maharashtra  and  DholpurRajasthan) for management of anaemia in adolescent girls (aged 14-18 years) through evidence-based Ayurvedic interventions.

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