Lok Sabha Question No. 3192 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-13
Subject: National Nutrition Mission
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Kaushalendra Kumar, Dr. D. Purandeswari

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3192 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.12.2024

## NATIONAL NUTRITION MISSION

## 3192.    DR. D. PURANDESHWARI:

SHRI KAUSHALENDRA KUMAR:

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

- (a) the details of the comparative progress that has been made under the National Nutrition Mission in reducing malnutrition among children and women;
- (b) the number of beneficiaries covered under Poshan Abhiyaan in the last three years particularly in Andhra Pradesh;
- (c) the details of the fund allocation/utilization for the said mission during the last five years, year-wise, State-wise including Bihar;
- (d) the details of the innovative approaches, if any, adopted and training imparted to improve nutrition outcomes under Poshan Abhiyaan; and
- (e) the details of the districts in Bihar selected for implementation of the scheme along with the steps being taken to popularize the said scheme?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (e) 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 is with the States. It is being implemented in all States/UTs of the country including the State of Bihar.

The objectives of Mission are as follows:

- To contribute to 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-sector  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.

Various rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted by Ministry of Health  &  Family  Welfare  since  1992-93  have  shown  improvement  in  malnutrition indicators in children across India. Details of these indicators for children since NFHS1 to NFHS-5 are given below:

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

* 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 the relevant time.

The projected population of all children up to 5 years in India for the year 2021 is 13.75 crores approximately (source: Population Projections for India and States 2011-2036, National Commission on Population, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare). However, only 7.54 crores children up to 5 years are enrolled in Anganwadis and registered on Poshan Tracker of the Ministry of Women & Child Development as per the October 2024 data. 7.31 crores of these children were measured on growth parameters of height  and  weight.  38.9%  of  these  children  have  been  found  to  be  stunted,  17% children have been found to be underweight and 5.2% wasted.

Further, the projected population of all children in India up to 6 years for the year 2021 is  approximately  16.1  crores  (source:  Population  Projections  for  India  and  States 2011-2036, National Commission on Population, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare). As per the October 2024 data of Poshan Tracker, 8.82 crores children (0-6 years) are enrolled  in  Anganwadis  out  of  whom  8.55  crores  were  measured  on  growth parameters of height and weight. 37% of these children (0-6 years) have been found to be stunted and 17% children (0-6 years) have been found to be underweight.

The  analysis  of  the  above  NFHS  data  and  the  Poshan  Tracker  data  shows improvement in malnutrition indicators in children across India.

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/UTs including Bihar 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.

The Mission  Poshan2.0  is  a  self-selecting  bouquet  of  services  available  to  all  the eligible beneficiaries who enroll voluntarily at the Anganwadi Centers (AWCs).

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 by National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) of State Level Master Trainers (SLMTs). Tier 2 involves a 3 Days Training of Anganwadi Workers (AWWs). Up to 2nd December 2024, 21722 SLMTs have been trained under PBPB programmes in 719 Districts of 35 states and 42,308 Anganwadi Workers have been trained in 182 Districts of 20 States. The Ministry has allocated funds to the tune of Rs. 476.06 Crores for FY 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 for training.

Self/Beneficiary Registration module has been introduced in Poshan Tracker where the Beneficiary can self register by selecting Anganwadi centre. The beneficiaries can also view the services available to him/her in the AWC.

Details of State-wise beneficiaries including those in Andhra Pradesh under Mission Poshan 2.0 in the last two years are provided at Annexure - I. State wise details of funds released and utilized by all States including Bihar are provided at Annexure - II.

*****

## Annexure-I

## ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF LOK SABHA QUESTION NO. 3192 FOR 13.12.2024 REGARDING 'NATIONAL NUTRITION MISSION' ASKED BY DR. D. PURANDESHWARI AND SHRI KAUSHALENDRA KUMAR

Details of State-wise beneficiaries under Mission Poshan 2.0 in the last two years are as follows:

| State             | Oct-23      | Oct-24      |
|-------------------|-------------|-------------|
| Andhra Pradesh    | 23,93,173   | 31,64,138   |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 96,007      | 1,02,582    |
| Assam             | 34,52,946   | 34,36,718   |
| Bihar             | 1,08,11,518 | 1,05,82,926 |
| Chhattisgarh      | 28,03,880   | 26,42,697   |
| Goa               | 67,619      | 57,194      |
| Gujarat           | 38,29,853   | 35,37,211   |
| Haryana           | 19,95,931   | 19,41,761   |
| Himachal Pradesh  | 5,83,243    | 5,72,226    |
| Jharkhand         | 36,91,447   | 33,59,175   |
| Karnataka         | 38,47,945   | 43,63,784   |
| Kerala            | 23,02,383   | 21,03,592   |
| Madhya Pradesh    | 77,34,305   | 74,71,827   |
| Maharashtra       | 74,20,828   | 66,75,390   |
| Manipur           | 3,24,705    | 3,35,649    |
| Meghalaya         | 4,94,260    | 4,13,696    |
| Mizoram           | 1,45,084    | 1,34,852    |
| Nagaland          | 1,43,301    | 1,32,786    |
| Odisha            | 43,49,112   | 41,92,206   |
| Punjab            | 13,95,990   | 16,50,192   |
| Rajasthan         | 46,21,620   | 42,93,191   |
| Sikkim            | 44,582      | 40,669      |
| Tamil Nadu        | 40,72,944   | 41,21,385   |

| Telangana                          | 22,58,275   | 19,33,712   |
|------------------------------------|-------------|-------------|
| Tripura                            | 3,80,651    | 3,53,875    |
| Uttar Pradesh                      | 2,23,47,863 | 2,24,37,647 |
| Uttarakhand                        | 8,61,640    | 8,37,925    |
| West Bengal                        | 88,27,032   | 86,26,799   |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands          | 12,517      | 11,835      |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli - Daman & Diu | 33,216      | 38,211      |
| Delhi                              | 6,85,615    | 6,73,386    |
| J&K                                | 8,25,218    | 8,40,554    |
| Ladakh                             | 18,500      | 18,290      |
| Lakshadweep                        | 4,742       | 4,598       |
| Puducherry                         | 35,367      | 35,843      |
| UT-Chandigarh                      | 46,690      | 42,909      |

## Annexure-II

ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (c) OF LOK SABHA QUESTION NO. 3192 FOR 13.12.2024 REGARDING 'NATIONAL NUTRITION MISSION' ASKED BY DR. D. PURANDESHWARI AND SHRI KAUSHALENDRA KUMAR

The State/UT wise details of funds provided under Mission Poshan 2.0 Scheme, year-wise, along with the utilization are as follows:

| S. No               | State                       | Amount in ₹ crores   | Amount in ₹ crores   | Amount in ₹ crores   | Amount in ₹ crores   | Amount in ₹ crores   | Amount in ₹ crores                   |
|---------------------|-----------------------------|----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|--------------------------------------|
| . Name              | State                       | 2021-22              | 2021-22              | 2022-23              | 2022-23              | 2023-24              | 2023-24                              |
| the                 | State                       | Funds release d      | Fund utilise d       | Funds release d      | Fund utilise d       | Funds release d      | Fund utilised                        |
| 1                   | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 19.71                | 13.36                | 3.85                 | 3.88                 | 12.15                | Utilization Certificat e not yet due |
| 2 Andhra Pradesh    | 744.60                      |                      | 749.91               | 827.79               | 721.45               | 705.68               | Utilization Certificat e not yet due |
| 3 Arunachal Pradesh | 170.83                      |                      | 230.77               | 137.78               | 145.74               | 162.06               | Utilization Certificat e not yet due |
| 4 Assam             | 1319.90                     |                      | 1432.19              | 1651.63              | 1717.00              | 2233.31              | Utilization Certificat e not yet due |
| 5 Bihar             | 1574.43                     |                      | 1608.02              | 1740.09              | 1586.61              | 1859.29              | Utilization Certificat e not yet due |
| 6 Chandigarh        | 15.32                       |                      | 23.09                | 33.10                | 34.33                | 19.79                | Utilization Certificat e not yet due |
| 7 Chhattisgarh      | 606.73                      | 522.72               |                      | 668.96               | 571.80               | 579.46               | Utilization Certificat e not yet due |
| 8 Dadra & Nagar and | Haveli Daman & 9.33         | 9.56                 |                      | 5.80                 | 5.80                 | 11.97                | Utilization Certificat e not yet due |
| 9 Delhi             | 133.11                      | 125.52               |                      | 182.77               | 142.84               | 161.81               | Utilization Certificat e not yet due |
| 10 Goa              | 10.84                       |                      | 12.92                | 14.71                | 16.83                | 13.95                | Utilization Certificat e not yet due |
| 11 Gujarat          | 839.86                      |                      | 757.92               | 912.64               | 552.30               | 1126.80              | Utilization Certificat e not yet due |
| 12 Haryana          | 173.03                      |                      | 146.99               | 195.25               | 150.24               | 225.78               | Utilization Certificat e not yet due |
| 13 Himachal Pradesh | 247.99                      |                      | 386.68               | 270.24               | 247.76               | 301.09               | Utilization Certificat e not yet due |

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| 14           | Jammu & Kashmir   | 405.74   |   704.57 |   479.01 |   416.23 | 530.88   |
|--------------|-------------------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
| 15 Jharkhand | 352.98            | 183.30   |   430.91 |   596.03 |   664.3  |          |
| 16 Karnataka | 1003.70           |          |   984.62 |   765.87 |   885.65 | 912.96   |
| 17           | Kerala            | 388.23   |   397.98 |   444.98 |   325.43 | 306.64   |
| 18           | Ladakh            | 14.70    |    14.67 |    18.79 |    18.79 | 19.62    |
| 19 p         | Lakshadwee        | 2.11     |     2.73 |     0.44 |     0.44 | 2.88     |
| 20           | Madhya Pradesh    | 1085.47  |  1055.83 |  1011.57 |  1038.67 | 1123.11  |
| 21           | Maharashtra       | 1713.39  |  1609.02 |  1646.17 |  1589.97 | 1699.52  |
| 22           | Manipur           | 228.92   |   177.28 |   135.95 |   167.74 | 201.28   |
| 23           | Meghalaya         | 173.33   |   177.86 |   192.39 |   200.24 | 269.69   |
| 24           | Mizoram           | 59.32    |    61.57 |    42.81 |    53.02 | 100.27   |
| 25           | Nagaland          | 159.80   |   160.21 |   199.3  |   190.47 | 262.91   |
| 26           | Odisha            | 1065.98  |   871.2  |   923.92 |   884.96 | 968.80   |
| 27           | Puducherry        | 2.78     |     6.13 |     0.12 |     6.68 | 4.48     |
| 28           | Punjab            | 383.52   |   177.94 |    75.31 |   247.25 | 307.87   |
| 29           | Rajasthan         | 682.65   |   771.64 |   974.02 |   936.17 | 1091.96  |
| 30           | Sikkim            | 25.73    |    24.59 |    20.33 |    24.09 | 33.49    |
| 31 Tamil     | Nadu              | 655.38   |   681.28 |   766.81 |   741.3  | 880.79   |
| 32           | Telangana         | 482.33   |   479.3  |   550.69 |   503.33 | 507.87   |
| 33           | Tripura           | 186.72   |   171.66 |   150.52 |   186.55 | 244.22   |
| 34           | Uttar Pradesh     | 2407.55  |  2341.91 |  2721.87 |  2622.64 | 2668.69  |
| 35           | Uttarakhand       | 353.65   |   336.03 |   425.84 |   364.77 | 288.24   |
| 36           | West Bengal       | 668.35   |  1378.31 |  1227.59 |  1455.89 | 1237.56  |

*****