Lok Sabha Question No. 3083 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-13
Subject: Poshan Abhiyaan
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Navaskani K, Shri Selvam G, Shri C N Annadurai

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3083 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.12.2024

## POSHAN ABHIYAAN

3083.  SHRI C N ANNADURAI: SHRI SELVAM G: SHRI NAVASKANI K:

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

- (a) the  details  of  the  objectives  and  main  features  of  Poshan  Abhiyaan  and  its implementation status in the country;
- (b) the details of measures, if any, taken to improve the nutritional status of children in tribal and backward areas under the scheme;
- (c) the steps being taken to enhance the use of technology and data monitoring in tracking nutritional outcomes;
- (d) the future roadmap for achieving the targets set under Poshan Abhiyaan;
- (e) whether the Government has identified gaps in the implementation of Poshan Abhiyaan, if so, the details of such gaps identified and the corrective action taken thereon; and
- (f) the  measures  being  taken  to  ensure  timely  delivery  of  benefits  under  the scheme?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (f) Poshan Abhiyaan was launched in March 2018 with the goal to reduce, with the support of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, stunting, being underweight among children, low-birth weight among infants and anaemia in children, adolescents and women.

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. 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

Mission  Poshan  2.0  is  a  universal  self-selecting  umbrella  scheme  that  is  being implemented across the country including tribal and backward areas. It is a Centrally Sponsored  mission,  where  the  responsibility for implementation  lies with the States/UTs.

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 this Mission, 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.

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 infrastructure and service delivery at Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) and beneficiaries on defined indicators.

Poshan  Tracker  is  available  in  24  languages  including  Hindi  and  English.  It  has facilitated near real time data collection for Anganwadi Services. Monthly dashboards and factsheets are provided at various levels, from Central level to Project level for timely course corrections and focused interventions.

Beneficiary Registration module has been introduced in the Poshan Tracker which has a  feature  for  self-registration  by  the  beneficiary  by  selecting  Anganwadi  centre. Further, existing beneficiaries can view the facilities available to them on their mobile phone under this mission.

Anganwadi workers are mandated to measure height and weight of all children (0-6 years) once a month. On the basis of height and weight data entered by Anganwadi workers, the Poshan Tracker is being leveraged for regular identification of stunting, wasting, under-weight prevalence among children as per WHO standards.

Details of registered beneficiaries under the mission are provided at Annexure .

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ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA QUESTION NO. 3083 FOR 13.12.2024 REGARDING 'POSHAN ABHIYAAN' ASKED BY SHRI C N ANNADURAI, SHRI SELVAM G AND SHRI NAVASKANI K

Details of registered beneficiaries under the mission as on October 2024 from Poshan Tracker are as follows:

| Categories of beneficiaries                                                       | Number of beneficiaries   |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------|
| Children (0 - 6 years)                                                            | 8,82,87,007               |
| Pregnant women                                                                    | 61,28,029                 |
| Lactating mothers                                                                 | 44,18,840                 |
| Adolescent girls (of 14-18 years in Aspirational Districts and North-East region) | 23,47,552                 |

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