Lok Sabha Question No. 3843 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-11
Subject: Activities and Expenses under Nutrition Mission
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Sudhakar Tukaram Shrangre

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3843

TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.08.2023

## ACTIVITIES AND EXPENSES UNDER NUTRITION MISSION

## 3843. SHRI SUDHAKAR TUKARAM SHRANGARE :

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

- (a) the current implementation status of the National Nutrition Mission (Bal Poshan Abhiyan) in various States for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers;
- (b) the States where the Bal Poshan Abhiyan implementation is lagging and the specific reasons behind the delays or challenges faced;
- (c) the details of fund allocated and spent for the execution of the National Nutrition Mission  (Bal  Poshan  Abhiyan)  in  different  States  with  a  particular  focus  on Maharashtra;
- (d) the break up of the expenses for the activities under the Bal Poshan Abhiyan in Maharashtra, including unspent and unutilized fund and the reasons therefor; and
- (e) that  measures  being  taken  to  ensure  efficient  and  timely  execution  of  the National  Nutrition  Mission  (Bal  Poshan  Abhiyan)  across  all  States,  and  the mechanism  through  which  progress  is  being  monitored  to  achieve  positive outcomes  for  the  well-being  of  children,  pregnant  women  and  lactating mothers?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b) POSHAN Abhiyaan (erstwhile National Nutrition Mission) was launched on 8 th   March  2018,  with  an  aim  to  achieve  improvement  in  nutritional  status  of Adolescent Girls, Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers in a time bound manner by adopting a synergised and result oriented approach. The Abhiyaan has been rolled out in all the States/UTs.

Further,  the  efforts  under  the  Supplementary  Nutrition  Programme  under Anganwadi Services and POSHAN Abhiyaan have been rejuvenated and converged as 'Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0' (Mission Poshan 2.0). 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.  The  Mission  is  being  implemented  throughout  the country. The current status implementation of the scheme is as under:

-  Implemented in all 36 States/UTs, including all 112 Aspirational Districts.
-  Close to  3.70  crore  Community  Based  Events  (CBE)  have  been  conducted under the Abhiyaan during the last four years.
-  More than 60 crore Jan Andolan activities have been conducted across the country.
-  Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) have been technology empowered with smart phones - around 11 lakh Smart phones procured by States/UTs.
-  To promote regular growth measurement, around 12.5 lakh Growth Measurement  Devices  have  been  procured  by  States/UTs  for  Anganwadi Centres.
-  Around 6.42 lakh Poshan Vatikas have been developed at AWCs.
-  To ensure last mile tracking  of  service  delivery,  SMS  alerts  to  beneficiaries introduced for delivery of Take Home Ration (THR - not raw ration) in May 2023
-  Poshan Helpline operationalised in November 2022 has been made available to beneficiaries for registering concerns / queries on the services offered under Mission Poshan 2.0. A Poshan Helpline (14408) has also been operationalised in November 2022.
-  In the FY 2022-23, 41192 Anganwadi Centres have been identified to be made into  Saksham  Anganwadis,  equipped  with  LED  screens,  Wifi,  smart  audiovisual teaching aids, Poshan Vatikas, Rainwater harvesting structures (RWHSs), etc.
-  A  robust  ICT  application  Poshan  Tracker  launched  to  monitor  progress  of Mission in near real-time.
-  13.97 lakh Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) and 10.11 crore beneficiaries (pregnant women, lactating mothers and children up to 6 years) are registered on the Poshan Tracker.
-  Around  22.87  lakh  adolescent  girls  (14-18  years)  from  North  east  and Aspirational districts registered on the Poshan Tracker as part of the Scheme for Adolescent Girls.
-  Close to 94% of beneficiaries have been Aadhar verified to ensure last mile tracking and delivery of services
-  Migration facility for pregnant women and lactating mothers from one AWC to another within and outside a State, and from one category to another category of beneficiary is also available on the Poshan Tracker.

Regular consultations are held with States/UTs to monitor the progress under various components of Poshan Abhiyaan including procurement of Smart Phones and Growth Monitoring Devices, human resources, participation in Jan Andolans, etc.

(c) & (d) Poshan 2.0 is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme and the administration and implementation  of  the  scheme  falls  under  the  ambit  of  State  Governments/UT administrations.  Accordingly,  a  consolidated  fund  is  allocated  to each  State/UT for implementation of various components of the Scheme and expenses are made by the respective States/UTs from that amount.

Since the launch of POSHAN Abhiyaan, an amount of Rs. 608.93 crore has been released  to  the  state  of  Maharashtra  for  implementation  of  various  activities under the Abhiyaan against which Rs. 76.05 crore is lying unspent with the state as on June 2023. Regular reports are received from States regarding progress of fund utilization under POSHAN Abhiyaan. Delays if any, are monitored through sustained engagements with State Governments in review meetings to ensure that targets are achieved and funds are utilized.  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.  Any  un-utilized  fund  /  excess  expenditure  incurred during a particular year under POSHAN Abhiyaan is adjusted in the allocation/release of  the  succeeding  year.  A  major  plank  of  Poshan  Abhiyan  is  Behaviour  Change Communication through Jan Andolan activities. Due to Covid pandemic, States/ UTs were unable to fully utilise funds as the Jan Andolan activities were affected.

Further, the State-wise statement of funds released under POSHAN Abhiyaan including Maharashtra is annexed.

(e) In order to monitor the implementation of Mission Poshan 2.0, Government has leveraged technology in the form of an ICT application, viz., Poshan Tracker, which provides  near  real  time  progress  under  the  Mission.  Poshan  Tracker  is  being leveraged for dynamic identification of stunting, wasting and underweight prevalence among children and last mile tracking of nutrition service delivery. The system enables near  real-time  monitoring  of  all  AWCs,  AWWs  and  beneficiaries  on  the  defined indicators. Beneficiary Redressal Mechanism is an integral part of Poshan 2.0.

Further, streamlined guidelines were issued on 13.01.2021, covering several aspects  such  as  quality  assurance,  roles  and  responsibilities  of  duty  holders, procedure  for  procurement,  Data  management  and  Monitoring  through  "Poshan Tracker" for transparency, efficiency and accountability in delivery of Supplementary Nutrition. Regular meetings are held with States/UTs to monitor implementation of the programme. State-level Steering Committee chaired by Chief Secretary and District Nutrition Committees chaired by District Collector/District Magistrate, with representation from all concerned line Departments and Ministries monitors effective implementation of the Scheme

******

Annexure

State-wise statement of funds released under POSHAN Abhiyaan from F.Y. 2018-19 to F.Y.2022-23 (as on 31.03.2023) Amount in ₹ lakhs

| Sl. States/UTs             |   Total Central Funds Released |
|----------------------------|--------------------------------|
| 1 A&NISLANDS               |                        1290.71 |
| 2 ANDHRAPRADESH            |                       25498.6  |
| 3 ARUNACHALPRADESH         |                        2777.65 |
| 4 ASSAM                    |                       30684.9  |
| 5 BIHAR                    |                       46558.3  |
| 6 CHANDIGARH               |                         880.37 |
| 7 CHHATTISGARH             |                       10502.1  |
| 8 D&N HAVELI and DAMAN&DIU |                        1105.5  |
| 9 DELHI                    |                        2395.48 |
| 10GOA                      |                         219.62 |
| 11 GUJARAT                 |                       27433.2  |
| 12HARYANA                  |                        6430.05 |
| 13 HIMACHALPRADESH         |                        5379.38 |
| 14 JAMMU&KASHMIR           |                        9027.79 |
| 15 JHARKHAND               |                        5144.05 |
| 16 KARNATAKA               |                       16023.1  |
| 17 KERALA                  |                       11229.2  |
| 18 LADAKH                  |                          20.71 |
| 19LAKSHADWEEP              |                         367    |
| 20MADHYAPRADESH            |                       37515.1  |
| 21MAHARASHTRA              |                       55902    |
| 22 MANIPUR                 |                        4055.98 |
| 23MEGHALAYA                |                        5041.06 |
| 24 MIZORAM                 |                        3209.13 |
| 25NAGALAND                 |                        7800.93 |
| 26 ODISHA                  |                       23464.7  |
| 27PUDUCHERRY               |                         905.13 |
| 28 PUNJAB                  |                        6113.58 |
| 29 RAJASTHAN               |                       19686.3  |
| 30 SIKKIM                  |                        1272.39 |
| 31 TAMILNADU               |                       35507.5  |
| 32 TELANGANA               |                       17905.8  |
| 33 TRIPURA                 |                        3955.36 |
| 34 UTTARPRADESH            |                       48662.9  |
| 35 UTTARAKHAND             |                       12651.7  |
| 36WEST BENGAL              |                       21292.2  |
| Total                      |                      507910    |