Lok Sabha Question No. 3126 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-13
Subject: Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 in Odisha
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Smt. Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3126 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.12.2024

## SAKSHAM ANGANWADI AND POSHAN 2.0 IN ODISHA

## 3126. SMT. SANGEETA KUMARI SINGH DEO:

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

- (a) whether the Government has assessed the implementation of the Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 scheme in Odisha;
- (b) if  so,  the  details of Anganwadi centres upgraded under the scheme and the funds utilized thereon in the State; and
- (c) the  measures  taken  to  address  malnutrition  among  children  and  pregnant women in aspirational districts of Odisha?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to (b): Anganwadi services, Poshan Abhiyaan and Scheme for Adolescent girls (14-18 years in Aspirational Districts and North-East region) have been subsumed under the umbrella Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0)  during  the  period  of  15 th   Finance  Commission.  Mission  Poshan  2.0  seeks  to address the challenge of malnutrition through improved nutrition content and delivery. It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, where the responsibility of implementation lies with the States/UTs.

This  Ministry  continuously  monitors  the  implementation  of  Mission  2.0  through sustained engagement with the States/UTs through Video Conferences, meetings and through online Poshan Tracker system including in the State of Odisha.

Ministry has issued guidelines to all States/UTs on 13.01.2021 to streamline several aspects  such  as  quality  assurance,  roles  and  responsibilities  of  duty  holders, procedure for procurement, integrating AYUSH concepts and data management and monitoring through 'Poshan Tracker' for transparency, efficiency and accountability in the delivery of Supplementary Nutrition.

The 'Poshan Tracker' application was rolled out by the Ministry on 1 st  March 2021 as a governance tool to strengthen and bring about transparency in nutrition delivery support  systems.  Technology  under  Poshan  Tracker  is  being  leveraged  for  (i) dynamic identification of stunting, wasting, under-weight prevalence among children and (ii) last mile tracking of nutrition service delivery. The Poshan Tracker enables real  time  monitoring  and  tracking  of  all  Anganwadi  Centres  (AWCs),  Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and beneficiaries on defined indicators. Beneficiaries are Aadhaar seeded to ensure last mile tracking. Poshan Tracker helps Mission Poshan 2.0 in generating  data,  providing  feedback  to  Program  Managers  and  documenting  the impact of the scheme on nutrition indicators. The Ministry/ States/ Districts are being able  to  make  effective  timely  interventions,  based  on  the  data  from  the  tracker; continuous  evaluation  through  reputed  institutions  and  the  progress  of  different components.

Under the guidelines, the District Magistrate (DM) has been designated as the Nodal Point  in  the  district  for  monitoring  nutritional  status  of  beneficiaries  and  quality standards. A District Nutrition Committee under the chairpersonship of DM/Collector with certified nutrition experts as members has been constituted to review the progress every month.

Under  Saksham Anganwadi and  Poshan 2.0,  two  lakh  selected AWCs  (@  40,000 AWCs per year) are being strengthened and upgraded for improved nutrition delivery for stimulating the creative, social, emotional, cognitive and intellectual development of  children  under  6  years  of  age  in  convergence  with  education  development programmes.

As on date, 1,70,337 Anganwadi Centres (41192 for FY 2022-23, 50916 for FY 202324  and  78229  for  FY  2024-25)  have  been  approved  for  upgradation  to  Saksham Anganwadis in the States/UTs, out of which, 10432 Anganwadi Centres have been approved for upgradation to Saksham Anganwadi in the State of Odisha and Rs.62.59 Crores have been allocated to the State for this purpose.

(c):  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 challenges of malnutrition are 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.

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.

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.

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