Lok Sabha Question No. 2198 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-01
Subject: Anganwadi Centres in Karnataka
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Yaduveer Wadiyar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2198

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.08.2025

## ANGANWADI CENTRES IN KARNATAKA

## 2198.    SHRI YADUVEER WADIYAR:

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

- (a) the number of functional Anganwadi Centres currently operating in Karnataka, district-wise;
- (b) whether the Government has assessed gaps in infrastructure, sanitation, or digital access in Anganwadi Centres in rural and tribal areas of Karnataka, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (c) the specific steps taken under the Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 schemes to improve maternal and child nutrition in the said State?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b): 66098 Anganwadi Centres(AWCs) are operational in the State of Karnataka. During the 15th  Finance  Commission  cycle,  2  lakh  Anganwadi  Centres  (AWCs)  located  in  Government buildings @ 40,000 AWCs per year are to be strengthened and upgraded as Saksham Anganwadis for improved nutrition delivery and for Early Childhood Care and Education under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0. Saksham Anganwadis are to be provided with better infrastructure than the  conventional  Anganwadi  Centres  including  LED  screens,  water  purifier/installation  of  RO Machine,  Poshan  Vatika,  ECCE  related  books  and  learning  material  etc.  As  on  date,  2  Lakh Anganwadi Centres has been sanctioned for upgradation to Saksham Anganwadi Centres.

Under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, beginning from FY 2021-22, 50000 AWCs building are to be constructed over a period of five years @10000 AWCs per year. The cost norms for construction of Anganwadi Centres in convergence with MGNREGS is Rs.12 Lakh per AWC wherein Rs.8.00 Lakh would be provided under MGNREGS, Rs.2.00 Lakh under 15th FC (or any other  untied  funds)  and  Rs.2.00  Lakh  by  MWCD  per  AWC  to  be  shared  between  Centre  and States/UTs in the prescribed cost sharing ratio.

The unit cost approved for construction of toilet is Rs.36000/- per AWC and for drinking water provisioning the approved cost is Rs. 17000/- per AWC to be shared by Centre and States/UTs as per the cost sharing ratio.

Apart from this, the Government has issued orders for upgradation of all mini AWC to regular AWCs. This would add an Anganwadi Helper in these Anganwadi Centres across the country to share the burden of Anganwadi worker so that the component of ECCE can be strengthened. Out of 1,16,852 Mini-AWCs in 23 States/UTs, sanction for upgradation of 1,11,363 Mini-AWCs has been issued till date. Further, directions have been issued to States/UTs to co-locate Anganwadi Centres, which are running on rent without sufficient infrastructure, at nearby Primary Schools, where space is available.

The PM JANMAN Mission launched by Ministry of Tribal Affairs 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.  As  on  date,  2500  AWCs  have  been  sanctioned  for  construction  under  PM JANMAN across the country.

In  addition  to  above,  Ministry  of  Tribal  Affairs  has  launched  Dharti  Aaba  Janjati  Gram  Unnat Abhiyan (DAJGUA) aimed at improving the socio-economic condition of tribal communities by adopting saturation coverage of tribal families in tribal  majority  areas  and  aspirational  block  ST villages. The intervention of Ministry of Women and Child Development involves establishment of 2000 new Saksham AWCs and upgradation of 6000 existing AWCs to Saksham AWCs from FY 2024-25 to FY 2028-29. As on date, a total of 875 AWCs has been sanctioned for construction under DAJGUA  across the country.

(c):    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  NorthEastern 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 for implementation of various activities lies with the States and UTs. This mission  is  a  universal  self-selecting  umbrella  scheme  where  there  are  no  entry  barriers  for  any beneficiary to register and receive services. This mission is being implemented across the country.

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. It 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.

As on date, 2 lakh Anganwadi Centres have been approved to be upgraded as Saksham Anganwadis for  improved  nutrition  delivery  and  for  imparting  early  childhood  care  and  education.  Saksham Anganwadis are provided with better infrastructure than the conventional Anganwadi Centres which includes internet/Wi-Fi connectivity, LED screens, water purifier/installation of RO Machine and smart learning equipments. The Government has also taken a policy decision to upgrade all Mini AWCs to a full-fledged Anganwadi Centres with one worker and one helper each to help in carrying out various  responsibilities  under  Mission  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0  including responsibilities related to Early Childhood Care & Education. Sanction for upgradation of 88,716 Mini-AWCs has been issued till date.

The nutritional norms have been revised and upgraded in January, 2023. 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 at least once a week for preparation of Hot Cooked Meal 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.

Community Mobilization and Awareness Advocacy is undertaken to educate people on nutritional aspects as adoption of good nutrition habit requires sustained efforts for behavioural change. State and UTs are conducting and reporting regular sensitisation  activities  under  Jan  Andolans  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.

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 NFHS-1 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 7.36 crores children up to 5 years were enrolled in Anganwadis and registered on Poshan Tracker of the Ministry of Women & Child Development as per the June, 2025 data. 7 crores of these children were measured on growth parameters of height and weight. 37.07% of them have been found to be stunted, 15.93% have been found to be underweight and 5.46% wasted.

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

The Ministry  of  Health  and  Family  Welfare  is  implementing  Reproductive,  Maternal,  Newborn, Child,  Adolescent  Health  and  Nutrition  (RMNCAH+N)  strategy  in  a  life  cycle  approach  under National Health Mission (NHM), which includes interventions to address malnutrition and anemia across all States/UTs in the country. One of the interventions is Anemia Mukt Bharat.

Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) a flagship programme of Government of India under Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW), launched in 2018, aims to reduce the prevalence of anemia through 6X6X6 strategy implemented among the six target beneficiaries-children 6-59 months, children 5-9 years, adolescents 10-19 years, women of reproductive age group, pregnant women and lactating mothers; through six interventions implemented via six institutional mechanisms for all stakeholders. The six interventions for AMB strategy include:

(i) Prophylactic Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) supplementation to all six beneficiaries

(ii) Deworming

(iii)  Intensified  Behaviour  Change  Communication  Campaign  focusing  on  four  key  behavioursimproving compliance to IFA supplementation and deworming, appropriate infant and young child feeding  practices,  increase  in  intake  of  iron-rich  food  through  diet  diversity/quantity/frequency and/or fortified foods and ensuring delayed cord clamping in health facilities

(iv) Testing and treatment of anemia, using digital methods and point of care treatment,

(v) Mandatory provision of Iron and Folic Acid fortified foods in government funded public health programmes.

(vi) Intensifying awareness, screening, and treatment of non-nutritional causes of anemia

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