Lok Sabha Question No. 5704 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-04-04
Subject: Poshan Abhiyaan
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Bidyut Baran Mahato, Shri P C Mohan, Dr. K Sudhakar, Shri Bhojraj Nag, Dr. Hemant Vishnu Savara, Shri Chintamani Maharaj, Shri Dharambir Singh, Shri Alok Sharma, Dr. Rajesh Mishra, Shri Gajendra  Singh Patel, Smt. Shobhanaben Mahendrasinh Baraiya, Smt. Kamlesh Jangde, Smt. Himadri Singh, Shri Praveen Patel, Shri Yogender Chandolia, Smt. Mahima Kumari Mewar, Shri Dilip Saikia, Ms Kangna Ranaut, Shri Lumbaram Choudhary, Shri Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor, Smt. Smita Uday Wagh, Shri Anurag Sharma, Dr. Bhola Singh, Shri Dineshbhai Makwana

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5704 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.04.2025

## POSHAN ABHIYAAN

5704.  Shri Dilip Saikia:

Shri Lumbaram Choudhary:

Shri Dineshbhai Makwana:

Shri Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor:

Shri Alok Sharma:

Shri Chintamani Maharaj:

Dr. Bhola Singh:

Shri Bhojraj Nag:

Shri P C Mohan:

Dr. K Sudhakar:

Smt. Himadri Singh:

Shri Bidyut Baran Mahato:

Shri Praveen Patel:

Ms Kangna Ranaut:

Smt. Mahima Kumari Mewar:

Smt. Shobhanaben Mahendrasinh Baraiya:

Shri Gajendra Singh Patel:

Shri Anurag Sharma:

Dr. Hemant Vishnu Savara:

Smt. Kamlesh Jangde:

Dr. Rajesh Mishra:

Smt. Smita Uday Wagh:

Shri Dharambir Singh:

Shri Yogender Chandolia:

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

- (a) the details of the steps taken to improve maternal and child nutrition under the Poshan Abhiyaan scheme State-wise particularly in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh;
- (b) whether there has been an assessment of the scheme's impact on malnutrition rates in the country including said State, if so, the details thereof along with findings regarding improvements therein;
- (c) the  new  strategies  implemented  to  enhance  the  effectiveness  of  Poshan Abhiyaan in underdeveloped regions particularly in said State;
- (d) the details of the steps being taken to ensure the sustainability of the Poshan Abhiyaan scheme;
- (e) whether any challenges are being faced in implementing the Poshan Abhiyaan scheme, if so, the details of the remedial steps being taken in this regard; and
- (f) whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  measures  to  strengthen  nutrition delivery mechanism/monitoring in tribal and rural areas of Maharashtra?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (f) 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 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  including  in  the  underdeveloped,  tribal  and  rural  areas  of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

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 of nutrients. This process is 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 in a convergent manner. 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.

Under this mission, 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 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 for 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.

Under this Mission, one of the major activities undertaken is Community Mobilization and Awareness Advocacy 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.

To further enhance the efficiency of the programme, various initiatives have been taken up from time to time. Following are few initiatives undertaken recently:

- Suposhit Gram Panchayat Abhiyaan: 1000 Suposhit Gram Panchayats will be selected  and  an  incentive  of  Rs.  1  Lakh  each  will  be  given  to  them  under Suposhit  Gram  Panchayats  Abhiyaan  to  motivate  Gram  Panchayats  and Anganwadi  functionaries  to  take  proactive  measures  in  improving  nutrition through provision of incentives.
- Poshan  Tracker  has  been  implemented  for  monitoring  and  tracking  of infrastructure and  service delivery  at  Anganwadi  Centres  (AWCs)  and beneficiaries on defined indicators.
- Face authentication module: For last mile tracking of Service Delivery, MWCD has  developed  two-factor  authentication  mechanisms  for  the  distribution  of Take Home ration to ensure that benefit is given to the intended beneficiaries registered in Poshan Tracker. Regular follow-up is being done with States/UTs for  its  100%  adoption.  The  successful  implementation  of  this  module  would ensure  that  THR  reaches  intended  beneficiaries,  which  would  ultimately improve the nutritional outcomes of the beneficiaries.
- The  PM  JANMAN  Mission  launched  by  Ministry  of  Tribal  Affairs  aims  for 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, a total of 2139 AWCs has been approved for construction under PM JANMAN across the country. Till now, 17.16 crore and 6.48 crore has been released to Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh respectively.
- 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 into Saksham AWCs from FY 2024-25 to FY 2028-29.

In 2021, the World Bank conducted a survey in 11 priority states (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan,  Tamil  Nadu  and  Uttar  Pradesh)  with  the  highest  rates  of  anemia  and stunting.  The  aim  of  this  survey  was  to  assess  the  program's  delivery  of  nutrition services, whether the nutritional knowledge of beneficiaries had improved and if they had adopted more appropriate nutrition and feeding practices.

The findings demonstrated that the services delivered through the Poshan Abhiyaan -  the  receipt  of  relevant  messages,  home  visits  by  the  anganwadi  worker,  and attendance at  community  based  events  -  were  associated  with  improved  nutrition behaviors. The survey also found that the program's nutrition messages reached more than 80% of women, and that 81% of women practiced exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months.

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 |

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 7.49 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 February 2025 Poshan Tracker data. 7.25 crores of these children were measured on growth parameters of height and weight. 39.09% of them have been found to be stunted, 16.60% have been found to be underweight and 5.35% wasted.

Further, the projected population of all children in India up to 6 years for the year 2021 is approximately 16.1 crores. As per the February 2025 data of Poshan Tracker, 8.80 crores children (0-6 years) were enrolled in Anganwadis out of whom 8.52 crores were measured on growth parameters of height and weight. 37.75% of these children (0-6 years) have been found to be stunted and 17.19% 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.

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