Lok Sabha Question No. 128 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-02
Subject: Saksham Anganwadi Centres
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Guman Singh Damor

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 128 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.02.2024

## SAKSHAM ANGANWADI CENTRES

## 128: SHRI GUMAN SINGH DAMOR

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

- (a)  the details of the criteria fixed for setting up a new Anganwadi Centres (AWCs), the cost involved therein and the share of Centre and State in expenditure borne in the construction of such an AWCs;
- (b)  the time since when the Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 program are being implemented indicating the main goals of the said program;
- (c)  the standard cost for nutritional supplements currently and the achievements made under the program as on March 31, 2023;
- (d)  whether  the  supplementary  nutrition  provided  in  Anganwadis  is  sufficient  to  end malnutrition, if so, the details thereof, and
- (e)  the other steps being taken to eliminate malnutrition among children?

## ANSWER

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

(a) Under the Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Posahn 2.O scheme, the Population Norms for setting up of Anganwadi centre (AWC) are as follows:

| Project                                                          | Population                                                | No. of AWCs   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|---------------|
| Rural/Urban Projects                                             | 400-800 800-1600 1600-2400 Thereafter in multiples of 800 | 1 2 3 1       |
| Tribal/Riverine/Desert, Hilly and other difficult areas/Projects | 300-800                                                   | 1             |

The population norms under PM-JANMAN have been relaxed to approx. 100 persons in a habitation.

The cost norms for construction of Anganwadi Centres in convergence with MGNREGS have been revised from Rs.7 Lakh per AWC to Rs.12 Lakh per AWC wherein Rs.8.00 Lakh would be provided under MGNREGS, Rs.2.00 Lakh under 15 th  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. States/UTs have also been advised to continue to tap funds for construction  of  AWC  buildings  from  various  schemes  such  as  MPLADS,  RIDF,  Finance Commission Grants to Panchayati  Raj Institutions,  NREGA,  MSDP  of  Ministry  of  Minority Affairs, etc.

(b) to (e) In the 15 th  Finance Commission components of nutritional support for children below the age of 6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers, Adolescent Girls (14 -18 years); Early Childhood Care and Education [3-6 years]; Anganwadi infrastructure including modern, upgraded Saksham Anganwadi, Poshan Abhiyaan and Scheme for Adolescent Girls have been reorganised under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0. (Mission Poshan 2.0)

The objectives of Poshan 2.0 are as follows:

- (i)         To contribute to human capital development of the country;
- ii)         Address challenges of malnutrition; (iii)       Promote nutrition awareness and good eating habits for sustainable health and

well-being; and

- (iv)     Address nutrition related deficiencies through key strategies.

The cost norms for supplementary nutrition under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 is as under:

|   S. No. | Categories                                   | Rates (per beneficiary per day)   |
|----------|----------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
|        1 | Children (6-72 months)                       | Rs.8.00                           |
|        2 | Severely malnourished children (6-72 months) | Rs.12.00                          |
|        3 | Pregnant women and Nursing mothers           | Rs.9.50                           |
|        4 | Adolescent Girls (14-18 years)               | Rs. 9.50                          |

Under Mission Poshan 2.0, Supplementary nutrition is provided to beneficiaries 300 days in a year through a network of Anganwadi Centers  located across the country for bridging the gap in  the  intake  as  compared  to  the  recommended  dietary  intake.  Only  fortified  rice  is  being supplied  to  AWCs  to  meet  the  requirement  of  micro  nutrient  and  control  anaemia  among women and children. Greater emphasis is being given on the use of millets for preparation of Hot  Cooked  Meal  and  Take  Home  Rations  (THR)  (not  raw  food  material)  at  Anganwadi Centres for children below 6 years of age, Pregnant Women, Lactating Mothers.

Steps have been taken to improve nutritional quality and testing in accredited labs, strengthen delivery and leverage technology under Poshan Tracker to improve governance. As part of leveraging  technology,  the  'Poshan  Tracker'  is  a  robust  ICT  enabled  platform  to  improve governance in regard to real time supervision and management of services. Further, to ensure last  mile tracking of service delivery, SMS alerts to beneficiaries have been introduced on delivery of Take Home Ration. Recently, Poshan Helpline (14408) has also been introduced for grievance redressal under this scheme.

States/UTs  have  been  advised  to  promote  use  of  AYUSH  systems  for  prevention  of malnutrition and related diseases. A programme to support development of PoshanVatikas at Anganwadi Centers to meet dietary diversity gap leveraging traditional knowledge in nutritional practices has also been taken up.

Streamlining  Guidelines  have  been  issued  by  MWCD  on  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 delivery of Supplementary Nutrition. Nutritional Status and Quality Standards of  food  items  under  Supplementary  Nutrition,  Transparency  is  being  monitored  in  Supply Chain Management at State, District and Village Level.

A 'Protocol for Management of Malnutrition in Children - CMAM Protocol' has been launched providing detailed steps for identification and management of malnourished children at the Anganwadi level, including decision-making for referral, nutritional management and follow- up care. As per the report of NFHS-5 (2019-21), the nutrition indicators for children under 5 years of age across the country have shown an improving trend as compared with NFHS-4 (2015-16). Wasting percentage has declined from 21% (NFHS-4) to 19.3 % (NFHS-5), Percentage of under-weight children has reduced from 35.7% (NFHS-4) to 32.1% (NFHS-5) and stunting indicator has shown a decline from 38.4% (NFHS-4) to 35.5% (NFHS-5). However, as per the data of Poshan Tracker for the month of  November 2023, around 7.44 found severely/moderately stunted and 17.43% were found severely/moderately underweight. The prevalence of wasting as per Poshan Tracker is at 6 % which is much below NFHS 5 levels

crore children under 6 years were measured out of whom  37.51% were of 19.3%.

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