Lok Sabha Question No. 2583 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-04
Subject: ‘Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi’ Programme
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Kripanath Mallah, Jaskaur Meena, Balashowry Vallabbhaneni

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2583

TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.08.2023

## 'POSHAN BHI PADHAI BHI' PROGRAMME

2583.  SHRI KRIPANATH MALLAH: SHRIMATI JASKAUR MEENA: SHRI BALASHOWRY VALLABHANENI:

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

- (a) the  salient  features  of  the  'Poshan  Bhi  Padhai  Bhi'  Programme  introduced recently;
- (b) the details of the funds estimated, allocated and sanctioned and targets set under this scheme,  State-wise including  Assam,  Andhra  Pradesh  and Rajasthan;
- (c) the details of focus areas and States likely to be covered initially under this programme;
- (d) whether the Government has planned to cover Assam under this scheme, if so, the details thereof and the time by which it is likely to be launched in the State;
- (e) if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (f) the details of States in which the activities as a precursor under this programme have  already  been  started  along  with  the  details  of  the  response  received therefrom?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi (PBPB) is a path breaking Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) program to help India develop one of the world's largest, universal, high-quality  pre-school  network  at  Anganwadi  Centers  in  alignment  with  the  new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Under the programme, steps have been taken to  bolster  early  childhood  care and education and good nutrition practices through development and use of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) and locally available toys for learning at AWCs. The salient features of the programme are as follows:
-  Use  of  different  types  of  teaching-learning  material  including  visual  aids (blackboard,  posters,  flashcards,  activity  books  etc),  audio  aids  (radio)  and audio-visual (videos, films), spatial material (drawing, painting, puzzles), etc., at the Anganwadi centres.
-  Early stimulation for children in the age group of 0-3 years and coverage of divyang children for ensuring inclusion and proper assessment.
-  Training of every Anganwadi worker on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) principles, including use of activities, play and indigenous and DIY toys for holistic development.
-  Teaching instruction in the child's mother tongue and linked to primary school curriculum to enable a seamless transition to Grade 1 in schools.

(b)        PBPB is not a separate scheme but is a programme component under ECCE of Anganwadi services under Mission Poshan 2.0. There is no separate budget for the programme  as  it  is  part  of  the  overall  budget  allocated  for  Mission  Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0.

(c) to (e)    Government aims to ensure holistic development of all children under the age of 6 years, with a focus on building their skills in the key development domains identified  under  the  National  Education  Policy  2020  (NEP)  viz.,  physical/motor, cognitive, socio-emotional-ethical, cultural/artistic, and the development of communication and early language, literacy and numeracy through the 'Poshan bhi Padhai bhi' programme. In order to achieve this objective, under PBPB focus is on building capacities of the ICDS functionaries on (i) promoting early stimulation for the first  1000  days  and  ECCE  for  children  3-6  years  of  age,  (ii)  developing  ECCE understanding  of  Anganwadi  Workers,  (iii)  emphasizing  developmental  domains (socio-emotional-ethical, physical and motor, cognitive, etc., and the development of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), and (iv) reinforcing nutrition knowledge of Anganwadi Workers.

All  36  States/  UTs  have  been  paired  to  facilitate  exchange  of  indigenous toys/folklores as part of the vision for Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. Detailed guidelines have been shared with all States (including Assam) on creation of DIY toy kits as part of Teaching Learning Material creation workshops. Further, National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) has collated and digitized toy focused teaching and learning content.

The implementation of PBPB programme is designed to be conducted through a  two-tier  model  to  cover  all  the  engaged  functionaries  up  to  the  AWC  level  in  all States/UTs  in  a  3-day  Training  programme  to  be  conducted  through  NIPCCD. However, initially, to test the training content and implementation model, a pilot training programme has been designed for 10 districts across the country, namely, DhubriAssam, MadhubaniBihar, Bastar-Chhattisgarh, West Singhbhum-Jharkhand, Koppal-  Karnataka,  Sheopur-Madhya  Pradesh,  Gadchiroli-Maharashtra,  DholpurRajasthan, Adilabad-Telangana, and Budaun-Uttar Pradesh.

(f)        The 'Poshan Bhi, Padhai Bhi' programme was launched in a national event organized on strengthening Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) on 10 th  May 2023,  which  was  attended  by  State  representatives,  ICDS  functionaries,  CDPOs, Supervisors, and Anganwadi workers.  Further, the implementation of PBPB includes capacity building trainings for ICDS functionaries. In the year 2022-23, NIPCCD has conducted a total of  164  training  Programmes  on  Saksham  Anganwadi & Mission Poshan 2.0 for CDPOs and Supervisors across all States/UTs. Orientation on PBPB is being carried out in all the Training Programmes on Mission Poshan 2.0 since the launch of PBPB on 10 th  May, 2023.

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