Lok Sabha Question No. 324 (STARRED), answered on 2023-08-11
Subject: Progress under ICDS
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi, Kunwar Danish Ali

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *324

TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.08.2023

## PROGRESS UNDER ICDS

* 324    SHRI GHANSHYAM SINGH LODHI: KUNWAR DANISH ALI:

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

- (a) the  details  of  the  progress  report  of  Integrated  Child  Development  Scheme (ICDS) during the last three years;
- (b) whether an increase in the rate of stunting and wasting is being observed among the children in assessment of the data of different phases of National Family Health Survey;
- (c) If so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the efforts being made by the Government to prevent stunting and wasting in children?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) to (d) A statement is laid on the table of the House.

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## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (D) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 324 FOR 11.08.2023 BY  SHRI  GHANSHYAM SINGH LODHI, KUNWAR DANISH ALI REGARDING PROGRESS UNDER ICDS.

(a)     The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) has been re-aligned under Mission  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0  (Mission  Poshan  2.0)  for  the  15th Finance  commission  period.  Mission  Poshan  2.0  includes  the  Anganwadi  Services Scheme, Poshan Abhiyan and revised Scheme for Adolescent Girls. The Mission has been rolled out in all districts of 36 States/ UTs. Close to 13.9 lakh Anganwadi Centres are operational in the country as on date.

The  progress  of  the  scheme  in  the  last  three  years,  in  terms  of  number  of operational Anganwadi Centres, Functional Toilets and Drinking water is as follows:

| Number of Operational Anganwadi Centers                             | Number of Operational Anganwadi Centers                             |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 2020-21                                                             | 13.89 lakh                                                          |
| 2021-22                                                             | 13.95 lakh                                                          |
| 2022-23                                                             | 13.96 lakh                                                          |
| Number of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) having drinking water facilities | Number of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) having drinking water facilities |
| 2020-21                                                             | 12.23 lakh                                                          |
| 2021-22                                                             | 12.23 lakh                                                          |
| 2022-23                                                             | 12.52 lakh                                                          |
| Number of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) having toilet facilities         | Number of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) having toilet facilities         |
| 2020-21                                                             | 11.01 lakh                                                          |
| 2021-22                                                             | 11.01 lakh                                                          |
| 2022-23                                                             | 11.39 lakh                                                          |

Total fund released under Anganwadi Services to States/UTs in the last three years is as follows:

| Funds released under Anganwadi Services   | Funds released under Anganwadi Services   |
|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
| Financial Year                            | Amount Released (Rs. In lakh)             |
| 2020-21                                   | 1579754.25                                |
| 2021-22                                   | 1820324.68                                |
| 2022-23                                   | 1947794.25                                |

To  monitor  service  delivery  under  the  Scheme,  an  ICT  application  Poshan Tracker has been launched. Technology under the Poshan Tracker is being leveraged for  dynamic  identification  of  stunting,  wasting  and  underweight  prevalence  among children and last mile tracking of nutrition service delivery. Poshan Tracker enables near real-time monitoring on defined indicators.

Further,  10.33  crore  beneficiaries  are  registered  under  the  Mission,  which  includes pregnant women, lactating mothers, children under the age of 6 years and adolescent girls in the age bracket 14-18 years in North Eastern states and Aspirational districts.

Under  Mission  Poshan  2.0,  2  lakh  AWCs  will  be  upgraded  to  Saksham Anganwadis @40,000 per year up to 2025-26 for improved delivery of nutrition and Early Childhood Care and Education services. In FY 2022-23, 41,192 AWCs have been identified to be made into Saksham Anganwadis, enhanced with LED screens, smart audio-visual teaching aids, Poshan Vatikas, Rainwater Harvesting Structures etc.WiFi will be provisioned through BharatNet, wherever available.

Further, all mini AWCs are being converted into Main AWCs in consultation with State Governments which will ensure presence of the Anganwadi Helper to support the Anganwadi  Worker.  All  States/  UTs  have  been  requested  to  send  proposals  for conversion of  Mini  AWCs into  Main  AWCs keeping in  view  the  importance  of  Early Childhood Care and Education along-with nutrition delivery.

(b) to (d) As  a  result  of  the  concerted  efforts  by  Government,  the  level  of malnutrition has reduced in the country as is evident from the report of National Family Health  Survey  (NFHS)  -  5  conducted  in  2019-21.  The  estimated  number  of underweight, malnourished and severely malnourished children under 5 years of age is obtained under National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. As per the recent report of NFHS-5 (2019-21), the nutrition indicators for children under 5 years have improved as compared with NFHS-4 (201516). Stunting has reduced from 38.4% to 35.5%, Wasting has reduced from 21.0% to 19.3% and Underweight prevalence has reduced from 35.8% to 32.1%. Further, as per data recorded in Poshan Tracker ICT application for Mission Poshan 2.0, close to 7 crore children were measured in the country in the month of June 2023, as per which, 7%  were  wasted  and  19%  underweight,  which  is  significantly  lower  than  NFHS indicators.

Government  has  accorded  high  priority  to  the  issue  of  malnutrition  and  is implementing Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0) that includes key  schemes  such  as  POSHAN  Abhiyaan,  Anganwadi  Services  and  Scheme  for Adolescent Girls as direct targeted interventions to address the problem of malnutrition in the country. The beneficiaries under the Anganwadi Services scheme are children in the age group of 0-6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers.

Under POSHAN Abhiyan, for the first time, a digital revolution was ushered when the Anganwadi worker was empowered with mobile devices. The application offered counselling  videos  on  key  behaviours  and  services  which  helped  disseminate messages  on  birth preparedness, delivery, post-natal care, breastfeeding and complementary  feeding.  Since  the  launch  of  the  Abhiyaan,  the  Anganwadi  workers have been provided with close to 11 lakh smart phones . Besides, to promote regular growth  monitoring 12.5  lakh  Growth  Monitoring  Devices, such  as  Infantometer, Stadiometer, Weighing Scale for Mother and Infant, Weighing Scale for Child, have been procured by States/UTs under the Abhiyaan. Further Anganwadi Workers are given an incentive of Rs 500 for completing monthly growth measurement of children and targeted home visits.

Further,  under  Poshan  Abhiyan,  an  important  focus  has  been  on  'Behaviour Change Communication' or BCC through Community Based Events (CBEs) and Jan Andolans in the form of Rashtriya Poshan Maahs and Poshan Pakhwadas. The CBEs serve as a platform for disseminating essential messages and to counsel pregnant and lactating  women,  and  their  influencers  (husbands/mothers-in-law)  on  appropriate nutrition and health behaviour. Close to 3.70 crore CBEs have been conducted under the Abhiyaan, in the last four years.  Further, since the launch of the Abhiyan, more than 60 crore Jan Andolan activities have been carried out which include involvement of local level communities, panchayats and convergence with key Ministries and departments upto grassroot. Over the years, themes have included overall nutrition, hygiene, water and  sanitation,  anemia  prevention,  prevention  of  diarrhoea,   importance  of  breastfeeding, growth monitoring, role of Poshan Panchayats, AYUSH for Well-being, Yoga for  Health,  importance  of  Poshan  Vatikas  for  cultivation  of  local  vegetables  and medicinal plants/herbs at the community level, etc

Supplementary nutrition is provided to pregnant women, lactating mothers and children upto the age of 6 years at Anganwadi Centres as per nutritional norms  to bridge the gap in the dietary intake as compared with recommended intake. Recently, these nutrition  norms  have  been  revised  and  notified  on  25th  January,  2023.  The  revised nutritional  norms  are  more  comprehensive  in  terms  of  both  quantity  and  quality  of supplementary  nutrition  based  on  the  principles  of  diet  diversity  to  provide  quality protein, healthy fats and 7 essential micro nutrients (calcium, zinc, iron, dietary folate, Vitamin A, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12. Under Poshan 2.0, greater emphasis is being given on the use of millets for preparation of Hot Cooked Meal and Take Home rations (not  raw  ration)  at  Anganwadi  centres  for  Pregnant Women,  Lactating  Mothers  and Children below 6 years of age, in view of their high nutrient content to address anaemia and micro-nutrient deficiencies in women and children. Under Supplementary Nutrition Programme, it is mandatory to provide millet based diet at least once a week. Further, under Mission Poshan 2.0, only fortified rice is allocated to States/UTs.

Steps have been taken to improve nutritional quality and testing in accredited labs, strengthen delivery and leverage technology under Poshan Tracker to improve governance.  To ensure last mile tracking of service delivery SMS alerts to beneficiaries has been introduced for delivery of Take Home Ration.

States/UTs have been advised to promote use of AYUSH systems for prevention of malnutrition and related diseases. The Guidelines of the Mission support development of Poshan Vatikas at Anganwadi Centres to meet dietary diversity gap leveraging traditional knowledge in nutritional practices has also been taken up. Further, guidelines were issued for transparency and accountability in delivery of supplementary nutrition and to track nutritional outcomes on 13.01.2021.

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