Lok Sabha Question No. 4338 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-20
Subject: Healthy Nutritional Habits in Children
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Dr. Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Smt. Shambhavi, Shri Ravindra Dattaram Waikar, Shri Rajesh Verma, Shri Naresh Ganpat Mhaske

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4338 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.12.2024

## HEALTHY NUTRITIONAL HABITS IN CHILDREN

## 4338.  SHRI NARESH GANPAT MHASKE:

DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

SHRI RAJESH VERMA:

SHRI RAVINDRA DATTARAM WAIKAR:

SMT. SHAMBHAVI:

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

- (a) the  total  amount  of  budget  allocated  and  steps  taken  to  inculcate  healthy nutritional habits among children in Anganwadi centres under the 'Poshan Bhi, Padhai Bhi' scheme;
- (b) whether  any  special  training  sessions  have  been  organised  for  Anganwadi workers for this scheme  across the country especially in Bihar and Maharashtra, if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) whether any mechanism or body has been set up to monitor the process of overall development of children under the said scheme, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (c) Government of India launched Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi (PBPB) initiative on 10th  May,  2023  for  upgrading  skills  of  all  anganwadi  workers  to  strengthen  their capacity to provide early childhood care and education and nutrition service to children below six years of age, including divyang children.

Capacity Building of Anganwadi Workers is envisioned as the first step in transforming the Anganwadi into a Learning Centre which should have High-quality infrastructure, play  equipment  and  well  trained  Anganwadi  workers.  Under  this  programme,  the Ministry focuses on a Two Tier Training Implementation Model. National Institute of Public  Cooperation  and  Child  Development  (NIPCCD)  is  entrusted  with  Capacity Building  of  Anganwadi  functionaries  under  Poshan  Bhi  Padhai  Bhi  through  its Headquarters at New Delhi and five Regional Centres located across the country.

Tier I involves training of State Level Master Trainers (SLMTs), comprising CDPOs, Supervisors  &  State-Nominated  Additional  Resource  Persons,  through  NIPCCD Headquarters and its five Regional Centres. They are trained for 2 days, in a hybrid model comprising both online and offline (in person) trainings. Further, Tier II involves 3-day  training  workshop  in  physical  mode  for  the  Anganwadi  workers  across  the country.

To  empower  the  Anganwadi  workers  and  ensure  optimal  learning  for  all  children including Divyang children, this Ministry has developed two curriculum frameworks 'Navchetana- National Framework for Early Childhood Stimulation for Children from Birth to 3 Years' and 'Aadharshila- National Curriculum for Early Childhood Care and Education for Children from 3 to 6 Years' under Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi programme.

The National framework - 'Navchetna' guides engagement inside the home as well as at Anganwadi centres, assisting caregivers in conducting stimulation activities to support and measure a child's growth and development in the first three years of life. It  provides detailed information on the importance of brain development in the first three  years,  and  step  by  step  instructions  for  caregivers  and  frontline  workers  on conducting early stimulation activities. It also focuses on the screening, inclusion and referrals of children with disabilities.

The  National  Curriculum  -  'Adharshila'  improves  the  quality  of  early  childhood education transacted at the Anganwadi Centre to all the children of age 3-6 years attending  Anganwadi  Centres,  by  prioritising  competency  based  lesson  plans  and activities, covering all learning domains. The document enables easy planning with age appropriate activities and assessments, emphasising the use of indigenous toys and low-cost, no-cost materials. The annual plan is divided into 4+36+8 weeks, that is, 4 weeks of initiation, 36 weeks of active learning, and 8 weeks of reinforcement. Each week is divided into 5+1 days, that is, 5 for introduction and practice of activities and one day for weekly reinforcement. Each day comprises 3 blocks, one for welcome and free play, one for learning and play through activities and one for reflection and closing.

As on 16.12.2024 a total of 26,425 State Level Master Trainers (CDPOs, Supervisors and Additional Resource Persons) and 71,745 Anganwadi Workers have been trained across the country including States of Maharashtra and Bihar to deliver the Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi programme. In addition to this, the Ministry had allocated funds to the tune of Rs. 476.06 Crores for FYs 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 for training under Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi.

Further,  under  Mission  Poshan  2.0,  Anganwadi  workers  (AWWs)  have  been technologically empowered with the provision of smartphones for efficient monitoring and  service  delivery.  The  mobile  application  Poshan  Tracker  digitizes  physical registers used by Anganwadi workers. This improves the quality of their work while simultaneously  allowing them  real-time monitoring of the all activities in the Anganwadi. In addition to AWWs, smartphones are provided to Supervisors and Block Coordinators  also.  Similarly,  data  recharge  support  is  also  provided  to  AWWs, Supervisors and Block Coordinators.

Regular monitoring of growth parameters is essential for identifying children who may be  malnourished  and  to  make  timely  interventions.  Therefore,  Anganwadi  centres have been equipped with Growth Monitoring Devices like infantometer, stadiometer, weighing scale-infant, weighing scale - Mother & Child.

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