Lok Sabha Question No. 3270 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-08
Subject: Integrated Child Development Services in Tribal Areas
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Bhojraj Nag, Dr. Hemant Vishnu Savara, Shri Bibhu Prasad Tarai, Smt. Himadri Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3270 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.08.2025

## INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES IN TRIBAL AREAS

3270.   SMT. HIMADRI SINGH: DR. HEMANT VISHNU SAVARA: SHRI BHOJRAJ NAG: SHRI BIBHU PRASAD TARAI:

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

- (a) the  current  status  of  malnutrition  among  children,  pregnant  women  and  lactating mothers  in  the  tribal  areas  of  various  States  of  the  country  especially  among Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), State-wise;
- (b) the  details  of  the  specific  steps  taken  under  the  Integrated  Child  Development Services  (ICDS)  scheme  to  tackle  malnutrition  and  improve  child  development outcomes in these tribal areas;
- (c) whether  there  are  any  ongoing/proposed  initiatives  for  the  capacity  building  of Anganwadi workers in these areas, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the details of funds allocated/spent under ICDS Schemes for tribal areas of the States during the last five years, State-wise; and
- (e) the  details  of  the  measurable  achievements  made  through  ICDS  in  improving nutrition  and  health  indicators  in  tribal  areas  till  now  along  with  outcome  thereof during said period?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (e): 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 all the tribal areas. 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

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, behavioural 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, 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 NFSA. 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. Extra Supplementary Nutrition is provided to  Severely  Acutely  Malnourished  (SAM)  children  as  per  National  Food  Security  Act (NFSA).

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.

Under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, as on date, 2 lakh Anganwadi Centres have  been  approved  to  be  upgraded  as  Saksham  Anganwadis  for  improved  nutrition delivery and for imparting early childhood care and education. Saksham Anganwadis are provided with better infrastructure than the conventional Anganwadi Centres which includes internet/Wi-Fi connectivity, LED screens, water purifier/installation of RO Machine and smart learning equipments.

The Government has also taken a policy decision to upgrade all Mini AWCs to a full-fledged Anganwadi Centres with one worker and one helper each to help in carrying out various responsibilities under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 including responsibilities related to Early Childhood Care & Education. Sanction for upgradation of 1,11,363 Mini-AWCs to main AWCs has been issued as on 08.07.2025.

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 2500 AWCs have been approved for construction under PM JANMAN across the country.

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. State wise details.

Under the Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi (PBPB) initiative, the Ministry is imparting training to all the officials and field functionaries in the States/ UTs through a cascading model of training, wherein Master Trainers (namely, District Officers, Block Coordinators and Supervisors) are trained and the master trainers further train all Anganwadi Workers in the field. As on 28 July 2025, 5, 71,667 AWWs have been trained across the country.

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 NFHS-1 to NFHS-5 are given below:

| NFHS Survey                    |   Stunting %Underweight %Wasting% |   Stunting %Underweight %Wasting% |   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 |
| Poshan Tracker (June 2025) *** |                              37   |                              15.9 |                               5.4 |

* Under 4 years

** Under 3 years

*** Under 5 years

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 7.36 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 June, 2025 data. 7 crores of these children were measured on growth parameters of height and weight. 37.07% of them have been found to be stunted, 15.93% have been found to be underweight and 5.46% wasted.

The analysis of the above NFHS data and the Poshan Tracker data shows improvement in malnutrition indicators in children across India.

The State/UT wise data on Stunting, wasting and underweight can be accessed from the link: https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics.

Details  of  status  of  funds  released  to  States  and  UTs  under  Saksham  Anganwadi  and Mission Poshan 2.0 are placed at Annexure.

Annexure

## ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (d) OF LOKSABHA QUESTION NO. 3270 FOR 08.08.2025 REGARDING 'INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES IN TRIBAL AREAS'

Details of funds released under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 during last five years are as follows :

|    |                                      |                        |                        |               |               | Rs. In Crores          | Rs. In Crores          |
|----|--------------------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|---------------|---------------|------------------------|------------------------|
|    | Name of the State                    | 2019-20 Funds released | 2020-21 Funds released | 2021-22 Funds | 2022-23 Funds | 2023-24 Funds released | 2024-25 Funds released |
|    |                                      |                        |                        | released      | released      |                        |                        |
| 1  | Andaman and Nicobar Islands          | 14.98                  | 16.37                  | 19.71         | 3.85          | 12.15                  | 9.63                   |
| 2  | Andhra Pradesh                       | 825.24                 | 701.82                 | 744.60        | 827.79        | 705.68                 | 645.73                 |
| 3  | Arunachal Pradesh                    | 134.71                 | 82.92                  | 170.83        | 137.78        | 162.06                 | 102.61                 |
| 4  | Assam                                | 1365.53                | 1109.75                | 1319.90       | 1651.63       | 2233.31                | 2482.34                |
| 5  | Bihar                                | 1539.37                | 1288.98                | 1574.43       | 1740.09       | 1859.29                | 2262.92                |
| 6  | Chandigarh                           | 17.03                  | 13.35                  | 15.32         | 33.10         | 19.79                  | 14.56                  |
| 7  | Chhattisgarh                         | 483.88                 | 513.95                 | 606.73        | 668.96        | 579.46                 | 733.3                  |
| 8  | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | 17.20                  | 9.02                   | 9.33          | 5.80          | 11.97                  | 9.13                   |
| 9  | Delhi                                | 133.06                 | 102.70                 | 133.11        | 182.77        | 161.81                 | 160.41                 |
| 10 | Goa                                  | 16.02                  | 20.44                  | 10.84         | 14.71         | 13.95                  | 13.44                  |
| 11 | Gujarat                              | 854.00                 | 633.13                 | 839.86        | 912.64        | 1126.80                | 601.32                 |
| 12 | Haryana                              | 181.00                 | 185.29                 | 173.03        | 195.25        | 225.78                 | 232.69                 |
| 13 | Himachal Pradesh                     | 251.82                 | 258.55                 | 247.99        | 270.24        | 301.09                 | 313.07                 |
| 14 | Jammu & Kashmir                      | 332.85                 | 294.17                 | 405.74        | 479.01        | 530.88                 | 662.79                 |
| 15 | Jharkhand                            | 436.10                 | 464.33                 | 352.98        | 430.91        | 664.30                 | 496.95                 |
| 16 | Karnataka                            | 861.87                 | 697.17                 | 1003.70       | 765.87        | 912.96                 | 886.85                 |
| 17 | Kerala                               | 321.42                 | 352.03                 | 388.23        | 444.98        | 306.64                 | 435.74                 |
| 18 | Ladakh                               | 0.00                   | 24.18                  | 14.70         | 18.79         | 19.62                  | 18.89                  |
| 19 | Lakshadweep                          | 2.59                   | 3.06                   | 2.11          | 0.44          | 2.88                   | 1.35                   |
| 20 | Madhya Pradesh                       | 1225.60                | 1238.06                | 1085.47       | 1011.57       | 1123.11                | 1144.54                |
| 21 | Maharashtra                          | 1669.40                | 1205.99                | 1713.39       | 1646.17       | 1699.52                | 1368.84                |
| 22 | Manipur                              | 162.54                 | 175.77                 | 228.92        | 135.95        | 201.28                 | 342.87                 |
| 23 | Meghalaya                            | 225.66                 | 177.92                 | 173.33        | 192.39        | 269.69                 | 137.93                 |
| 24 | Mizoram                              | 63.26                  | 74.60                  | 59.32         | 42.81         | 100.27                 | 55.29                  |
| 25 | Nagaland                             | 178.92                 | 167.23                 | 159.80        | 199.30        | 262.91                 | 147.01                 |
| 26 | Odisha                               | 860.66                 | 858.68                 | 1065.98       | 923.92        | 968.80                 | 948.16                 |
| 27 | Puducherry                           | 9.86                   | 4.38                   | 2.78          | 0.12          | 4.48                   | 3.68                   |

| 28    | Punjab        |   201.44 |   174.71 |   383.52 |    75.31 |   307.87 |   265.48 |
|-------|---------------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
| 29    | Rajasthan     |   673.95 |   641.77 |   682.65 |   974.02 |  1091.96 |   741.85 |
| 30    | Sikkim        |    29.47 |    24.5  |    25.73 |    20.33 |    33.49 |    18.07 |
| 31    | Tamil Nadu    |   764.73 |   619.43 |   655.38 |   766.81 |   880.79 |   638.47 |
| 32    | Telangana     |   529.96 |   405.32 |   482.33 |   550.69 |   507.87 |   430.76 |
| 33    | Tripura       |   166.47 |   154.16 |   186.72 |   150.52 |   244.22 |   153.41 |
| 34    | Uttar Pradesh |  2544    |  2017.49 |  2407.55 |  2721.87 |  2668.69 |  2694.62 |
| 35    | Uttarakhand   |   373.96 |   327.92 |   353.65 |   425.84 |   288.24 |   216.33 |
| 36    | West Bengal   |  1165.26 |  1066.64 |   668.35 |  1227.59 |  1237.56 |  1513.8  |
| Total | Total         | 18633.8  | 16105.8  | 18368    | 19849.8  | 21741.2  | 20904.8  |

******