Lok Sabha Question No. 1013 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-25
Subject: Quality of Take Home Ration
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Raja Ram Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1013

TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.07.2025

## QUALITY OF TAKE HOME RATION

## 1013.   SHRI RAJA RAM SINGH:

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

- (a) whether the Ministry is aware of persistent complaints regarding the poor quality of Take Home Ration (THR) supplied under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), which has led to repeated follow-ups by Anganwadi  Sevikas  with beneficiaries in Maharashtra and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the recently introduced Face Reading System  (FRS)  for ensuring accountability  in  THR  distribution  is  facing  operational  failures  due  to  inability  of multiple  Sevikas  to  access  the  system  concurrently,  absence  of  reliable  mobile network  coverage  in  remote,  forested  and  hilly  areas  and  non-functionality  of government-issued SIM cards and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Ministry proposes to suspend/review the implementation of FRS until these critical infrastructure and delivery challenges are resolved; and
- (d) if  not,  the  justification for continuing with a system that hampers last-mile delivery and burdens frontline workers?

## ANSWER

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

- (a):  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0  is  a  centrally  sponsored  scheme,  and  the implementation of the scheme  falls under the ambit of State Government/ UT Administration.

As  per  the  existing  guidelines  of  the  Mission  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0, States/UTs  should  ensure  the  quality  of  Supplementary  Nutrition-THR  and  Hot  Cooked Meal  (HCM).  Supplementary  nutrition  must  conform  to  prescribed  standards  laid  down under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and regulations made there under to ensure consistent quality  and  nutritive  value  per  serving.   Quality  testing  shall  be  done  through Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) owned or authorized laboratories.  State Governments and UTs carry out periodic checks and get supplementary nutrition tested through the FSSAI owned/registered/empaneled/accredited laboratories in accordance with Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  (2.0), Rules,2022 dated 12th September,  2022.  The  District  Nutrition  Committee  under  the  District  Collector/  District Magistrate shall ensure periodic testing of THR in randomly selected AWCs. Government of India constantly monitors and reviews the scheme and its components and based on learnings and suggestions, it takes appropriate action from time to time through sustained engagements, video conferences, meeting with various stakeholders at various levels.

(b)  to  (d):  For  last  mile  tracking  of  delivery  of  nutrition,  Ministry  of  Women  &  Child Development has developed Facial Recognition System (FRS) for the distribution of Take Home Ration to ensure that benefit is given only to the intended beneficiary registered in Poshan  Tracker.  FRS  has  been  implemented  for  strengthening  accountability  of  field functionaries and empowering eligible beneficiaries to receive their rightful entitlements. It involves  Photo  capturing  of  the  beneficiaries  and  e-KYC  during  registration,  and  then capturing photo again during THR distribution for matching of the photos. The FRS has been made mandatory for the distribution of THR from 1 July, 2025. Mobile network is required for completing e-KYC which is to be done only once. Thereafter the face matching can be done even in offline mode.

FRS facility  is  also  made  available  in  the  beneficiary  module  of  Poshan  Tracker  where beneficiary  can  herself  capture  her  photo  and  complete  the  e-KYC  process  based  on Aadhar system from home/any place through the beneficiary module. As on 20 July, 2025, face capturing, and e-KYC has been completed for a total of 69% beneficiaries registered for Take Home Ration already.

*****