Lok Sabha Question No. 1849 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-08-02
Subject: POSHAN Abhiyan in Maharashtra
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Dr. Amol Ramsing Kolhe, Shri Mohite Patil Dhairyasheel Rajsinh, Shri Aashtikar Patil Nagesh Bapurao, Smt. Supriya Sule, Shri Sanjay Dina Patil, Prof. Varsha Eknath Gaikwad, Shri Amar Sharadrao Kale, Shri Bajrang Manohar Sonwane, Shri Bhaskar Murlidhar Bhagare, Shri Nilesh Dnyandev Lanke

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1849

TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.08.2024

## POSHAN ABHIYAN IN MAHARASHTRA

## 1849. SHRI AMAR SHARADRAO KALE :

SHRI NILESH DNYANDEV LANKE:

SHRI SANJAY DINA PATIL:

SHRI MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH:

SHRI BHASKAR MURLIDHAR BHAGARE:

DR. AMOL RAMSING KOLHE:

PROF. VARSHA EKNATH GAIKWAD:

SMT. SUPRIYA SULE:

SHRI AASHTIKAR PATIL NAGESH BAPURAO:

SHRI BAJRANG MANOHAR SONWANE:

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

- (a) the budget allocation made to the State of Maharashtra under the POSHAN Abhiyan during each of the last three years;
- (b) the  present  status  of  the  POSHAN  Abhiyan  along  with  the  number  of beneficiaries   thereunder during the said period in Maharashtra, district-wise;
- (c) the number of cases of stunting, under nutrition, anemia, and low birth weight among  infants,  children,  adolescent  girls  and  women  reported  during  the period of implementation of POSHAN Abhiyan in Maharashtra, district-wise;
- (d) whether lesser amount has been sanctioned to States under the Abhiyan, if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (e) whether  the  Government  has  put  in  place  any  monitoring  mechanism  to evaluate the  success  of  the  mission  across  the  country,  if  so,  the  details thereof; and
- (f) the  effective  measures  taken  to  mitigate  the  problem  of  stunting  among children?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a)  Poshan  Abhiyaan  was  launched  on  8 th   March  2018.  Under  15 th   Finance Commission, Anganwadi services, Poshan Abhiyaan and Scheme for Adolescent girls (14-18 years in Aspirational Districts and North-East region) have been subsumed under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0) to address the  challenge  of  malnutrition  through  improved  nutrition  content  and  delivery.  The budget allocation, made to the State of Maharashtra under the Mission Poshan 2.0 during the last three years, is placed at Annexure-I.

(b)  Mission  Poshan  2.0  is  a  universal  self-selecting  (no  entry  barriers)  scheme available to all the beneficiaries who enrol at the AWCs and is being implemented in all  States/UTs  across the  country  including  the  State  of  Maharashtra.  The  present status  of  Mission  Poshan  2.0  in  the  State  of  Maharashtra,  along  with  district  wise details of beneficiaries, is provided at Annexure-II.

(c) The detail of anaemia, among children, adolescent girls and women and low birth weight of infants is released under National Family Health Survey (NFHS), which is conducted by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. The report of NFHS-5 is available on National Family Health Survey portal (http://nfhs.in/nfhsnew/nfhsuser/publication.php).

Various rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted since 199293 have shown improvement in malnutrition indicators in children. Details of these indicators for children under 5 years since NFHS-1 to NFHS-5 are given below:

| NFHS Survey         |   Underweight% |   Wasting% |   Stunting% |
|---------------------|----------------|------------|-------------|
| NFHS-1 (1992-93)*   |           53.4 |       17.5 |        52   |
| NFHS-2 (1998-99)**  |           47   |       15.5 |        45.5 |
| NFHS-3 (2005-6)***  |           42.5 |       19.8 |        48   |
| NFHS-4 (2015-16)*** |           35.8 |       21   |        38.4 |
| NFHS-5 (2019-21)*** |           32.1 |       19.3 |        35.5 |

** Under 3 years

*** Under 5 years

The  above  table  gives  a  representative  picture  of  malnutrition  indicators  among children of 0-3 years, 0-4 years and 0-5 years age at that time. The table shows that level of malnutrition among children has been coming down steadily during the last 30 years.

The projected population of children up to 5 years for the year 2021 is 13.75 crore (source: Population Projections for India and States 2011-2036, National Commission on Population, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare). However, only 7.65 crore children up to 5 years' age are enrolled in Anganwadis and registered on Poshan Tracker of the  Ministry  of  Women  &  Child  Development.   As  per  June  2024  data  of  Poshan Tracker 7.37 Crore of these children were measured on growth parameters. 36.5% of these children have been found to be stunted, 16.4% children have been found to be underweight and 6% children have been found to be wasted.

Further, the projected population of children up to 6 years for the year 2021 is 16.1 crore. As per June 2024 data of Poshan Tracker, 8.91 crore children (0-6 years) are enrolled in Anganwadis out of whom 8.57 crore children were measured on growth parameters. 35.6% of these children (0-6 years) have been found to be stunted and 17.2% children (0-6 years) have been found to be underweight.

The district wise details of nutritional indicators of children in Maharashtra as per June 2024 data on Poshan Tracker are placed in Annexure-III.

(d)  Under  Mission  Poshan  2.0,  funds  released  to  States  since  2021-22  have  only increased; the details of which are as follows:

| 2021-22         | 2022-23         | 2023-24         |
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
| 18,368.01 crore | 19,849.82 crore | 21,741.17 crore |

(e) IT systems have been leveraged to strengthen and bring about transparency in nutrition delivery support systems at the Anganwadi centres. The 'Poshan Tracker' application was rolled out on 1st March, 2021 as an important governance tool. The Poshan  Tracker  facilitates  monitoring  and  tracking  of  all  AWCs,  AWWs  and beneficiaries  on  defined  indicators.  Technology  under  Poshan  Tracker  is  being leveraged  for  dynamic  identification  of  stunting,  wasting,  under-weight  prevalence among children. The mobile application has also facilitated digitization and automation of  physical  registers  used  by  AWWs  that  helps  in  improving  their  quality  of  work. Poshan  Tracker  is  available  in  24  languages  including  Hindi  and  English.  It  has facilitated  near  real  time  data  collection  for  Anganwadi  Services  such  as,  daily attendance, Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), Provision of Hot Cooked Meal (HCM)/Take Home Ration (THR-not raw ration), Growth Measurement etc.

(f)  Under  Mission  Poshan  2.0,  a  strategic  shift  has  been  made  for  reduction  in malnutrition  and  for  improved  health,  wellness  and  immunity  through  community engagement, outreach, behavioral change, and advocacy. The scheme 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 wasting, underweight prevalence, stunting and anaemia.

Under this scheme, Supplementary Nutrition is provided to Children (6 months to 6 years),  Pregnant  Women,  Lactating  Mothers  and  Adolescent  Girls  to  address  the intergenerational  cycle  of  malnutrition  by  adopting  a  life  cycle  approach.  The Supplementary nutrition is provided in accordance with the nutrition norms contained in  Schedule-II  of  the  National  Food  Security  Act.  To  address  the  challenge  of malnutrition more effectively, these nutrition norms have been revised. 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  quality  protein,  healthy  fats  and micronutrients.

Fortified rice is being supplied to AWCs to meet the requirement of micro-nutrients and control anaemia among women and children. Greater emphasis is being given on the use of millets for preparation of Hot Cooked Meal at least once a week and Take Home ration (THR - not raw ration) at Anganwadi centers for beneficiaries.

Under  Mission  Poshan  2.0,  one  of  the  major  activities  undertaken  is  Community Mobilization and Awareness Advocacy leading to Jan Andolan to educate the people on nutritional aspects. State and  UTs  are conducting and  reporting regular sensitisation  activities  under  community  engagement  programmes  during  Poshan Maahs and Poshan Pakhwadas celebrated in the months of September and MarchApril  respectively.  Community  Based  Events  (CBEs)  have  served  as  a  significant strategy  in  changing nutrition  practices and all  Anganwadi workers are required to conduct two Community Based Events every month.

## Annexure I

ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  1849  FOR  2.08.2024  REGARDING  'POSHAN  ABHIYAAN  IN MAHARASHTRA' ASKED BY SHRI AMAR SHARADRAO KALE, SHRI NILESH DNYANDEV  LANKE,  SHRI SANJAY  DINA PATIL, SHRI  MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH, SHRI BHASKAR MURLIDHAR BHAGARE, DR. AMOL RAMSING KOLHE, PROF. VARSHA EKNATH GAIKWAD, SMT. SUPRIYA SULE, SHRI AASHTIKAR PATIL NAGESH BAPURAO, AND SHRI BAJRANG MANOHAR SONWANE

Funds allocated to the State of Maharashtra under Mission Poshan 2.0 during the last three years:

|                   | Amount in ₹ crore   | Amount in ₹ crore   | Amount in ₹ crore   |
|-------------------|---------------------|---------------------|---------------------|
| Name of the State | 2021-22             | 2022-23             | 2023-24             |
|                   | Funds released      | Funds released      | Funds released      |
| Maharashtra       | 1713.39             | 1646.17             | 1699.52             |

## Annexure II

ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  1849  FOR  2.08.2024  REGARDING  'POSHAN  ABHIYAAN  IN MAHARASHTRA' ASKED BY SHRI AMAR SHARADRAO KALE, SHRI NILESH DNYANDEV  LANKE,  SHRI SANJAY  DINA PATIL, SHRI  MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH, SHRI BHASKAR MURLIDHAR BHAGARE, DR. AMOL RAMSING KOLHE, PROF. VARSHA EKNATH GAIKWAD, SMT. SUPRIYA SULE, SHRI AASHTIKAR PATIL NAGESH BAPURAO, AND SHRI BAJRANG MANOHAR SONWANE

District wise and category wise details of beneficiaries in the State of Maharashtra as on June 2024 from Poshan Tracker:

|   S. No | Districts                  |   Children (0 - 6 months) |   Children (6 months - 3 Years) |   Childr en (3 - 6 Years) |   Lactatin g mothers |   Pregnant Woman | Adolescent Girls   |
|---------|----------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------|----------------------|------------------|--------------------|
|       1 | Ahmednagar                 |                     14398 |                          134045 |                    156779 |                15872 |            18468 |                    |
|       2 | Akola                      |                      3295 |                           39329 |                     48452 |                 4124 |             5657 |                    |
|       3 | Amravati                   |                      8792 |                           79977 |                     91017 |                10050 |            12940 |                    |
|       4 | Beed                       |                      7334 |                           82905 |                     99123 |                 8189 |            11248 |                    |
|       5 | Bhandara                   |                      2979 |                           32080 |                     38041 |                 3868 |             5452 |                    |
|       6 | Buldana                    |                      8408 |                           79581 |                     90942 |                 9291 |            10927 |                    |
|       7 | Chandrapur                 |                      4729 |                           51884 |                     62676 |                 5590 |             8611 |                    |
|       8 | Chhatrapati Sambhajinag ar |                      8490 |                          104635 |                    131328 |                 9938 |            13057 |                    |
|       9 | Dharashiv                  |                      4168 |                           48638 |                     56207 |                 4910 |             6864 | 29586              |
|      10 | Dhule                      |                      8111 |                           83122 |                     98299 |                 8553 |            10179 |                    |
|      11 | Gadchiroli                 |                      3901 |                           37283 |                     45634 |                 4435 |             6519 | 23465              |
|      12 | Gondia                     |                      5351 |                           42804 |                     48946 |                 5522 |             7248 |                    |
|      13 | Hingoli                    |                      3321 |                           40799 |                     45073 |                 4189 |             5857 |                    |

| 14   | Jalgaon         |   11560 |   125334 |   152064 |   13041 |   15884 |        |
|------|-----------------|---------|----------|----------|---------|---------|--------|
| 15   | Jalna           |    5202 |    65867 |    77855 |    6444 |    8991 |        |
| 16   | Kolhapur        |   11153 |    87521 |   104662 |   12055 |   12275 |        |
| 17   | Latur           |    7993 |    68083 |    72607 |    8458 |   11092 |        |
| 18   | Mumbai City     |    1614 |    26233 |    36943 |    1704 |    2087 |        |
| 19   | Mumbai Suburban |    8446 |   130028 |   176015 |    9051 |   11772 |        |
| 20   | Nagpur          |    6745 |    92433 |   108509 |    8903 |   13490 |        |
| 21   | Nanded          |   12361 |   114782 |   125650 |   12945 |   17589 |        |
| 22   | Nandurbar       |    6348 |    72250 |    83704 |    6752 |   10229 | 33697  |
| 23   | Nashik          |   16455 |   169724 |   206297 |   18384 |   23051 |        |
| 24   | Palghar         |    6606 |    78578 |   103933 |    7689 |    9985 |        |
| 25   | Parbhani        |    3903 |    49680 |    57286 |    4728 |    6553 |        |
| 26   | Pune            |   16434 |   173898 |   205489 |   18397 |   20813 |        |
| 27   | Raigad          |    5728 |    60345 |    75106 |    6329 |    7716 |        |
| 28   | Ratnagiri       |    2991 |    25146 |    33674 |    3151 |    3217 |        |
| 29   | Sangli          |    7754 |    66212 |    84121 |    8347 |    9358 |        |
| 30   | Satara          |    6201 |    61983 |    77968 |    7375 |    7939 |        |
| 31   | Sindhudurg      |    1661 |    10812 |    13773 |    1641 |    1680 |        |
| 32   | Solapur         |   11190 |   117478 |   145725 |   12910 |   14393 |        |
| 33   | Thane           |    8265 |   106419 |   134371 |    8953 |   12593 |        |
| 34   | Wardha          |    2649 |    30709 |    37434 |    3258 |    4687 |        |
| 35   | Washim          |    4091 |    41617 |    45834 |    4796 |    6378 | 26492  |
| 36   | Yavatmal        |   10336 |    83427 |    93812 |   10676 |   13130 |        |
|      | Total           |  258963 |  2715641 |  3265349 |  290518 |  367929 | 113240 |

## Annexure III

ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (c) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  1849  FOR  2.08.2024  REGARDING  'POSHAN  ABHIYAAN  IN MAHARASHTRA' ASKED BY SHRI AMAR SHARADRAO KALE, SHRI NILESH DNYANDEV  LANKE,  SHRI SANJAY  DINA PATIL, SHRI  MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH, SHRI BHASKAR MURLIDHAR BHAGARE, DR. AMOL RAMSING KOLHE, PROF. VARSHA EKNATH GAIKWAD, SMT. SUPRIYA SULE, SHRI AASHTIKAR PATIL NAGESH BAPURAO, AND SHRI BAJRANG MANOHAR SONWANE

District-Wise details of nutritional indicators for children (under the age of 5 years) in the State of Maharashtra as on June 2024*:

|   S. No | District                  |   Stunted (%) |   Wasted (%) |   Underweight (%) |
|---------|---------------------------|---------------|--------------|-------------------|
|       1 | Ahmednagar                |         47.63 |         3.81 |             14.26 |
|       2 | Akola                     |         47.05 |         5.61 |             12.65 |
|       3 | Amravati                  |         46.02 |         5.13 |             19.65 |
|       4 | Beed                      |         51.09 |         5.52 |             15.74 |
|       5 | Bhandara                  |         37.5  |         5.33 |             13.82 |
|       6 | Buldana                   |         41.35 |         3.36 |             15.44 |
|       7 | Chandrapur                |         48.85 |         5.13 |             19.14 |
|       8 | Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar |         48.75 |         4.69 |             18.04 |
|       9 | Dharashiv                 |         36.33 |         4.15 |             12.65 |
|      10 | Dhule                     |         53.44 |         7.62 |             26.58 |
|      11 | Gadchiroli                |         49.82 |         7.32 |             29.59 |
|      12 | Gondia                    |         48.83 |         5.59 |             17.47 |
|      13 | Hingoli                   |         52.91 |         6.8  |             19.68 |
|      14 | Jalgaon                   |         46.41 |         3.93 |             17.1  |
|      15 | Jalna                     |         53.43 |         3.52 |             18.46 |
|      16 | Kolhapur                  |         16.98 |         1.81 |              5.81 |
|      17 | Latur                     |         36.77 |         3.56 |             11.71 |

|   18 | Mumbai City     |   36.31 |   9.2 |   15.03 |
|------|-----------------|---------|-------|---------|
|   19 | Mumbai Suburban |   36.54 |  8.68 |   15.63 |
|   20 | Nagpur          |   40.16 |  5.81 |   13.28 |
|   21 | Nanded          |   44.4  |  5.21 |   13.88 |
|   22 | Nandurbar       |   68.21 | 11.26 |   47.25 |
|   23 | Nashik          |   49.74 |  5.26 |   22.73 |
|   24 | Palghar         |   66.82 |  3.47 |   30.21 |
|   25 | Parbhani        |   53.7  |  5.28 |   16    |
|   26 | Pune            |   35.7  |  3.36 |   10.4  |
|   27 | Raigad          |   39.03 |  2.21 |   11.37 |
|   28 | Ratnagiri       |   43.21 |  2.49 |   13.75 |
|   29 | Sangli          |   28.01 |  4.22 |    8.5  |
|   30 | Satara          |   39.56 |  2.83 |    9.55 |
|   31 | Sindhudurg      |   43.52 |  3.58 |   17.15 |
|   32 | Solapur         |   43.72 |  3.27 |   10.54 |
|   33 | Thane           |   44.51 |  6.55 |   18.8  |
|   34 | Wardha          |   50.45 |  3.33 |   16.06 |
|   35 | Washim          |   33.75 |  1.02 |    4.55 |
|   36 | Yavatmal        |   50.37 |  4.88 |   17.25 |