Lok Sabha Question No. 2642 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-04
Subject: Status of Malnutrition in India
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Kotagiri Sridhar, Ranjeeta Koli, Manoj Rajoria, Sumedhanand Saraswati

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2642

TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.08.2023

## STATUS OF MALNUTRITION IN INDIA

2642.  SHRI SRIDHAR KOTAGIRI: SHRIMATI RANJEETA KOLI: DR. MANOJ RAJORIA: SHRI SUMEDHANAND SARASWATI:

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

- (a) whether India still has the highest number of cases of child malnutrition in the world  and  if  so,  the  details  and  the  current  situation  of  malnutrition  in  the country;
- (b) whether the situation of malnutrition has largely improved in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has reviewed the activities of Poshan Abhiyan for reducing stunting, undernutrition, anaemia, low birth weight etc. in children and if so, the details and the outcome thereof;
- (d) the details of budget allocated for addressing the challenge of malnutrition/wasting in children;
- (e) the steps taken by the Government to invest in capacity of Anganwadi, ASHA functionaries; and
- (f) the policies being adopted/additional efforts undertaken by the Government for resolving/ addressing this problem/challenge of malnutrition in children?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (c) The data on nutritional indicators is captured under the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS) conducted periodically by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The last round, NFHS-5, was conducted during 2019-21. As per the report of NFHS-5 (2019-21), the nutrition indicators for children under 5 years have improved as compared with NFHS-4 (2015-16). The prevalence of stunting has reduced from 38.4% in NFHS-4 to 35.5% in NFHS-5, wasting from 21.0% to 19.3% and underweight from 35.8% to 32.1%.

Under  Poshan  Abhiyan  scheme  of  the  Ministry,  IT  systems  have  been leveraged to strengthen and bring about transparency in monitoring nutrition status of  beneficiaries  under  the  scheme  and  nutrition  delivery  support  systems  at  the Anganwadi Centres. The 'Poshan Tracker' application was rolled out on 1 st  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.  For  enhanced  monitoring,  the Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) have been technology empowered with smartphones (nearly 11 lakh). Further, to promote regular growth measurement, 12.5 lakh Growth Measurement Devices have been procured by States/UTs for Anganwadi Centres. These  include  Infantometer,  Stadiometer,  Weighing  Scale  for  Mother  and  Infant, Weighing Scale for Child

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 itself, of  which,  7%  were  wasted and 19% underweight, which is significantly lower than NFHS indicators.

(d)        Mission  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0  (Mission  Poshan  2.0)  is  an Integrated  Nutrition  Support  Scheme  which  encompasses  Anganwadi  Services, Poshan Abhiyan and Scheme for Adolescent Girls. For the FY 2023-24, Rs 20,554,31 crore has been allocated for the Mission.

(e)         Capacity  building  of  frontline  functionaries  is  critical  in  enhancing  their effectiveness. Under Mission Poshan 2.0, focus is given on building the capacity of front-line functionaries for effective and consistent service delivery. Approx. 10.22 lakh Anganwadi Workers have been successfully trained.  Capacity building of ASHAs is also a continuous process and periodic trainings are conducted by Ministry of Health and  Family  Welfare  under  the  National  Rural  Health  Mission  to  equip  them  with necessary knowledge and skills to act as a 'bridge'  between the rural people  and health service outlets

Also,  recently  the  Government  has  launched  the  Poshan  Bhi  Padhai  Bhi (PBPB) programme, which is a path breaking ECCE program to help India develop world's largest, universal, high-quality pre-school network at Anganwadi Centers in alignment with the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.  Under the programme, steps  have  been  taken  to  bolster  early  childhood  care  and  education  and  good nutrition practices through development and use of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) and locally available toys for learning at AWCs. Under the programme there is special focus on capacity building trainings for ICDS functionaries on (i). Promoting early stimulation for the first 1000 days and ECCE for children 3-6 years of age, (ii). developing ECCE understanding  of  Anganwadi  Workers,  (iii).  emphasizing  developmental  domains (socio-emotional-ethical, physical and motor, cognitive, etc., and the development of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), and (iv). reinforcing nutrition knowledge of Anganwadi Workers.

(f) The Government has accorded high priority to the issue of malnutrition and is implementing  several  schemes  like  POSHAN  Abhiyaan,  Anganwadi  Services, Scheme for Adolescent Girls, under Mission Poshan 2.0 and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) under Mission Shakti, as direct targeted interventions to address the problem of malnutrition in the country.

Mission Poshan 2.0 seeks to address the challenges of malnutrition in children, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers through a strategic shift in nutrition content and delivery and by creation of a convergent eco-system to develop and promote practices that nurture health, wellness and immunity.

Poshan 2.0 focuses on Maternal Nutrition,  Infant  and  Young  Child  Feeding Norms, Treatment of MAM/SAM and Wellness through AYUSH. It rests on the pillars of Convergence, Governance, and Capacity-building. POSHAN Abhiyaan is the key pillar  for  Outreach  and  will  cover  innovations  related  to  nutritional  support,  ICT interventions, Media Advocacy and Research, Community Outreach and Jan Andolan. Steps have been taken to improve nutritional quality and testing in accredited labs, strengthen delivery and leverage technology under the 'Poshan Tracker', a robust ICT enabled platform to improve governance with regard to monitoring of provisioning of supplementary nutrition for prompt supervision and management of services.

Under  Poshan  2.0,  focus  is  on  diet  diversity,  food  fortification,  leveraging traditional systems of knowledge and popularizing use of millets. Nutrition awareness strategies under Poshan 2.0 aim to develop sustainable health and well-being through regional meal plans to bridge dietary gaps.

Further, greater emphasis is being given on the use of millets (coarse grains) 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, as millets have high nutrient content which includes protein, essential fatty acid, dietary fibre, B-Vitamins, minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, folic acid and other micro-nutrients thus helping to tackle anemia  and  other micro-nutrient deficiencies in women and children. Under Supplementary Nutrition Programme of Mission Poshan 2.0, only fortified rice is being allocated to States/UTs.

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