Lok Sabha Question No. 4624 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-20
Subject: Anganwadi Services in Uttar Pradesh
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Rajeev Rai

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4624

TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.03.2026

## ANGANWADI SERVICES IN UTTAR PRADESH

## 4624. SHRI RAJEEV RAI:

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

- (a) the  number  of  Anganwadi  centres  operational  in  Mau  district,  including  Ghosi Parliamentary  Constituency,  under  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  POSHAN  2.0  (earlier ICDS) during 2024 -26;
- (b) the number of beneficiaries receiving supplementary nutrition and pre-school education in the district during the said period;
- (c) the  total  amount  of  funds  allocated  and  released  to  the  State  Government  of  Uttar Pradesh under the scheme and utilized in said district;
- (d) whether any assessment has been undertaken regarding nutrition outcomes in the said district; and
- (e) the steps taken to strengthen nutrition monitoring and service delivery mechanisms in Ghosi Parliamentary Constituency?

## ANSWER

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

(a) and (b): The district wise number of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) functioning in the State of Uttar Pradesh under Mission Saksham Anganwadi & Poshan 2.0 and number of beneficiaries registered therein during the period 2024-26 are available at the link: https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics.

(c): Under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, during FY 2025-26, an amount of Rs.1,79,387.84 Lakh has been released to the State of Uttar Pradesh for implementation of various components of the scheme. Further, a mother sanction of Rs. 90,505.32 Lakh has been issued to the State of Uttar Pradesh during FY 2025-26 under SNA SPARSH.

(d) and (e): Poshan Tracker application was rolled out as an important governance tool which 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 and underweight prevalence among children. It has facilitated near real time data  collection  for  Anganwadi  Services  such  as,  opening  of  AWCs,  daily  attendance  of children,  ECCE  activities,  Growth  Monitoring  of  children,  Provision  of  Hot  Cooked  Meal (HCM)/Take Home Ration (THR-not raw ration), Growth Measurement etc. The application also offers counselling videos on key behaviours and services which help disseminate messages on  birth  preparedness,  delivery  of  child,  post-natal  care,  breastfeeding  and  complementary feeding. Regular field level trainings/workshops are conducted directly for AWWs regarding use of the Poshan Tracker Application. Poshan Tracker also features self-learning videos for AWWs,  enabling  continuous  capacity  building  and  on-the-job  learning  through  digital modules.

For  last  mile  tracking  of  Service  Delivery,  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development (MWCD) has developed Facial Recognition System (FRS) in Poshan Tracker Application for distribution  of  TakeHome  Ration  to  ensure  that  benefit  is  given  only  to  the  intended beneficiary registered in Poshan Tracker.

The Nominee Module has been introduced in Poshan Tracker to ensure uninterrupted delivery of Take-Home Ration (THR) to Pregnant Women, Lactating Mothers, and Adolescent Girls under  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Mission  Poshan  2.0.  If  due  to  any  reason,  the  registered beneficiary (Pregnant Women, Lactating Mother and Adolescent girl) is unable to visit the Anganwadi Centre to receive their THR through FRS, she can nominate a nominee on her behalf to receive her THR. Nominee has to undergo e-KYC only ONCE. But face matching will be done every time for receiving THR on behalf of the beneficiary. Even after addition of the nominee, beneficiary can still receive the THR at the Anganwadi Center if the nominee has not received it already.

Third-party evaluations and impact assessments of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 were conducted by NITI Aayog in 2020 and again in 2025 and they have found relevance of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 to be satisfactory for tackling malnutrition in the country.

Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 is a Centrally Sponsored scheme. The Central Government  is  responsible  for  policy  and  planning  and  the  State  Governments  and  UT Administrations are responsible for day-to-day program implementation. Additionally, the Ministry also monitors the implementation of scheme through sustained engagements and video conferences with the States and UTs so as to ensure uninterrupted delivery of services to the beneficiaries.

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