Lok Sabha Question No. 2224 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-12
Subject: Child Malnutrition and Mortality
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Pradyut Bordoloi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2224 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.12.2025

## CHILD MALNUTRITION AND MORTALITY

## 2224.  SHRI PRADYUT BORDOLOI:

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

- (a) the most recent Poshan Tracker Data available on prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight among children (0-5 years), State-wise;
- (b) the most recent Sample Registration System (SRS) data available on neonatal mortality rate and under -five mortality rate, State-wise;
- (c) the details of the measures being taken by the Government since 2020 under POSHAN Abhiyaan/related  schemes  to  reduce  chronic  under-nutrition  and  child  mortality, including  programme  interventions,  financial  allocations  along  with  the  progress achieved therein so far in Assam;
- (d) whether the Government proposes to replicate successful nutritional/health practices observed in low-burden North-Eastern States in Assam, if so, the details thereof along with  the  outcomes  expected  within  the  current  plan  period  and  if  not,  the  reasons therefor; and
- (e) whether the Government has identified any unique challenges in said State leading to child malnutrition and mortality, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a): The most recent data on prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight among children (0-5 years), State-wise, is available at: https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics

(b): Details on Neo Natal Mortality and Under Five Mortality as per the Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report 2023 are placed at Annexure I and II.

(c)  to  (e): Poshan  Abhiyaan  was  launched  in  2018,  an  overarching  scheme  for  holistic nourishment to improve nutritional outcomes for children, adolescents, pregnant women and lactating  mothers.  Further,  to  address  the  challenge  of  malnutrition,  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). 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 all the North-Eastern States. 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, anaemia 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 National Food Security Act,  2013.  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 (Calcium, Zinc, Iron, Dietary Folate, Vitamin A, Vitamin-B6 and Vitamin B-12).

Further, 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.

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.

Poshan Tracker an ICT tool has been implemented for 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. It has facilitated near real time data collection for Anganwadi Services such as, daily attendance, ECCE, Delivery of Hot Cooked Meal (HCM)/Take Home Ration (THR-not raw ration), Growth Measurement etc. The App also offers counselling videos on key behaviours and services which help disseminate messages on birth preparedness, delivery, post-natal care, breastfeeding, and complementary feeding.

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

A  total  of  2  lakh  Anganwadi  Centres  have  been  approved  to  be  upgraded  as  Saksham Anganwadis  for  improved  nutrition  delivery  and  for  imparting  early  childhood  care  and development. 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.  A  total  of  5,407 Anganwadi Centres have been sanctioned for upgradation to Saksham Anganwadi Centres in the States of Assam.

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 30 th November 2025, 8,95,814 AWWs have been trained across the country. A total of 39,882 Anganwadi Workers have been trained in the State of Assam under this initiative.

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.

Besides  above  efforts, the  Ministry  of  Health  and  Family  Welfare  is  implementing Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) strategy  in  a  life  cycle  approach  under  National  Health  Mission  (NHM),  which  includes interventions to address malnutrition and anaemia across all States/UTs in the country. One of the interventions is Anaemia Mukt Bharat. To address nutritional deficiencies among children across the country, including in the State of Assam, following interventions are implemented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare:

- Mothers' Absolute Affection (MAA)  Programme  is implemented to improve breastfeeding coverage which includes early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding  for first  six  months  followed  by  counselling  on  age-appropriate complementary feeding practices.
- Nutrition Rehabilitation Centers (NRCs) are set up at public health facilities to provide in-patient medical and nutritional care to children under 5 years suffering from Severe Acute  Malnourishment  (SAM)  with  medical  complications  with  special  focus  on improving the skills of mothers and caregivers on timely, adequate and appropriate feeding for children.
- Under Anaemia Mukt Bharat (AMB)  strategy prophylactic Iron Folic Acid supplementation as biweekly IFA syrup is provided to children (6-59 months) across all States/UTs.
- Lactation  Management  Centres:  Lactation  Management  Units  (LMU)  are  facilities established to ensure the availability of Mother's Own Milk or Donor Human Milk for feeding of sick, preterm and low birth weight babies admitted in Intensive Care Units.
- Under  National  Deworming  Day  (NDD)  albendazole  tablets  are  administered  in  a single fixed day approach via schools and Anganwadi centres in two rounds (February and  August)  to  reduce  the  soil  transmitted  helminth  (STH)  infestation  among  all children (1-19 years).
- Vitamin  A  Supplementation  programme  is  implemented  to  administer  biannual Vitamin A supplementation to all children below five years of age (9-59 months).
- Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Days (VHSNDs) are observed for provision of maternal and child health services and creating awareness on maternal and childcare including nutrition in convergence with Ministry of Women and Child Development.

The financial allocation done for Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Mission Poshan 2.0 in Assam is placed at Annexure III.

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF LOK SABHA QUESTION NO. 2224 FOR 12.12.2025 REGARDING 'CHILD MALNUTRITION AND MORTALITY' ASKED BY SHRI PRADYUT BORDOLOI

The State wise details of Neo-natal mortality (deaths of live-born infants within the first 28 completed days of life), as per the Sample Registration System (SRS) Report 2023 (based on three-year period 2021 -23) of Registrar General of India is as follows:

| States           |   Neo Natal Mortality Rate Total |
|------------------|----------------------------------|
| India            |                               19 |
| Andhra Pradesh   |                               16 |
| Assam            |                               21 |
| Bihar            |                               18 |
| Chhattisgarh     |                               26 |
| Delhi            |                                9 |
| Gujarat          |                               15 |
| Haryana          |                               19 |
| Himachal Pradesh |                               11 |
| Jammu &Kashmir   |                               10 |
| Jharkhand        |                               20 |
| Karnataka        |                               11 |
| Kerala           |                                4 |
| Madhya Pradesh   |                               27 |
| Maharashtra      |                               11 |
| Odisha           |                               21 |
| Punjab           |                               12 |
| Rajasthan        |                               21 |
| Tamil Nadu       |                                9 |
| Telangana        |                               14 |
| Uttar Pradesh    |                               26 |
| Uttarakhand      |                               14 |
| West Bengal      |                               13 |

The data is available for India and bigger States/UTs with population of 10 million and above.

## ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF LOK SABHA QUESTION NO. 2224 FOR 12.12.2025 REGARDING 'CHILD MALNUTRITION AND MORTALITY' ASKED BY SHRI PRADYUT BORDOLOI

The State wise details of Under-five mortality (i.e. the probability that a child born in a given year  will  die  before  reaching  age  5,  expressed  per  1,000  live  births),  as  per  the  Sample Registration System (SRS) Report 2023 (based on three-year period 2021 -23) of Registrar General of India is as follows:

| States           |   Under Five Mortality Rate Total |
|------------------|-----------------------------------|
| India            |                                29 |
| Andhra Pradesh   |                                21 |
| Assam            |                                33 |
| Bihar            |                                27 |
| Chhattisgarh     |                                41 |
| Delhi            |                                16 |
| Gujarat          |                                23 |
| Haryana          |                                30 |
| Himachal Pradesh |                                17 |
| Jammu &Kashmir   |                                15 |
| Jharkhand        |                                32 |
| Karnataka        |                                17 |
| Kerala           |                                 8 |
| Madhya Pradesh   |                                44 |
| Maharashtra      |                                16 |
| Odisha           |                                35 |
| Punjab           |                                22 |
| Rajasthan        |                                34 |
| Tamil Nadu       |                                13 |
| Telangana        |                                22 |
| Uttar Pradesh    |                                42 |
| Uttarakhand      |                                23 |
| West Bengal      |                                18 |

The data is available for India and bigger States/UTs with population of 10 million and above.

## ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (c) OF LOK SABHA QUESTION NO. 2224 FOR 12.12.2025 REGARDING 'CHILD MALNUTRITION AND MORTALITY' ASKED BY SHRI PRADYUT BORDOLOI

The detail of funds released to the State of Assam under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 is as follows:

## Rupees in Crore

| Name of the States/UT   | FY 2019- 2020   | FY 2020- 2021   | FY 2021- 2022   | FY 2022- 2023   | FY 2023- 2024   | FY 2024- 2025   |
|-------------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
| Assam                   | 1,365.53        | 1,109.75        | 1,319.90        | 1,651.63        | 2,233.31        | 2,482.34        |

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