Lok Sabha Question No. 2471 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-13
Subject: Implementation of Schemes for Women and Children
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Shyamkumar Daulat Barve

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2471

TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.02.2026

## IMPLEMENTATION OF SCHEMES FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN

## 2471.  SHRI SHYAMKUMAR DAULAT BARVE:

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

- (a) whether Poshan Abhiyaan, Saksham Anganwadi Yojana and Mission Vatsalya, have not  achieved  expected  improvement  in  indicators  related  to  malnutrition,  anaemia, stunting among women and children and child protection in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether  any  serious  shortcomings  exist  in  the  implementation  of  these  schemes, monitoring mechanisms and coordination at the State level, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government has conducted any independent social audit/audit by any other agency to assess the effectiveness of these schemes, utilisation of budgetary allocations and on-ground outcomes; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof along with the concrete and time-bound steps being taken by the Government to address and rectify these shortcomings?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b): Various rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare since 1992-93 have shown improvement in malnutrition indicators in children across India. Details of these indicators from NFHS-1 to NFHS-5 are given below:

| NFHS Survey         |   Stunting %Underweight |      |   %Wasting% |
|---------------------|-------------------------|------|-------------|
| NFHS-1 (1992-93) *  |                    52   | 53.4 |        17.5 |
| NFHS-2 (1998-99) ** |                    45.5 | 47   |        15.5 |

| NFHS-3 (2005-6) ***                     |   48.0 |   42.5 |   19.8 |
|-----------------------------------------|--------|--------|--------|
| NFHS-4 (2015-16) ***                    |  38.4  |  35.8  |  21    |
| NFHS-5 (2019-21) ***                    |  35.5  |  32.1  |  19.3  |
| Poshan Tracker Data (January' 2026) *** |  31.38 |  13.12 |   4.36 |

- *** Under 5 years

The analysis of the above NFHS and Poshan Tracker data shows improvement in malnutrition indicators in children across the country. Further, in 2021, the World Bank conducted a survey in 11 priority States to assess the delivery of nutrition services under Poshan Abhiyaan scheme. The findings demonstrated that the services delivered under Poshan Abhiyaan -the receipt of relevant messages, home visits by the Anganwadi worker, and attendance at community-based events -were associated with improved nutrition behaviors. The survey also found that the program's  nutrition  messages  reached  more  than  80%  of  women  and  that  81%  of  women practiced exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months.

(c) to (e): NITI Aayog has got conducted a third-party evaluation of the schemes of the Ministry of Women and Child Development for Financial Years 2019 to 2024. The study found that the schemes of the Ministry are relevant.

The implementation of schemes including utilization of funds is reviewed on regular basis at various high levels through physical meetings, video conferences and field visits.

*****