Lok Sabha Question No. 3669 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-13
Subject: Beneficiaries of PMMVY and ICDS
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Rajabhau Parag Prakash Waje

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3669

TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.03.2026

## BENEFICIARIES OF PMMVY AND ICDS

## 3669.  SHRI RAJABHAU PARAG PRAKASH WAJE:

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

- (a) whether women and children are being benefited under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana  (PMMVY)  and  the  Integrated  Child  Development  Services  (ICDS)  in  Nashik district of Maharashtra;
- (b) if so, the details of pregnant and lactating women and children covered under both schemes in the said district during the last three years and the current year, scheme-wise;
- (c) the details of the funds allocated, released and utilised under PMMVY and ICDS in the said district during the said period;
- (d) whether any outcome assessment has been conducted to evaluate improvements in maternal nutrition, anaemia reduction, institutional deliveries and child malnutrition indicators in the said district; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the steps proposed to strengthen implementation and monitoring of these schemes in the said district?

## ANSWER

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

(a)&(b)   Under the 15th Finance Commission, various components including Integrated Child Development  Services  (ICDS)  have  been  subsumed  under  the  umbrella  Mission  Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0). The details of beneficiaries covered under the Pradhan Mantri Matru  Vandana  Yojana  (PMMVY) and the Mission  Saksham  Anganwadi  & POSHAN 2.0 in Nashik district of Maharashtra during the last three years and the current year are as under:

|   S.No | Scheme                              | Beneficiaries            | FY 2022- 23   | FY 2023- 24   | FY 2024- 25   | FY 2025- 26   |
|--------|-------------------------------------|--------------------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|
|      1 | Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana | Beneficiaries paid       | 45,506        | 3,684         | 34,866        | 42,198*       |
|      2 | Mission Saksham Anganwadi &POSHAN   | No. of Children          | 4,10,133      | 3,90,816      | 3,76,449      | 3,50,963**    |
|      2 | 2.0                                 | No. of Pregnant Women    | 26,777        | 21,005        | 20,967        | 20,361**      |
|      2 |                                     | No. of Lactating Mothers | 25,302        | 17,194        | 19,049        | 19,241**      |

*As on 09.03.2026

**As on 28.02.2026

(c)      Under  the  schemes  of  the  Ministry,  funds  are  released  to  the  States  and  UTs  for implementation of the scheme and funds are not directly released to the districts. The details of funds  released/  utilised  under  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Matru  Vandana  Yojana  (PMMVY)  and  the Mission Saksham Anganwadi & POSHAN 2.0 in the State of Maharashtra during the last three years and the current year are as under:

(Rs. in crores)

|   S.No | Scheme                                | FY 2022- 23   | FY 2023- 24   | FY 2024- 25   | FY 2025- 26   |
|--------|---------------------------------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|
|      1 | Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana   | 240.83        | 0.00          | 141.17        | 115.57*       |
|      2 | Mission Saksham Anganwadi& POSHAN 2.0 | 1,646.17      | 1,699.52      | 1,368.84      | 1060.79**     |

*As on 11.03.2026

** As on 09.03.2026

(d) & (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 SAMARTHYA vertical of Mission Shakti including PMMVY is highly relevant and PMMVY Scheme has good awareness at grassroot level. The evaluation adopted a pragmatic mixed-methods approach, combining primary and secondary research to assess.

In 2021, the World Bank conducted a survey on Poshan Abhiyaan in 11 priority states. The aim of this  survey  was  to  assess  the  program's  delivery  of  nutrition  services,  whether  the  nutritional knowledge of beneficiaries had improved and if they had adopted more appropriate nutrition and feeding  practices.  The  findings  demonstrated  that  the  services  delivered  through  the  Poshan Abhiyaan -the  receipt  of  relevant  messages,  home  visits  by  the  Anganwadi  Worker,  and attendance at community-based events -were associated with improved nutrition behaviours. 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.

Further, a third-party evaluation and impact assessment of Poshan Abhiyaan was conducted by NITI Aayog in 2020 and also in 2025. Both these assessments have found its relevance to be satisfactory for tackling malnutrition in the country.

The steps taken to strengthen the implementation and monitoring of these schemes, are as under:

- A  new  portal,  Pradhan  Mantri  Matru  Vandana  Yojana  Software  (PMMVYSoft)  was developed  and  launched  in  March,  2023.  Under  PMMVYSoft,  Aadhaar  authentication through UIDAI and National Payment Corporations of India (NPCI) verification is ensured so that funds are directly transferred to their DBT-enabled Aadhaar-seeded bank or post office accounts.
- Available database of the Pregnant Women & Lactating Mothers from Poshan Tracker is used  to  create  a  'Due  List'  of  potential  beneficiaries  on  PMMVY  Portal  accessible  at AWW/ASHA level.
- 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 as an important governance tool. The Poshan Tracker facilitates monitoring and tracking of all AWCs, AWWs and beneficiaries on defined indicators. The States/UTs have also been advised to discontinue the use of physical registers and use Poshan Tracker to reduce work load of Anganwadi workers and improving their efficiency. To track last mile Service Delivery, Facial Recognition System (FRS) is used for distribution of Take-Home Ration to ensure that benefit is given only to the intended beneficiary registered in Poshan Tracker.

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