Lok Sabha Question No. 2171 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-12
Subject: ICDS Scheme
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Adhikari Deepak Dev

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2171

TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.12.2025

## ICDS SCHEME

## 2171. SHRI ADHIKARI DEEPAK DEV:

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

- (a) whether any irregularity in the provision of supplementary nutrition to children has been reported, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the details of the initiatives taken by the Government to strengthen/improve the Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) scheme; and
- (c) the number of schools covered under the ICDS scheme alongwith the initiatives taken by the Government to extend its reach?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (c)  Mission  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0  (Mission  Poshan  2.0)  is a  Centrally Sponsored  scheme  being  implemented  to  address  the  challenge  of  malnutrition.  Central Government is responsible for policy and planning and the State Governments/UT Administrations are responsible for day-to-day program implementation.

Under Mission Poshan 2.0, Community Mobilization and Awareness Advocacy is undertaken 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.

Under Mission Poshan 2.0, two lakh Anganwadi Centres located in  Government buildings @ 40,000  AWCs  per  year  are  strengthened  as  Saksham  Anganwadis  for  delivery  of  improved nutrition  and  for  Early  Childhood  Care  and  Education  in  the  15 th Finance  Commission  cycle. Saksham Anganwadis are provided with better infrastructure than the conventional Anganwadi centres  with  LED  screens,  water  filtration  system,  Poshan  Vatika,  ECCE  material  and  BALA paintings.

Under PM JANMAN for the targeted development of 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), a total of 2,500 Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) has been sanctioned for construction across the country.

Under Dharti Abha Janjati Gram Unnat Abhiyan, to improve the socio-economic conditions of tribal communities, 875 AWCs have been sanctioned for construction across the country.

In order to improve the infrastructure facility of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) various steps have been undertaken by the Ministry that, inter alia, include increasing the funding for drinking water facilities and toilets at Anganwadi Centres from Rs.10,000/- to Rs.17,000/- and Rs.12,000/- to Rs.36,000/- respectively.

Poshan Tracker an ICT tool has been implemented for monitoring and tracking of infrastructure and  service  delivery  at  Anganwadi  Centres  (AWCs)  and  beneficiaries  on  defined  indicators. Poshan  Tracker  is  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,  Provision  of  Hot  Cooked  Meal  (HCM)/Take  Home  Ration (THR-not raw ration), Growth Measurement, Monthly Progress Reports (MPR) providing detailed insights  into  program  performance,  Daily  tracking  of  AWC  activities  with  photo  capture  for monitoring etc.

Poshan Tracker is supported by a dedicated Poshan Helpline no. 1515; a multilingual support system which ensures accessibility and complaint mechanism for beneficiaries and Anganwadi Workers across diverse regions of India.

Through  sustained  engagements  and  meetings  at  regular  intervals,  States  and  UTs  have  been requested to optimize coverage of beneficiaries including child beneficiaries and ensure efficient implementation of the scheme.

In  convergence  with  Department  of  School  Education  and  Literacy,  Ministry  of  Education Guidelines for Co-locating Anganwadi Centres within Government Primary Schools have been jointly  launched  on  3 rd September,  2025  to  strengthen  ECCE  and  Foundational  Literacy  and Numeracy (FLN) services. The Guidelines specify the manner in which co-location of these AWCs can be done, wherever possible. In places where physical co-location is not possible, AWCs are to be  mapped  with  the  nearest  primary  school.  This  approach  aligns  with  the  vision  of  National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which aims to build a strong foundation for young and healthy learners.

As per Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE+) portal 2,99,546 Anganwadi Centres have been co-located with Government primary schools across the country.

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