Lok Sabha Question No. 4759 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-20
Subject: Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi Programme
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Tharaniventhan M S

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 4759

TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.03.2026

## POSHAN BHI PADHAI BHI PROGRAMME

## 4759. SHRI THARANIVENTHAN M S:

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

- (a)       the details and the features of the Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi Programme;
- (b)       the details of the funds estimated under the said scheme across the country till date;
- (c)       the number of States proposed to be initially cover under the said programme along with the target set in this regard;
- (d)       whether the Government has already undertaken activities under the said programme within the country;
- (e)       if so, the details thereof, State-wise; and
- (f)        the details of its response received in the said States?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (d): Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) launched the Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi (PBPB) initiative under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0. PBPB aims at improving the quality of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) through the Anganwadi system by equipping Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) with high-quality infrastructure, play equipment, and well-trained Anganwadi Workers (AWWs).

Capacity building of AWWs has been envisioned as the first step towards improving the quality of ECCE. Under PBPB initiative, a total of ₹476.05 crores has been sanctioned for the financial year  2023-24  to  2025-26  for  training  of  AWWs.  Under  the  2-tier  training  module,  Child Development Programme Officers (CDPOs), Supervisors and Additional Resource Persons etc. are trained as State Level Master Trainers (SLMTs) with the support of Savitribai Phule National Institute of Women and Child Development (SPNIWCD) and SLMTs, in turn, impart training to AWWs.  Funds for capacity building of SLMTs and AWWs are released out of the allocation of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0.

As on 16 th  March 2026, 41,645 SLMTs and 10,35,949 AWWs have been trained in Round-1 in ECCE pedagogy and delivery of nutritional services. Round-2 of the training was started in November, 2025 for reinforcing Anganwadi workers' understanding on ECCE and nutrition, innovations in Poshan, new features on Poshan Tracker, feeding practices, and micronutrient deficiencies etc.

Under PBPB, allocation for Preschool Education (PSE) Kits has been increased to ₹3,000 per AWC per year for providing adequate PSE kits at the AWCs. Guidelines for conducting ECCE days and Community Based Events were issued to States and Union Territories (UTs) on 29 th November, 2023.

In order to improve the quality of ECCE, Government launched in March 2024, Navchetana a National Framework for Early Childhood Stimulation for children up to 3 years of age, and Aadharshila - National Curriculum for ECCE for children of 3 to 6 years age. Navchetana framework empowers caregivers and AWWs for holistic early stimulation of children through responsive  caregiving.  Aadharshila  improves  the  quality  of  early  childhood  education transacted at AWCs by prioritizing play-based activities covering all learning domains.

Government  has  so  far  upgraded  1,03,940  Anganwadi  Centres  (AWCs)  into  Saksham Anganwadi Centres for better delivery of nutrition and increased focus on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) services to the beneficiaries.  The upgradation includes provision of LED screens and other audio-visual aids, Wi-Fi/Internet connectivity (wherever feasible), safe drinking water facilities such as water filters/RO systems, BaLA (Building as Learning Aid) paintings, age-appropriate ECCE learning materials, Poshan Vatikas (kitchen gardens), and clean storage facility for provisions etc.

(e) and (f): State and UT-wise status of training imparted under Round-1 of PBPB training as on 16 th March, 2026 is given at Annexure.

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ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  IN  THE  PARTS  (E)  AND  (F)  OF  LOK SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO. 4759 FOR ANSWER ON 20.03.2026 ON THE SUBJECT 'POSHAN BHI PADHAI BHI PROGRAMME (PBPB)' ASKED BY SHRI THARANIVENTHAN M S, HON'BLE MEMBER OF THE PARLIAMENT.

State and UT-wise status of training under Round-1 of PBPB (As on 16 th  March, 2026)

0

|   Sl. | No.Name of States &UTs                   | (SLMTs) TargetCompleted   | (SLMTs) TargetCompleted   | AWWs          | AWWs     |
|-------|------------------------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|---------------|----------|
|     1 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands              | 45                        | 49                        | 720           | 791      |
|     2 | Andhra Pradesh                           | 2,059                     | 2,050                     | 54,908        | 53,446   |
|     3 | Arunachal Pradesh                        | 465                       | 648                       | 6225          | 4,298    |
|     4 | Assam                                    | 2,353                     | 2,794                     | 60,964        | 56,721   |
|     5 | Bihar                                    | 3,366                     |                           | 2,1781,12,094 | 91,885   |
|     6 | Chandigarh                               | 24                        | 33                        | 434           | 616      |
|     7 | Chhattisgarh                             | 2,126                     | 2,009                     | 51,245        | 42,131   |
|     8 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | 24                        | 50                        | 405           | 375      |
|     9 | Delhi                                    | 434                       | 581                       | 10498         | 10,444   |
|    10 | Goa                                      | 65                        | 64                        | 1224          | 1,151    |
|    11 | Gujarat                                  | 2,044                     | 2,127                     | 49,884        | 34,812   |
|    12 | Haryana                                  | 804                       | 808                       | 23,902        | 21,980   |
|    13 | Himachal Pradesh                         | 746                       | 744                       | 18,663        | 10,999   |
|    14 | Jammu and Kashmir                        | 1,265                     | 1,244                     | 27,543        | 24,936   |
|    15 | Jharkhand                                | 862                       | 980                       | 37,944        | 32,862   |
|    16 | Karnataka                                | 2,247                     | 2,149                     | 64,118        | 18,316   |
|    17 | Kerala                                   | 1,348                     | 1,656                     | 33,115        | 16,575   |
|    18 | Ladakh                                   | 46                        | 73                        | 1143          | 1,152    |
|    19 | Lakshadweep                              | 4                         | 8                         | 59            | 0        |
|    20 | Madhya Pradesh                           | 3,567                     | 2,996                     | 95,953        | 91,462   |
|    21 | Maharashtra                              | 2,892                     |                           | 2,4751,05,023 | 1,04,352 |
|    22 | Manipur                                  | 489                       | 636                       | 11,466        | 10,978   |
|    23 | Meghalaya                                | 306                       | 288                       | 5896          | 5,127    |
|    24 | Mizoram                                  | 161                       | 202                       | 2244          | 2,360    |
|    25 | Nagaland                                 | 293                       | 398                       | 3980          | 3,798    |
|    26 | Odisha                                   | 3,266                     | 2,742                     | 73,314        | 20,960   |
|    27 | Puducherry                               | 19                        | 47                        | 595           | 616      |
|    28 | Punjab                                   | 847                       | 1,184                     | 27,075        | 18,633   |
|    29 | Rajasthan                                | 1,622                     | 1,644                     | 60,874        | 58,644   |
|    30 | Sikkim                                   | 95                        | 81                        | 1308          | 389      |
|    31 | Tamil Nadu                               | 2,062                     | 1,828                     | 43,602        | 43,652   |
|    32 | Telangana                                | 1,540                     | 1,531                     | 33,789        | 32,538   |
|    33 | Tripura                                  | 308                       | 282                       | 10,131        | 9,565    |
|    34 | Uttar Pradesh                            | 3,585                     |                           | 2,1321,59,938 | 89,138   |
|    35 | Uttarakhand                              | 652                       | 634                       | 19,311        | 16,622   |

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