Lok Sabha Question No. 5609 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-27
Subject: AWCs with Poor Mobile Connectivity
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 5609

TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.03.2026

## AWCS WITH POOR MOBILE CONNECTIVITY

## 5609.  SMT. PRIYANKA GANDHI VADRA:

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

- (a) whether the Government has received complaints from Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) in areas  with  poor  mobile  connectivity  regarding  their  inability  to  upload  details  on  the POSHAN Tracker app, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has taken action to identify Anganwadis in areas of poor mobile connectivity and rectify the problem, especially in Wayanad Parliamentary Constituency;
- (c) whether  the  Government  is  considering  making  exceptions  in  such  areas  to  ensure  that children and pregnant women are not wrongfully denied nutritional supplements, if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) whether the Government is taking initiatives to improve mobile connectivity at Anganwadis located in such areas, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (d):            Mission  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0  is  an  umbrella  scheme under the Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  (MoWCD)  to  strengthen  nutrition  services  and address the challenge of malnutrition in the country. It is a Centrally Sponsored scheme where the responsibility for implementation of various activities lies with the States and UTs. This Mission includes  beneficiaries:  children  under  6  years  of  age,  pregnant  women,  lactating  mothers  and adolescent  girls  (age  14-18  years  in  Aspirational  Districts  and  North-Eastern  region)  in  the country.

The 'Poshan Tracker' digital application has been rolled out as an ICT based governance tool for monitoring and tracking of all activities in the Anganwadi Centres (AWCs), Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and beneficiaries on defined indicators. It has facilitated near real time data collection for  Anganwadi  Services.  It  has  substantially  reduced  the  administrative  work  by  simplifying manual  data  entry  in  physical  registers  and  reducing  operational  challenges.  The  frontline functionaries are equipped with smartphones to enter the data related to services available under the  Mission  Poshan 2.0. An amount of ₹2000 per annum is  provided  to  all AWWs across the country as internet connectivity charges.

To support AWWs and address network-related issues such as low or no internet connectivity, the Poshan Tracker application has been specifically designed to allow data entry in offline mode. Reporting of daily activities like - opening of AWCs, daily attendance of children, THR and Hot Cooked Meal (HCM) distribution, activities conducted at AWC (Pre-school education, Personal Hygiene  sessions)  etc.  are  available  in  offline  mode,  independent  of  server  availability.  This creates  ease  of  living  for  the  beneficiaries  to  avail  the  Anganwadi  Services  and  ease  of  doing business for AWWs to ensure uninterrupted service delivery.

Block and District coordinators provide on-ground handholding support to AWWs and supervisors for effective usage of the Poshan Tracker Application and resolution of technical glitches.

The  Department  of  Telecommunications  (DoT)  is  further  ensuring  stable  broadband/internet connectivity and addressing disparities in telecom penetration in rural & remote areas and bridging the digital divide through the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) in the country. Key initiatives include:

- i. The BharatNet project provides broadband to Gram Panchayats (GPs) and villages (on demand).
- ii. Various schemes for high-speed internet/broadband and mobile services (including 4G) in remote  areas,  such  as  the  North-East,  Islands,  LWE  (Left-Wing  Extremism)-  affected regions, Aspirational Districts, and border villages.
- iii. Further,  under  Amended  BharatNet  Program  (ABP)  priority  has  been  given  to  cover Government institutions including schools, PHCs, Anganwadi centres, Panchayat offices etc.

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