Lok Sabha Question No. 2455 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-13
Subject: Micronutrient Deficiency among Children
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri P V Midhun Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2455 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.02.2026

## MICRONUTRIENT DEFICIENCY AMONG CHILDREN

## 2455.  SHRI P V MIDHUN REDDY:

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

- (a) whether  micronutrient  deficiency  among  school  children  can  affect  their  memory, cognition and working memory;
- (b) if so, whether the Ministry has conducted any survey about micronutrient deficiency among children in the country;
- (c) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (d) the  details  of  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  curb  the  issue  of  micronutrient deficiency?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (d): Malnutrition is a complex and multi-dimensional issue, affected mainly by a number of  generic  factors  including  poverty,  inadequate  food  consumption  due  to  access  and availability issues, poor maternal infant and child feeding and care practices, poor sanitary and environmental conditions, etc. The consequences of malnutrition during childhood inter alia include weaker immune systems and a greater risk of infection and disease, poor cognitive and developmental outcomes. 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 i.e. 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.  Further,  a  third-party  evaluation  and  impact  assessment  of Poshan Abhiyaan was conducted by NITI Aayog in 2020 and also in 2025 and has found its relevance to be satisfactory for tackling malnutrition in the country. Under Mission Poshan 2.0, various steps have been taken to curb the issue of micronutrient deficiency which are as below:

- Supplementary  Nutrition  is  provided  to  Children  (6  months  to  6  years),  Pregnant Women,  Lactating  Mothers  and  Adolescent  Girls  in  accordance  with  the  nutrition norms contained in Schedule-II of the National Food Security Act, 2013. These norms have  been  revised  in  January  2023.  The  old  norms  were  largely  calorie-specific; however, the revised norms are more comprehensive and balanced in terms of both quantity and quality of supplementary nutrition based on the principles of diet diversity that provides for quality protein, healthy fats and micronutrients (Calcium, Zinc, Iron, Dietary  Folate,  Vitamin  A,  Vitamin-B6  and  Vitamin  B-12).  Extra  Supplementary Nutrition  is  provided  to  Severely  Acutely  Malnourished  (SAM)  children  as  per National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA).
- Fortified rice is being supplied to AWCs to meet the requirement of micro-nutrients and to control anaemia among women and children. Greater emphasis is being laid on the use of millets at least once a week for preparation of Hot Cooked Meal and TakeHome ration at Anganwadi Centers.
- Poshan Vatikas or Nutri-gardens have been set up across the country to provide easy and affordable access to fruits, vegetables, medicinal plants and herbs. To encourage diet-diversity and consumption of wholesome local produce, Poshan Vatikas have been developed at AWCs.
- One  of  the  major  activities  undertaken  in  the  Mission  Poshan  2.0  is  Community Mobilization  and  Awareness  Advocacy  to  educate  people  on  nutritional  aspects  as adoption  of  good  nutrition  habit  requires  sustained  efforts  for  behavioural  change. Further, Community Based Events (CBEs) conducted at the Anganwadi Centers have served as a significant strategy in promoting healthy nutritional practices.
- The 'Poshan Tracker' application was rolled out as an important governance tool. The Poshan Tracker facilitates  dynamic  identification  of  malnutrition  prevalence  among children. It has facilitated near real time data collection for Anganwadi Services such as,  opening  of  AWCs,  daily  attendance  of  children,  ECCE  activities,  Growth Monitoring  of  children,  Provision  of  Hot  Cooked  Meal  (HCM)/Take  Home  Ration (THR), Growth Measurement etc.

Besides above, following interventions are implemented in the schemes of the Ministry of Health  and  Family  Welfare  and  Ministry  of  Education  to  address  nutritional  deficiencies among children :

- Mothers'  Absolute  Affection  (MAA) Programme  is  implemented  to  improve breastfeeding coverage which includes early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding  for first  six  months  followed  by  counselling  on  age-appropriate complementary feeding practices.
- Nutrition  Rehabilitation  Centers  (NRCs) are  set  up  at  public  health  facilities  to provide in-patient medical and nutritional care to children under 5 years suffering from Severe Acute Malnourishment (SAM) with medical complications with special focus
- on improving the skills of mothers and caregivers on timely, adequate and appropriate feeding for children.
- Under  Anaemia  Mukt  Bharat  (AMB) strategy  prophylactic Iron  Folic  Acid supplementation as biweekly IFA syrup is provided to children (6-59 months) across all States/UTs.
- Lactation Management Centres: Lactation Management Units (LMU) are facilities established to ensure the availability of Mother's Own Milk or Donor Human Milk for feeding of sick, preterm and low birth weight babies admitted in Intensive Care Units.
- Under National Deworming Day (NDD) Albendazole tablets are administered in a single fixed day approach via schools and Anganwadi centres in two rounds (February and  August)  to  reduce  the  soil  transmitted  helminth  (STH)  infestation  among  all children (1-19 years).
- Vitamin  A  Supplementation programme  is  implemented  to  administer  biannual Vitamin A supplementation to all children below five years of age (9-59 months).
- Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Days (VHSNDs) are observed for provision of maternal and child health services and creating awareness on maternal and childcare including nutrition in convergence with Ministry of Women and Child Development.
- Pradhan  Mantri  Poshan  Shakti  Nirman  (PM  POSHAN) under  Ministry  of Education  provides  one  hot  cooked  meal  in  Government  and  Government-aided schools as per nutrition norms under Schedule II of NFSA Act, 2013 to school going children  from  Bal  Vatikas  (pre-school)  to  Class  VIII.  The  nutrition  norms  for  the scheme are specified under the Schedule-II of the National Food Security Act, 2013, which have undergone recent revision to give more emphasis on provision of quality protein and essential micronutrients.

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