Lok Sabha Question No. 954 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-05
Subject: Strengthening  of Anganwadi Services
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Navaskani K, Shri Selvam G, Shri C N Annadurai

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 954 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.12.2025

## STRENGTHENING OF ANGANWADI SERVICE

954.     SHRI NAVASKANI K: SHRI SELVAM G: SHRI C N ANNADURAI:

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

- (a) the  number  of  Anganwadi  Centres  (AWCs)  functioning  in  Tamil  Nadu,  particularly districts  like  Ramanathapuram,  Tiruvannamalai  and  Kanchipuram  and  the  number  of AWCs upgraded as Saksham Anganwadis with smart learning facilities, digital tools and improved infrastructure;
- (b) the  percentage  of  children  and  pregnant/lactating  women  availing  benefits  under  the Supplementary Nutrition Programme in the said districts;
- (c) whether any areas have been prioritized for focused nutrition interventions, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the  initiatives  undertaken  to  further  strengthen  Anganwadi  services  in  these  districts, including capacity building of Anganwadi workers, enhancement of growth monitoring facilities and improved delivery of Take-Home Rations (THR) and hot cooked meals; and
- (e) whether  the  Government  has  carried  out  any  assessment  of  nutrition  and  health  outcomes under Poshan 2.0 in the above districts and if so, the key highlights of such evaluations?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  As  per  Poshan  Tracker  data  as  on  October  2025,  the  total  number  of  Anganwadi  Centres (AWCs) functioning in Tamil Nadu is 54,483 including 1454 AWCs in Ramanathapuram, 2143 AWCs in Tiruvannamalai and 941 AWCs in Kanchipuram Districts. Out of these, 11,972 AWCs have been approved for upgradation as Saksham AWCs in the State of Tamil Nadu including 615 AWCs  in  Ramanathapuram,  515  AWCs  in  Tiruvannamalai  and  251  AWCs  in  Kanchipuram Districts.

(b) The district wise data of all States and UTs from Poshan Tracker, on Supplementary Nutrition Programme is available at the link: https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics.

(c)  to  (e)  Under  the  15th  Finance  Commission,  various  components  like  Anganwadi  services, Poshan Abhiyaan and Scheme for Adolescent girls (of 14-18 years in Aspirational Districts and North-Eastern region) have been subsumed under the umbrella Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0). The package of six services viz. Supplementary Nutrition (SNP), Pre-school Non-formal Education, Nutrition & Health Education, Immunization, Health Checkup  and  Referral  Services  is  provided  under  the  Mission  Poshan  2.0  scheme.  Three  of  the  six services, viz., Immunization, Health Check-up and Referral Services are related to health and are provided through NHM & Public Health Infrastructure.

It  is  a  Centrally  Sponsored  mission,  where  the  responsibility  for  implementation  of  various activities lies with the States and UTs. This mission is a universal self-selecting umbrella scheme where there are no entry barriers for any beneficiary to register and receive services. This mission is being implemented across the country including State of Tamil Nadu.

The objectives of Mission are as follows:

- To contribute to development of human capital in the country;
- Address challenge of malnutrition;
- Promote nutrition awareness and good eating habits for sustainable health and wellbeing and
- Address nutrition related deficiencies through key strategies

Under  the  Mission,  one  of  the  major  activities  undertaken  is  Community  Mobilization  and Awareness  Advocacy  leading  to  Jan  Andolan  to  educate  people  on  nutritional  aspects.  IEC material  in  the  form  of  videos,  pamphlets,  flyers  etc.,  in  regional  languages  have  also  been developed around critical themes. Social & Behavioural Changes have been inculcated through conducting Community Based Events, Poshan Maah and Poshan Pakhwada in convergence with various Ministries/ Departments and other stakeholders. A total of 8.82 crore CBEs have been reported since 2018 across the country including all districts in the State of Tamil Nadu. Further, more  than  150  crore  Jan  Andolan  activities  have  been  conducted  since  2018  through  15  Jan Andolans, each helped sensitizing not only the target beneficiaries but communities at large. In last  two  Jan  Andolans  viz.  Poshan  Maah  (17th  September -16th  October,  2025)  and  Poshan Pakhwada (8-22 April, 2025) more than 20 crore sensitization activities have been collectively reported across the country including all districts in the State of Tamil Nadu.

Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi (PBPB) Programme was launched on 10th May, 2023 with an objective to improve the quality of education in the Anganwadi centers along with the focus on nutrition. This national initiative aims to provide all Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) with a 5 day in person training - 3 days in Round 1 (2023-25) and 2 days in Round 2 (2025-26). A Two Tier Training PBPB Implementation Model is being followed. Tier 1 involves two days training of State Level Master Trainers (SLMTs). Tier 2 involves a 3 Days' Training of Anganwadi Workers (AWWs).

It  covers  curriculum,  pedagogy,  and  assessment  tools,  emphasizing  play-based,  activity-based learning.

Capacity-building  under  PBPB  helps  to  facilitate  implementation  of  Aadharshila  (National Curriculum for Early Childhood Care and Education for Children from Three to Six Years) and Navchetana (National Framework for Early Childhood Stimulation for Children from Birth to Three Years)  at  the  Anganwadi  Centre  level  in  the  mother  tongue.  As  on  30.11.2025,  41,645 SLMTs have been trained under Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi across the country including 1828 SLMTs from the State of Tamil Nadu and 8,95,814 Anganwadi Workers have been trained across the country including 15,536 AWWs from the State of Tamil Nadu.

Under PM-JANMAN (Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan), a total of 2,500 Anganwadi  Centres  (AWCs)  have  been  sanctioned  for  construction  in  PVTG  (Particularly Vulnerable  Tribal  Groups)  areas  including  3  AWCs  in  Kanchipuram  and  13  AWCs  in Tiruvannamalai districts of State of Tamil Nadu.

Dharti  Aaba  Janjatiya  Gram  Utkarsh  Abhiyan  (DAJGUA)  launched  by  the  Ministry  of  Tribal Affairs  (MoTA)  focusses  on  convergence,  outreach  and  saturation  in  approximately,  63,843 villages. Under DAGJUA, 875 AWCs have been sanctioned for construction including 3 AWCs in Tiruvannamalai district of State of Tamil Nadu.

Anganwadi Centres are equipped with four types of growth monitoring devices viz. Infantometer, Stadiometer, Weighing Scale-Infant and Weighing Scale-Mother & Child. The availability of these Growth Monitoring Devices in Ramanathapuram, Tiruvannamalai and Kanchipuram districts of Tamil Nadu is as under:

| District       |   Weighing scale for mother and child |   Weighing scale for infant |   InfantometerStadiometer |      |
|----------------|---------------------------------------|-----------------------------|---------------------------|------|
| Kanchipuram    |                                   938 |                         723 |                       933 |  936 |
| Ramanathapuram |                                  1322 |                        1368 |                      1359 | 1309 |
| Tiruvannamalai |                                  2127 |                        2127 |                      2127 | 2127 |

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.

For last mile tracking of Service Delivery, the Ministry has developed Facial Recognition System (FRS) for the distribution of TakeHome Ration to ensure that benefit is given only to the intended beneficiary registered in Poshan Tracker. It involves Photo capturing of the beneficiaries, and e -KYC based on Aadhar system during registration, and then capturing photo again during THR distribution for matching of the photos.

Various rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare since 1992-93 have shown improvement in malnutrition indicators in children across India. Details of these indicators for children since NFHS-1 to NFHS-5 are given below:

| NFHS Survey       |   Stunting% |   Underweight% |   Wasting% |
|-------------------|-------------|----------------|------------|
| NFHS-1 (1992-93)* |          52 |           53.4 |       17.5 |

| NFHS-2 (1998-99)**                    | 45.5   |    47 |   15.5 |
|---------------------------------------|--------|-------|--------|
| NFHS-3 (2005-6)***                    | 48.0   | 42.5  |  19.8  |
| NFHS-4 (2015-16)***                   | 38.4   | 35.8  |  21    |
| NFHS-5 (2019-21)***                   | 35.5   | 32.1  |  19.3  |
| Poshan Tracker (October 2025)***33.54 |        |  5.03 |  14.41 |

* Under 4 years
- ** Under 3 years
- *** Under 5 years

The above table regarding NHFS data gives a representative picture of malnutrition indicators among all children of 0-3 years, 0-4 years and 0-5 years age at the relevant time. The Poshan Tracker  data  gives  nutritional  indicators  pf  only  those  children  who  are  enrolled  in  the Anganwadis.

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