Lok Sabha Question No. 877 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-04
Subject: Malnutrition Deaths in Tribal Regions
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Prof. Sougata Ray

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.877 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.12.2025

## MALNUTRITION DEATHS IN TRIBAL REGIONS

877. Prof. Sougata Ray:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) the details of infant deaths due to malnourishment in the tribal regions of the country during the last five years, State-wise;

(b)  whether  the  Bombay  High  Court  criticized  the  Governments  for  their  extremely  casual approach in addressing malnutrition among infants in the tribal regions of the country; and

(c) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken to ensure the minimum standard of living of the tribal in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI DURGADAS UIKEY)

(a) to (c) As per information received from Ministry of Women and Child Development, it is stated that 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) to address the challenge of malnutrition. 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 in all the tribal areas.

Under Mission Poshan 2.0 a new strategy has been made for reduction in malnutrition and  for  improved  health,  wellness  and  immunity  through  activities  like  community engagement, outreach, behavioural change, and advocacy. It focuses on Maternal Nutrition, Infant and Young Child Feeding Norms, treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM)/ Moderate  Acute  Malnutrition  (MAM)  and  wellness  through  Ayush  practices  to  reduce prevalence of wasting, stunting, and being underweight.

Under this mission, Supplementary Nutrition is provided to Children (6 months to 6 years), Pregnant Women, Lactating Mothers and Adolescent Girls to beat the intergenerational  cycle  of  malnutrition  by  adopting  a life cycle  approach.  Supplementary nutrition is provided in accordance with the nutrition norms contained in Schedule-Il of the NFSA. These norms have been revised in January 2023. The old norms were largely caloriespecific; 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. Extra Supplementary Nutrition is provided to Severely Acutely Malnourished (SAM) children as per National Food Security Act (NFSA).

Fortified rice is being supplied to AWCs to meet the requirement of micro-nutrients and to control anemia 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 Take-Home ration at Anganwadi centers.

Ministries  of  Women  &  Child  Development  and  Health  &  Family  Welfare  have  jointly released the protocol for Community Management of Malnutrition (CMAM) to prevent and treat  severely  acute  malnutrition  in  children  and  for  reducing  associated  morbidity  and mortality.

Under this Mission, one of the major activities undertaken is Community Mobilization and Awareness Advocacy 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 sensitization 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 Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, as on date, 2 lakh Anganwadi Centres have been approved to be upgraded as Saksham Anganwadis for improved nutrition delivery and for imparting early childhood care and education. Saksham Anganwadis are provided with better infrastructure than the conventional Anganwadi Centres which includes internet/Wi-Fi connectivity,  LED  screens,  water  purifier/installation  of  RO  Machine  and  smart  learning equipment.

The Government has also taken a policy decision to upgrade all Mini AWCs to a full-fledged Anganwadi Centres with one worker and one helper each to help in carrying out various responsibilities under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 including responsibilities related  to  Early  Childhood  Care  &  Education.  Sanction for upgradation of 1,11,363  Mini AWCs to main AWCs has been issued as on 31.10.2025.

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-I to NFHS-5 are given below:

| NFHS Survey                                                          |   Stunting |   Underweight |   Wasting |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|------------|---------------|-----------|
| NFHS-I (1992-93)                                                     |       52   |          53.4 |      17.5 |
| NFHS-2 (1998-99)                                                     |       45.5 |          47   |      15.5 |
| NFHS-3 (2005-06)                                                     |       48   |          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 Data of children measured in Anganwadis (Oct 2025)*** |       33   |          14   |       5   |

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

The  above  table  about  NFHS-I  to  NFHS-5  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 malnutrition details only about children 0-5 years who are enrolled in the Anganwadis and are measured for height and weight.

The total projected population of all children up to 5 years in India for the year 2021 is 13.75 crores approximately (source: Population Projections for India and States 2011-2036, National Commission on Population, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare). However, only 6.64 crores children up to 5 years were enrolled in Anganwadis and registered on Poshan Tracker of the Ministry  of  Women  & Child  Development as per the  Oct  2025 data.  6.44  crores  of these children were measured on growth parameters of height and weight. 33% of them have been found to be stunted, 14% have been found to be underweight and 5% wasted.

The analysis of the above NFHS data and the Poshan Tracker data shows improvement in malnutrition indicators in children across India. The State/UT wise data on Stunting, wasting and underweight can be accessed from the link: https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics.

Details  of  status  of  funds  released  for  last  five  years  to  States  and  UTS  under  Saksham Anganwadi and Mission Poshan 2.0 are placed at Annexure.

## Annexure

Details of funds released under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 during last five years:

|                     |                                   |                |                |                | (Rs.in Crore)             |
|---------------------|-----------------------------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|---------------------------|
| Name of State       | the 2021-22                       | 2022-23        | 2023-24        | 2024-25        | 2025-26 (Till 31.10.2025) |
|                     | Funds released                    | Funds released | Funds released | Funds released | Funds released            |
| 1                   | Andaman and Nicobar Islands 19.71 | 3.85           | 12.15          | 9.63           | 4.73                      |
| 2Andhra Pradesh     | 744.6                             | 827.79         | 705.68         | 645.73         | 350.41                    |
| 3 Arunachal Pradesh | 170.83                            | 137.78         | 162.06         | 102.61         | 109.66                    |
| 4Assam              | 1319.9                            | 1651.63        | 2233.31        | 2482.34        | 877.5                     |
| 5Bihar              | 1574.43                           | 1740.09        | 1859.29        | 2262.92        | 878.71                    |
| 6Chandigarh         | 15.32                             | 33.1           | 19.79          | 14.56          | 5.94                      |
| 7Chhattisgarh       | 606.73                            | 668.96         | 579.46         | 733.3          | 324.44                    |
| 8DN& DD             | 9.33                              | 5.8            | 11.97          | 9.13           | 3.6                       |
| 9Delhi              | 133.11                            | 182.77         | 161.81         | 160.41         | 131.88                    |
| 10Goa               | 10.84                             | 14.71          | 13.95          | 13.44          | 1 1.16                    |
| 11Gujarat           | 839.86                            | 912.64         | 1126.8         | 601.32         | 337.53                    |
| 12Haryana           | 173.03                            | 195.25         | 225.78         | 232.69         | 43.35                     |
| 13 Himachal Pradesh | 247.99                            | 270.24         | 301.09         | 313.07         | 174.52                    |
| 14 Jammu & Kashmir  | 405.74                            | 479.01         | 530.88         | 662.79         | 256.89                    |
| 15Jharkhand         | 352.98                            | 430.91         | 664.3          | 496.95         | 384.18                    |
| 16Karnataka         | 1003.7                            | 765.87         | 912.96         | 886.85         | 512.35                    |
| 17Kerala            | 388.23                            | 444.98         | 306.64         | 435.74         | 98.77                     |
| 18Ladakh            | 14.7                              | 18.79          | 19.62          | 18.89          | 13.58                     |
| 19Lakshadweep       | 2.11                              | 0.44           | 2.88           | 1.35           | 0.57                      |
| 20Madhya Pradesh    | 1085.47                           | 1011.57        | 1123.11        | 1144.54        | 725.56                    |
| 21Maharashtra       | 1713.39                           | 1646.17        | 1699.52        | 1368.84        | 911                       |
| 22Manipur           | 228.92                            | 135.95         | 201.28         | 342.8          | 133.15                    |
| 23Meghalaya         | 173.33                            | 192.39         | 269.69         | 137.93         | 66.18                     |
| 24Mizoram           | 59.32                             | 42.81          | 100.27         | 55.29          | 32.57                     |
| 25Nagaland          | 159.8                             | 199.3          | 262.91         | 147.01         | 62.67                     |
| 26Odisha            | 1065.98                           | 923.92         | 968.8          | 948,16         | 699 46                    |
| 27Puducherry        | 2.78                              | 0.12           | 4.48           | 3.68           | 2.55                      |
| 28Punjab            | 383.52                            | 75.31          | 307.87         | 265.48         | 124.14                    |
| 29Rajasthan         | 682.65                            | 974.02         | 1091.96        | 741.85         | 640.60                    |
| 30Sikkim            | 25.73                             | 20.33          | 33.49          | 18.07          | 8.93                      |
| 31Tamil Nadu        | 655.38                            | 766.81         | 880.79         | 638.47         | 460.17                    |

| 32Telangana     |   482.33 |   550.69 |   507.87 |   430.76 |    52.21 |
|-----------------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
| 33Tripura       |   186.72 |   150.52 |   244.22 |   153.41 |   123.9  |
| 34Uttar Pradesh |  2407.55 |  2721.87 |  2668.69 |  2694.62 |  1802.49 |
| 35Uttarakhand   |   353.65 |   425.84 |   288.24 |   216.33 |   194.2  |
| 36West Bengal   |   668.35 |  1227.59 |  1237.56 |  1513.8  |  1033.41 |
| Total           | 18368    | 19849.8  | 21741.2  | 20904.8  | 11593.3  |

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