Lok Sabha Question No. 1050 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-05
Subject: Child and Maternal Nutrition Schemes
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Mohite Patil Dhairyasheel Rajsinh, Shri Bhaskar Murlidhar Bhagare

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1050 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.12.2025

## CHILD AND MATERNAL NUTRITION SCHEMES

## 1050.   SHRI MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH: SHRI BHASKAR MURLIDHAR BHAGARE:

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

- (a) whether the Government has developed any special nutrition guidelines/meal plans tailored to the nutritional deficiencies prevalent in tribal regions of Maharashtra, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the number of beneficiaries covered under the mid-day meal programme/anganwadi- based nutrition support in rural and tribal districts of Maharashtra during the last three years, district-wise;
- (c) the details of funds allocated, released/utilized for child and maternal nutrition schemes in said State during the last three years along with details of distribution in rural/tribal regions, district wise;
- (d) whether the Government has conducted any impact assessment studies/ nutritional surveys in said State to evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions in reducing malnutrition, if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the  details  of  the  steps  taken  to  address  issues  like  supply  chain  delays,  poor  meal quality/lack of trained workers in rural and tribal Anganwadi Centres/schools in said State?

## ANSWER

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

(a)        Under Mission Poshan 2.0, Supplementary Nutrition is provided to Children (6 months to 6 years), Pregnant Women, Lactating Mothers and Adolescent Girls. Supplementary nutrition is provided in accordance with the nutrition norms contained in Schedule-II of the National Food Security Act. These norms have been revised and upgraded 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, (Cereal: Pulse ratio of at least 2:1), healthy fats and 7 essential  micronutrients  (Calcium,  Zinc,  Iron,  Dietary  Folate,  Vitamin-A,  Vitamin-B6  and Vitamin B-12). Further, 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 AWCs.

Further, Ministry vide notification dated 12th September, 2022 issued Integrated Nutrition Support Programme -  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  (2.0),  Rules  2022  to  regulate  the  entitlements specified under the provisions of National Food Security Act, 2013 for every pregnant woman and lactating mother, till six months after childbirth and every child in the age group of six months to six years.

The  Mission  2.0  is  being  implemented  in  the  whole  country  including  all  tribal  regions  of Maharashtra.

- (b)        The number of beneficiaries covered under Mission 2.0 in all the districts of Maharashtra is available at the link: https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics. Further, the number of beneficiaries covered under the mid-day meal programme in Maharashtra is attached at Annexure I.
- (c)        Details of funds provided to the State of Maharashtra under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Mission Poshan 2.0 have been provided in Annexure II.
- (d)        The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India. It provides report on fertility, infant and child mortality, the practice of family planning, maternal and child health, reproductive health, nutrition, anaemia, utilization and quality of health and family planning services. 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 from 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   |            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 |        |  14.41 |   5.03 |

* Under 4 years

- ** Under 3 years

*** Under 5 years

The analysis of the above NFHS data and the Poshan Tracker data shows improvement in malnutrition indicators in children across the country including the State of Maharashtra.

Further details on malnutrition indicators in children the State of Maharashtra are available on Poshan Tracker in the following link: https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics

In 2021, the World Bank conducted a survey in 11 priority States (including Maharashtra) to assess the program's delivery of nutrition services. The findings demonstrated that the services delivered under the Poshan Abhiyaan -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.

A third-party  evaluation  and  impact  assessment  of  Poshan  Abhiyaan  was  conducted  by  NITI Aayog in 2020 and in 2025 for Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 and has found its relevance to be satisfactory for tackling malnutrition in the country including Maharashtra.

(e)         Various  steps  have  been  taken  up  from  time  to  time  to  ensure  uninterrupted  nutrition delivery under Mission Poshan 2.0 in all the States/UTs including Maharashtra as below:

- The  'Poshan  Tracker'  application  was  rolled  out  on  1st  March  2021  as  an  important governance tool. The Poshan Tracker facilitates  monitoring and tracking of all AWCs, AWWs and beneficiaries on defined indicators. Technology under Poshan Tracker is being leveraged for dynamic identification of stunting, wasting, under-weight 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-not raw ration), Growth Measurement etc.
- For last mile tracking of Service Delivery, Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) has developed Facial Recognition System (FRS) for distribution of Take-Home Ration to ensure that benefit is given only to the intended beneficiary registered in Posha n Tracker.
- 2 lakh Anganwadi Centres have been approved to be upgraded as Saksham Anganwadis for improved nutrition delivery and for imparting early childhood care and development. 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  equipments.  A  total  of  14,475 Anganwadis have been approved for upgradation to Saksham Anganwadis in the State of Maharashtra.

- The  PM  JANMAN  Mission  launched  by  Ministry  of  Tribal  Affairs  aims  for  targeted development of 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) residing in 18 States and a UT. This Mission focuses on 11 critical interventions related to 9 key Ministries including Ministry of Women and Child Development. As on 30 th November 2025, a total of  2500  AWCs  have  been  approved  for  construction  under  PM  JANMAN  across  the country. A total of 178 number of AWCs have been approved for construction under PM JANMAN in the State of Maharashtra.
- Ministry  of  Tribal  Affairs  has  launched  Dharti  Aaba  Janjati  Gram  Unnat  Abhiyan (DAJGUA) aimed at improving the socio-economic condition of tribal communities by adopting  saturation  coverage  of  tribal  families  in  tribal  majority  areas  and  aspirational block ST villages.
- Under the Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi (PBPB) initiative, the Ministry is imparting training to all the officials and field functionaries in the States/ UTs through a cascading model of training,  wherein  Master  Trainers  (namely,  District  Officers,  Block  Coordinators  and Supervisors) are trained, and the master trainers further train all Anganwadi Workers in the field. As on 30 th  November 2025, 8,95,814 AWWs have been trained across the country. A total of 88,652 number of Anganwadis have been trained under the initiative in the State of Maharashtra.

****

ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF LOK SABHA QUESTION NO. 1050 FOR 05.12.2025 REGARDING 'CHILD AND MATERNAL NUTRITION SCHEMES' ASKED BY SHRI MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH AND SHRI BHASKAR MURLIDHAR BHAGREE

The Number of beneficiaries covered under the Mid Day Meal programme/Anganwadi-based nutrition support in rural and tribal districts of Maharashtra during last 3 years, district wise

Pradhan  Mantri  Poshan  Shakti  Nirman  Scheme  (previously  known  as  "Mid  Day  Meal scheme") is a centrally sponsored scheme implemented in Maharashtra since 1995. Students of 1 to 8th standard studying in Govt., Local Body, Govt. Aided Schools, Madarsa/Maktaba and STC (NCLP) are covered. Under this scheme meal is served containing 450 calories and 12 gms protein and 700 calories and 20 gms protein for the students of 1 to 5th standard and 6th to 8th standard respectively. Five types of nutritional slices made from rice, millet, jowar, gram and soybean as the main ingredients and other ingredients have been distributed in the state under this initiative.

## Number of beneficiaries covered under Nutrition support in rural and tribal (per year)-

Year 2023-24- No of 1215016 beneficiaries given benefits for 75 days.

Year 2024-25- No of 1215016 beneficiaries given benefits for 42 days.

Year 2025-26- Proposed beneficiaries 1475530 for 40 days (In process)

|   Sr.No. | District   | Block                                                                    |   class 1 to 5 |   class 6 to 8 |   Total |
|----------|------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------|----------------|---------|
|        1 | Amaravati  | Chikhaldhara &Dharni                                                     |          22546 |          10279 |   32825 |
|        2 | Pune       | Ambegaon &Junner                                                         |           5448 |           2684 |    8132 |
|        3 | Nashik     | Kalvan, Surgana, Baglan, Peth, Dindori, Igatpuri, Nashik & Trimbakeshwar |          98182 |          50043 |  148225 |
|        4 | Nandurbar  | All Blocks                                                               |         115448 |              0 |  115448 |
|        5 | Dhule      | Shirpur &Sakri                                                           |          34627 |          15093 |   49720 |

| 6     | Gadchiroli   | All Blocks                 |   59597 |   30734 |   90331 |
|-------|--------------|----------------------------|---------|---------|---------|
| 7     | Chandrapur   | Rajura, Korpana &Jiwati    |   16230 |    9716 |   25946 |
| 8     | Palghar      | All Blocks                 |  125656 |  108845 |  234501 |
| 9     | Thane        | Murbad, Bhivandi &Shahapur |   28705 |   13618 |   42323 |
| 10    | Nanded       | Kinvat &Mahur              |   12429 |    6094 |   18523 |
| 11    | Jalgaon      | Rawer                      |   31634 |    1093 |   32757 |
| 12    | Ahilyanagar  | Akole                      |    7938 |    2719 |   10657 |
| 13    | Yavatmal     | All Blocks                 |   13558 |  102501 |  116059 |
| 14    | Dharashiv    | All Blocks                 |  103777 |   65829 |  169606 |
| 15    | Washim       | All Blocks                 |   70688 |   49275 |  119963 |
| Total | Total        | Total                      |  746493 |  468523 | 1215016 |

| Name of the States/UTFY 2022-2023FY   |         |   2023-2024FY |   2024-2025 |
|---------------------------------------|---------|---------------|-------------|
| Maharashtra                           | 1646.17 |       1699.52 |     1368.84 |

***

## Annexure II

ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (c) OF LOK SABHA QUESTION NO. 1050 FOR 05.12.2025 REGARDING 'CHILD AND MATERNAL NUTRITION SCHEMES' ASKED BY SHRI MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH AND SHRI BHASKAR MURLIDHAR BHAGREE

The detail of funds released to the State of Maharashtra under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 is as follows:

Rs. in Crore