Lok Sabha Question No. 1377 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-06
Subject: POSHAN Abhiyaan
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri E T Mohammed Basheer

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 1377

TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.02.2026

## POSHAN Abhiyaan

## 1377.   SHRI E T MOHAMMED BASHEER:

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

- (a). whether the Government is aware that funds under the POSHAN Abhiyaan remain under-utilized in several States, if so, the details thereof;
- (b). the  measures  taken/being  taken  to  strengthen  Anganwadi  services  to  improve nutrition and maternal health outcomes; and
- (c). the amount of funds allocated, released and utilized, State-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a) to (c):   In the 15 th Finance Commission, components of nutritional support for children below the age of 6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers, Adolescent Girls (14 -18 years); Early Childhood Care and Education [3-6 years]; Anganwadi infrastructure including modern, upgraded Saksham Anganwadi, Poshan Abhiyaan and Scheme for Adolescent Girls have been reorganised under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0).

Under Mission Poshan 2.0, two lakh Anganwadi Centres located in Government buildings @40,000 AWCs per year are strengthened as Saksham Anganwadis for delivery of improved nutrition and for Early Childhood Care and Education in the 15 th Finance Commission cycle. Saksham Anganwadis are provided with better infrastructure than the conventional Anganwadi centres with LED screens, water filtration system, Poshan Vatika, ECCE material and BALA paintings.

Under PM JANMAN for the targeted development of 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), a total of 2,500 Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) has been sanctioned for construction across the country.

Under Dharti Abha Janjati Gram Unnat Abhiyan, to improve the socio-economic conditions of tribal communities, 875 AWCs have been sanctioned for construction across the country.

Under VVP (Vibrant Village Programme) - Phase I, focusing on Northern border areas, 101 AWCs have also been sanctioned for construction in the States and UTs concerned.

In  convergence with Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education Guidelines for Co-locating Anganwadi Centres within Government Primary Schools have been jointly launched on 3 rd September, 2025 to strengthen ECCE and Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) services. In places where physical co-location is not possible, AWCs are to be mapped with the nearest primary school.

Under  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Mission  Poshan  2.0,  IT  systems  have  been  leveraged  to strengthen and bring about transparency in nutrition delivery support systems at the Anganwadi Centres (AWCs). 'Poshan Tracker' application was rolled out as an important gov ernance tool under the Mission.

It  facilitates  monitoring  and  tracking  of  all  AWCs,  Anganwadi  Workers  (AWWs)  and beneficiaries on defined indicators. The State and UT wise details of infrastructure and other facilities at Anganwadi Centre are available at the link: https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics.

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 and closing of AWCs, daily attendance of children, growth monitoring of children, Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE) activities, Delivery  of  Hot  Cooked  Meal  (HCM)/Take  Home  Ration  (THR-not  raw  ration),  Growth Measurement  etc.  The  App  also  offers  counselling  videos  on  key  behaviours  and  services which  help  disseminate  messages  on  birth  preparedness,  delivery  of  child,  post-natal  care, breastfeeding  and  complementary  feeding.  Regular  field  level  trainings/workshops  are conducted  directly  for  AWWs  regarding  use  of  the  Poshan  Tracker  Application.  Poshan Tracker also features self-learning videos for AWWs, enabling continuous capacity building and on-the-job learning through digital modules.

Further, for last mile tracking of Service Delivery, Facial Recognition System (FRS) has been developed in Poshan Tracker Application for distribution of Take-Home Ration to ensure that benefit is given only to the intended beneficiary registered in Poshan T racker.

Under Mission Poshan 2.0, there exists a well-structured mechanism for effective implementation of the scheme and their monitoring that includes utilization of funds.

Further, Ministry has also created a dedicated portal for submission of Utilization Certificate (UCs) and Statement of Expenditure (SOE), so as to ensure that all the UCs and SOEs are available at a single place for effective monitoring of funds utilization.

Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 is a Centrally Sponsored scheme. Central Government  is  responsible  for  the  overall  planning  and  policy  under  the  scheme whereas  its  day  to  day  implementation  falls  under  the  ambit  of  State  Government  or  UT administration.

Additionally, the Ministry also monitors the implementation of schemes including utilization of funds through meetings and VCs with the States /UTs at various levels. The State and UT wise details of amount sanctioned and released under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 including Poshan Abhiyaan for FY 2025-26 are placed at ANNEXURE.

## ANNEXURE

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN PART (A) TO (C) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED Q.NO. 1377 FOR ANSWER ON 06.02.2026 REGARDING POSHAN ABHIYAAN BY SHRI E T MOHAMMED BASHEER:

STATE/ UT WISE RELEASE OF FUNDS IN FY 2025-26 UNDER MISSION SAKSHAM ANGANWADI AND POSHAN 2.0:

(Rs.in Lakhs)

|   S.No | STATE /UT        | Amount Sanctioned   | Amount Released/ Mother Sanction issued   |
|--------|------------------|---------------------|-------------------------------------------|
|      1 | ANDHRA PRADESH   | 91,071.51           | 54,132.36                                 |
|      2 | BIHAR            | 2,20,729.95         | 87,871.93                                 |
|      3 | CHHATTISGARH     | 72,679.63           | 42,089.44                                 |
|      4 | GOA              | 1,925.92            | 1,258.28                                  |
|      5 | GUJARAT          | 90,357.19           | 33,753.28                                 |
|      6 | HARYANA          | 41,879.58           | 4,335.05                                  |
|      7 | HIMACHAL PRADESH | 39,184.58           | 27,081.24                                 |
|      8 | JAMMU &KASHMIR   | 70,230.78           | 41,257.18                                 |
|      9 | JHARKHAND        | 73,019.94           | 47,392.70                                 |
|     10 | KARNATAKA        | 1,07,667.69         | 62,409.85                                 |
|     11 | KERALA           | 41,557.95           | 20,456.49                                 |
|     12 | MADHYA PRADESH   | 1,64,512.03         | 1,20,482.45                               |
|     13 | MAHARASHTRA      | 1,59,662.65         | 1,08,859.92                               |
|     14 | ODISHA           | 1,01,094.94         | 83,124.02                                 |
|     15 | PUNJAB           | 42,418.21           | 12,414.89                                 |
|     16 | RAJASTHAN        | 99,831.89           | 75,800.69                                 |
|     17 | TAMIL NADU       | 75,955.08           | 55,131.48                                 |
|     18 | TELANGANA        | 54,006.41           | 17,692.30                                 |
|     19 | UTTAR PRADESH    | 3,85,848.94         | 2,66,054.11                               |
|     20 | UTTARAKHAND      | 48,332.55           | 23,341.93                                 |

|   21. | WEST BENGAL       | 1,90,471.76   | 1,27,966.94   |
|-------|-------------------|---------------|---------------|
|    22 | DELHI             | 22,697.72     | 15,192.92     |
|    23 | PUDUCHERRY        | 1,243.69      | 569.26        |
|    24 | ANDAMAN& NICOBAR  | 1,589.71      | 542.12        |
|    25 | CHANDIGARH        | 1,575.07      | 756.29        |
|    26 | DNH&DD            | 1,583.23      | 591.50        |
|    27 | LADAKH            | 2,355.52      | 1,358.99      |
|    28 | LAKSHADWEEP       | 279.54        | 57.39         |
|    29 | ARUNACHAL PRADESH | 18,727.38     | 11,532.03     |
|    30 | ASSAM             | 1,97,869.31   | 1,06,345.71   |
|    31 | MANIPUR           | 30,555.95     | 19,729.46     |
|    32 | MEGHALAYA         | 23,228.92     | 11,516.43     |
|    33 | MIZORAM           | 8,113.67      | 5,022.98      |
|    34 | NAGALAND          | 24,952.28     | 8,888.49      |
|    35 | SIKKIM            | 3,903.25      | 1,833.46      |
|    36 | TRIPURA           | 23,819.72     | 14,140.40     |

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