Lok Sabha Question No. 5596 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-27
Subject: POSHAN Abhiyaan in Tamil Nadu
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Malaiyarasan D

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5596

TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.03.2026

## POSHAN ABHIYAAN IN TAMIL NADU

## 5596. SHRI MALAIYARASAN D:

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

- (a) the  details  of  the  initiatives  taken  to  improve  nutritional  status  of  and  children, adolescent girls and mothers under POSHAN Abhiyaan in Tamil Nadu;
- (b) the  number  of  Anganwadi  centres  strengthened/upgraded  under  the  said  Mission including the quality of services provided therein;
- (c) the details of the measures being implemented to monitor malnutrition rates, service delivery and beneficiary satisfaction;
- (d) the  details  of  the  steps  taken  to  increase  awareness  among  communities  about  the importance of nutrition; and
- (e) the  details  of  the  efforts  proposed  to  coordinate  POSHAN  Abhiyaan  with  health, sanitation and education programmes for better outcomes?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (e):  Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0) is a Centrally Sponsored Mission wherein children under 6 years of age, Pregnant women, Lactating mothers and Adolescent girls (age 14-18 years, in Northeastern States and Aspirational Districts) are the  beneficiaries  covered  in  the  whole  country  including  the  state  of  Tamil  Nadu.  The responsibility for implementation of various activities under the Mission lies with the States and UTs. The umbrella Mission has subsumed Anganwadi services, Poshan Abhiyaan and Scheme for Adolescent girls.

The details of the initiatives taken to improve nutritional status of  children, adolescent girls and mothers under Mission Poshan 2.0 in the country including the State of Tamil Nadu are as below:

- 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,  anaemia  and  being underweight.

- Supplementary  Nutrition  is  provided  to  Children  (6  months  to  6  years),  Pregnant Women, Lactating Mothers and Adolescent Girls (age 14-18 years) in accordance with the nutrition norms contained in Schedule-II of the National Food Security Act, 2013. 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.
- Further, Ministries of Women & Child Development and Health & Family Welfare have  jointly  released  the  'Protocol  for  Management  of  Malnutrition  in  Children' to prevent and treat severely acute malnutrition in children.
- Poshan  Vatikas  have  been  developed  at  AWCs  to  encourage  diet-diversity  and consumption of wholesome local produce.
- Under Mission Poshan 2.0, additional nutrition is provided in the form of Take-Home Ration  (THR)  to  the  SAM  Children.  The  State  Government  of  Tamil  Nadu  has implemented 'Uttachathai Uruthi Sei' scheme to reduce malnutrition among children. Under this  scheme,  mothers  of  malnourished  children  below  six  months  of  age  are provided with Nutri Kits to help improve the child's nutritional status.
- o Mothers of severely malnourished children receive two Nutri Kits.
- o Mothers of moderately malnourished children receive one Nutri Kit.

Further, there is a provision of Saksham Anganwadi Centres in the Mission which refers to an upgraded  and  modern  version  of  the  traditional  Anganwadi  Centre  equipped  with  modern digital software and hardware infrastructure including internet/wifi connectivity, LED screens, water purifier/installation of RO machines and smart learning aids, audio-visual aids, childfriendly  learning  equipment  and  artwork  (educational  painting,  practice  board  for  children, information board).  2 lakh AWCs have been approved for five years under Mission Poshan 2.0  for  upgradation  as  Saksham  Anganwadi  Centres,  till  now  1,03,940  AWCs  have  been upgraded.

The Ministry has launched 'Poshan Tracker' digital application, an ICT based governance tool, for monitoring and tracking of all activities in the Anganwadi Centers (AWC), Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and beneficiaries on defined indicators including nutrition. It has facilitated near real time data collection for Anganwadi Services. The application has enabled the Ministry and States & UTs to review the implementation of the scheme on various parameters including health and nutrition status of the children and to make course corrections. For last mile tracking of Service Delivery, Facial Recognition System (FRS) has been introduced in Poshan Tracker Application and to ensure that benefit is given only to the intended beneficiary registered in the  application.  Aadhaar  based  tracking  has  enabled  proper  identification  of  beneficiaries, prevention of leakages and elimination of ghost entries.

Also, Poshan Tracker has a web-based facility to raise grievances related to Mission Poshan 2.0  and  Pradhan  Mantri  Matru  Vandana  Yojana  (PMMVY)  schemes.  Further,  through  the Poshan Helpline (1515) which is an integral part of Mission Poshan 2.0, a beneficiary can raise a concern about the services offered. The helpline is available in 17 languages.

One of the major activities  undertaken  under  the  Mission  is  Community  Mobilization  and Awareness Advocacy to educate people on nutritional aspects. State and UTs are conducting and  reporting  regular  sensitisation  activities  under  Jan  Andolans  during  Poshan  Maah  and Poshan Pakhwada celebrated in the months of September and March-April respectively. Also, 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. A total of 9.8 crore CBEs and more than 150 crore Jan Andolan activities have been conducted since 2018 through 15 Jan Andolans.

To effectively address the issue of malnutrition, cross cutting convergence has been ensured amongst more than 18 Ministries/Departments to adopt a multi-sectoral approach involving dimensions of food, health, water, sanitation and education.

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