Lok Sabha Question No. 2192 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-07-29
Subject: Performance under ICDS
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: M. K. RAGHAVAN

## 2192. SHRI M.K. RAGHAVAN:

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  identified  parameters  for  Sustainable    Development  Goal  (SDG) performance under Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the measures taken by the Government to achieve the goal under ICDS?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF  WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI KRISHNA RAJ)

(a)  to  (c):    The  Development  Agenda  for  2016-2030  of  United  Nations,  articulating    the  Sustainable Development  Goals  (SDGs),  was  adopted  and  signed  by  Government  of  India  in  September,  2015.    The SDGs  comprise  of  17  goals  and  169  targets.    The  Goals  2  and  3  relate  to  improvement  in  nutrition  and ensuring healthy lives & promoting well-being for all at all ages respectively.

The Food and Nutrition Board of this Ministry, through its regional field units, is engaged in conducting training  programmes  in  nutrition,  in  addition  to  advocacy  towards  generating  awareness  through  nutrition education  programmes  on  the  importance  of  healthy  balanced  diets  especially  through  the  use  of  locally available foods, mass awareness campaigns and use of electronic and print media.

The  comprehensive  package  of  services  presently  provided  under  ICDS  encapsulates  integrated provisions for health, nutrition and stimulation to support the beneficiaries.

The  Supplementary Nutrition  (SNP) is one of  the  services  provided under the  ICDS  Scheme which is primarily designed to bridge the gap between the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) and the Average Daily Intake (ADI). The SNP is given to the children (6 months - 6 years) and pregnant women & lactating mothers under the ICDS Scheme. The details of SNP provided to different category of beneficiaries as per the norms issued on 24-02-2009 are as under:-

|   Sl.No. | Category              | Type of food                                        |
|----------|-----------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Children (0-6 months) | Exclusive breastfeeding for first 6 months of life. |

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOEMN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2192 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.07.2016

## PERFORMANCE UNDER ICDS

|   2. | Children (6-36 months)                       | Take Home Ration containing 500 calories of energy and 12-15 gms. of protein in the form that is palatable to the child. It could be given in the form of micro- nutrient fortified food and/or energy dense food.   |
|------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|    3 | Severely malnourished children (6-36 months) | Food supplement of 800 calories of energy and 20-25 gms. of protein in the form of micronutrient fortified food and / or energy - dense Food as Take Home Ration.                                                    |
|    4 | Children (3-6 years)                         | Food supplement of 500 calories of energy and 12-15 gms. of protein per child per day. Morning snack in the form of milk / banana / seasonal fruits etc. and Hot Cooked Meal.                                        |
|    5 | Severely malnourished children (3-6 years)   | Additional 300 calories of energy and 8-10 gms. of protein (in addition to 500 calories of energy and 12-15 gms. of protein given at AWC) in the form of micro-nutrient fortified food and/or energy dense food.     |
|    6 | Pregnant women and Nursing mothers           | Take Home Ration as food supplement of 600 calories of energy and 18-20 gms. of protein per beneficiary per day in the form of micro-nutrient fortified food and / or energy dense food.                             |

The following is some of the physical progress made under ICDS Scheme in the last four years i.e. 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 & 2015-16, as on 30.09.2015.

- (i) Number  of  beneficiaries  [children  (6  months  to  6  years)  and  pregnant  &  lactating  mothers]  for supplementary nutrition increased from 956.12 lakh to 1030.14 lakh during last four years;
- (ii) Number of beneficiaries [children (3-6 years) for pre-school education increased from 353.29 lakh to 354.05 lakh during last four years.
- (iii) Number  of  projects  increased  from  7025  to  7072  and  number  of  Anganwadi  Centres increased from 1338732 to 1349091 during the last four years.

## Inputs on Millennium Development Goal, Targets & Indicators (Data Source Wise) in respect of ICDS Scheme

Integrated  Child  Development  Services  [ICDS]  Scheme  is  a  centrally  sponsored  Scheme  being implemented  by  the  State  Governments/UT  Administrations.  The  scheme  aims  at  holistic  development  of children below 6 years of age, pregnant women and lactating mothers by providing a package of six services comprising  (i)  Supplementary  nutrition;  (ii)  Immunization;  (iii)  Health  check-up;  (iv)  Referral  services;  (v)  Preschool non-formal education; and (vi) Nutrition & health education are provided to the targeted beneficiaries i.e. all children below 6 years, Pregnant and Lactating Mothers. Three of the six services namely Immunisation, Health  Check-up  and  Referral  Services  are  delivered  through  Public  Health  Infrastructure  under  the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

There are 14 lakh approved Anganwadi Centres and 7076 ICDS Projects in the country . The Scheme is universal and applicable to all the beneficiaries irrespective of any economic or other criteria. The services are provided at the AWCs through the Anganwadi Worker and Anganwadi Helper.

While  continuing the  ICDS  Scheme  during  the  XII  Plan,  Government  of  India  approved  the Restructuring and Strengthening of ICDS Scheme. The goals and target of restructured and strengthened ICDS are  (i)  to  prevent  and  reduce  young  child  under  nutrition  by  10  %  points  in  0-3  years  and  enhance  early development and learning outcomes in all children below six years of age (ii) improved care and nutrition of girls and women and to reduce anaemia prevalence in young children, girls and women by 1/5 th  and (iii) achieve time bound goals and outcomes with results based monitoring of indicators at different levels.

Consequent to restructuring and strengthening of the ICDS Scheme, the existing package of services under the Scheme were reformatted. Care & Nutrition counselling [including (i) Infant & Young Child Feeding (IYCF) Promotion and Counselling, (ii) Maternal Care and Counselling, (iii) Care, Nutrition, Health & Hygiene Education  and  (iv)  Community  based  care  and  management    of  underweight  children]  and  Health  Services [including (i) Immunization and micronutrient supplementation, (ii) Health Check-up and (iii) Referral Services] for children in the age group of    0-6 years and Pregnant and Lactating mothers, have been included in the core package of ICDS services.

The  comprehensive  package  of  services  presently  provided  under  ICDS  encapsulates  integrated provisions for health, nutrition and stimulation to support the beneficiaries.

The Supplementary Nutrition (SNP) is one of the services provided under the ICDS Scheme which is primarily  designed  to  bridge  the  gap  between  the  Recommended  Dietary  Allowance  (RDA)  and  the  Average Daily  Intake  (ADI).  The  SNP  is  given  to  the  children  (6  months  -  6  years)  and  pregnant  women  &  lactating mothers under the ICDS Scheme. The details of SNP provided to different category of beneficiaries as per the norms issued on 24-02-2009 are as under:-

|   Sl.No. | Category                                     | Type of food                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
|----------|----------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Children (0-6 months)                        | Exclusive breastfeeding for first 6 months of life.                                                                                                                                                                |
|        2 | Children (6-36 months)                       | Take Home Ration containing 500 calories of energy and 12-15 gms. of protein in the form that is palatable to the child. It could be given in the form of micro- nutrient fortified food and/or energy dense food. |
|        3 | Severely malnourished children (6-36 months) | Food supplement of 800 calories of energy and 20-25 gms. of protein in the form of micronutrient fortified food and / or energy - dense Food as Take Home Ration.                                                  |

|   4. | Children (3-6 years)                       | Food supplement of 500 calories of energy and 12-15 gms. of protein per child per day. Morning snack in the form of milk / banana / seasonal fruits etc. and Hot Cooked Meal.                                    |
|------|--------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|    5 | Severely malnourished children (3-6 years) | Additional 300 calories of energy and 8-10 gms. of protein (in addition to 500 calories of energy and 12-15 gms. of protein given at AWC) in the form of micro-nutrient fortified food and/or energy dense food. |
|    6 | Pregnant women and Nursing mothers         | Take Home Ration as food supplement of 600 calories of energy and 18-20 gms. of protein per beneficiary per day in the form of micro- nutrient fortified food and / or energy dense food.                        |

The following is some of the physical progress made under ICDS Scheme in the last four years i.e. 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 & 2015-16, as on 30.09.2015.

- (iv) Number  of  beneficiaries  [children  (6  months  to  6  years)  and  pregnant  &  lactating  mothers]  for supplementary nutrition increased from 956.12 lakh to 1030.14 lakh during last four years;
- (v) Number of beneficiaries [children (3-6 years) for pre-school education increased from 353.29 lakh to 354.05 lakh during last four years.
- (vi) Number of projects increased from 7025 to 7072 and number of Anganwadi Centres increased from 1338732 to 1349091 during the last four years.

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