Lok Sabha Question No. 1096 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-05
Subject: Nutritional Deficiencies
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Eatala Rajender

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1096

TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.12.2025

## NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES

## 1096. SHRI EATALA RAJENDER:

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

- (a) whether nutritional deficiencies below 03 years of age are impossible to reverse in some cases, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether India has made progress in overcoming nutritional deficiencies during the last three decades, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether with the current rate of decline, stunting prevalence (low height for age) is likely to be 10% only by 2075, if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) whether the country can achieve the target by 2047 through double pace, if so, the details thereof along with the corrective steps taken, to meet future targets and the funds sanctioned therefor?

## ANSWER

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

(a)          Evidence  shows  that  nutritional  deficiencies  such  as  childhood  stunting,  wasting, underweight and anemia can be prevented by integrated interventions including appropriate IYCF practices,  nutrition  supplementation,  improving  water,  sanitation,  hygiene  and  appropriate management  of  infections.   Nutrition  Anemia  and  other  micronutrient  deficiencies  can  be effectively reversed by treatment with iron and multiple micronutrients.

Nutrition  goes  beyond  mere  eating  of  food;  it  requires  proper  digestion,  absorption,  and metabolism  of  nutrients.  This  process  is  influenced  by  factors  like  sanitation,  education  and access  to  safe  drinking  water.  As  malnutrition  requires  a  multi-sectoral  approach  involving dimensions of food, health, water, sanitation and education, it is crucial to effectively address the issue  of  malnutrition  in  a  convergent  manner.  It  is  being  addressed  under  Mission  Saksham

Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 by establishing cross cutting convergence amongst more than 18 Ministries/Departments.

To address the challenge of malnutrition, 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). 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 rural and tribal districts of Maharashtra. The objectives of Mission are as follows:

- To contribute to development of human capital in the country;
- Address challenge of malnutrition;
- Promote nutrition awareness and good eating habits for sustainable health and wellbeing

Continuous  efforts  are  being  taken  under  the  mission  to  address  malnutrition  in  the  country including:

- 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.
- 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-II of the National Food Security Act, 2013. These norms have been revised 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, healthy fats and 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  micronutrients 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 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  sensitisation  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.

(b) to (d) To address the challenge of Malnutrition, 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.

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-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 Data (Oct 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.

The 'Poshan Tracker' application was rolled out on 1st March 2021 as an important governance tool.  The  State/UT  wise  data  from  Poshan  Tracker,  on  Stunting,  wasting  and  underweight  is available at the link: https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics.

In  2021,  the  World  Bank  conducted  a  survey  in  11  priority  states  (Andhra  Pradesh,  Bihar, Chhattisgarh,  Gujarat,  Jharkhand,  Karnataka,  Madhya  Pradesh,  Maharashtra,  Rajasthan,  Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh) with the highest rates of anemia and stunting. The aim of this survey was to  assess  the  program's  delivery  of  nutrition  services,  whether  the  nutritional  knowledge  of beneficiaries  had  improved  and  if  they  had  adopted  more  appropriate  nutrition  and  feeding practices.

The findings demonstrated that the services delivered through 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 and found its relevance to be satisfactory for tackling malnutrition in the country.

Various steps have been taken up from time to time to ensure uninterrupted nutrition delivery under Poshan 2.0. Following are some of the initiatives undertaken recently:

- 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 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.
- Poshan  Tracker  an  ICT  tool  has  been  implemented  for  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, daily attendance, ECCE, 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, post-natal care, breastfeeding, and complementary feeding.
- 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.

Besides  these,  the  Ministry  of  Health  and  Family  Welfare  is  implementing  Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) strategy in a life cycle approach  under  National  Health  Mission  (NHM),  which  includes  interventions  to  address malnutrition and anaemia across all States/UTs in the country. One of the interventions is Anaemia Mukt Bharat. To address nutritional deficiencies among children across the country, following interventions are implemented.

- Mothers' Absolute Affection  (MAA) Programme is implemented to improve breastfeeding  coverage  which  includes  early  initiation  of  breastfeeding  and  exclusive breastfeeding for first six months followed by counselling on age-appropriate complementary feeding practices.
- Nutrition Rehabilitation Centers (NRCs) are set up at public health facilities to provide in-patient  medical  and  nutritional  care  to  children  under  5  years  suffering  from  Severe Acute  Malnourishment  (SAM)  with  medical  complications  with  special  focus  on improving the skills of mothers and caregivers on timely, adequate and appropriate feeding for children.
- Under Anaemia Mukt Bharat  (AMB) strategy prophylactic Iron Folic Acid supplementation as biweekly IFA syrup is provided to children (6-59 months) across all States/UTs.
- Lactation  Management  Centres: Lactation  Management  Units  (LMU)  are  facilities established to ensure the availability of Mother's Own Milk or Donor Human Milk for feeding of sick, preterm and low birth weight babies admitted in Intensive Care Units.
- Under National Deworming Day (NDD) albendazole tablets are administered in a single fixed  day  approach  via  schools  and  Anganwadi  centres  in  two  rounds  (February  and August) to reduce the soil transmitted helminth (STH) infestation among all children (1-19 years).
- Vitamin A Supplementation programme is implemented to administer biannual Vitamin A supplementation to all children below five years of age (9-59 months).
- Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Days (VHSNDs) are observed for provision of maternal and child health services and creating awareness on maternal and childcare including nutrition in convergence with Ministry of Women and Child Development.

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