Parliament Question: Anganwadi Services in Hingoli

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 1126 ANSWERED ON 24.07.2026 ANGANWADI SERVICES IN HINGOLI 1126. SHRI AASHTIKAR PATIL NAGESH BAPURAO: Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware that several villages in the tribal and rural areas of Hingoli Parliamentary Constituency are facing shortages of Anganwadi infrastructure, inadequate nutrition supply, vacancies of Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and Helpers (AWHs) and insufficient facilities for pregnant women, lactating mothers and children, if so, the details thereof; (b) the details of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) sanctioned, operational and under construction in Hingoli district during the last five years, along with the number of vacant posts of AWWs, AWHs and Supervisors; (c) whether the Government has conducted any assessment regarding malnutrition, anemia, school readiness and maternal and child health indicators in Hingoli district and if so, the findings thereof; and (d) whether the Government proposes to establish additional AWCs, provide modern infrastructure, improve nutrition supply under Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN-2.0 and fill all vacant posts in the district? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)(a) to (d) Under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, a package of six services i.e Supplementary Nutrition (SNP), Pre-school Non-formal Education, Nutrition & Health Education, Immunization, Health Check-up, and Referral Services are provided to the eligible beneficiaries through Anganwadi Centres. Three of the six services, viz., Immunization, Health check-up and Referral Services are related to health and are provided through National Health Mission (NHM) & Public Health Infrastructure. These services are provided to the eligible registered beneficiaries i.e children up to the age of 6 years, Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers across the country and Adolescent Girls in the age group of 14 to 18 years in Aspirational Districts of States and all districts of North Eastern Region through the platform of Anganwadi Centre. The district wise number of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) is available at the link: https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics. Under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, various steps have been undertaken to improve the infrastructure facilities at Anganwadi Centres (AWCs). During 15th Finance Commission cycle, 40,000 Anganwadi Centres have been sanctioned for construction in convergence with MGNREGS. Further, States/UTs have also been advised to continue to tap funds for construction of AWC buildings from various schemes such as Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), Finance Commission Grants to Panchayati Raj Institutions, Multi- Sectoral Development Programme (MSDP) of Ministry of Minority Affairs, etc. Directions have been issued to States/UTs to co-locate Anganwadi Centres, which are running on rent without sufficient infrastructure, at nearby Primary Schools, where space is available. Guidelines for Co-locating Anganwadi Centres within Government Primary Schools have been issued jointly with Ministry of Education. Under PM-JANMAN (Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan), a total of 2,500 Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) have been sanctioned for construction in PVTG (Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups) areas out of which 178 AWCs has been sanctioned for establishment and construction in the state of Maharashtra including 20 AWCs in Hingoli Parliamentary Constituency. Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA) launched by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) focusses on convergence, outreach and saturation in approximately, 63,843 villages. Under DAGJUA, 875 AWCs have been sanctioned for establishment and construction. Also, in order to improve the infrastructure facilities at AWCs, funds @Rs.17,000/- for providing drinking water facilities and @Rs.36,000/- for construction of toilets are provided to States and UTs. Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 is a Centrally Sponsored scheme. The implementation of the scheme falls under the ambit of State Governments and UTs administration.The matter regarding vacancies and infrastructure is regularly taken up with them through sustained engagements and video conferences so as to ensure uninterrupted delivery of services to the beneficiaries. Hingoli Parliamentary Constituency have 3 Districts namely Hingoli, Nanded and Yavatmal. As per Poshan Tracker data of June 2026, the district wise details of vacant posts at AWW, AWH and Supervisor level is as below: District Supervisor AWW AWH Hingoli 3 18 94 Yavatmal 1 60 280 Nanded 1 142 430 In 2021, the World Bank conducted a survey on Poshan Abhiyaan in 11 priority states. 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 has found its relevance to be satisfactory for tackling malnutrition in the country. NITI Aayog has also got conducted outcome-based evaluation of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 in 2025. Evidence from institutional assessments and household surveys indicated that in its current form, Mission Poshan 2.0 represents the Government’s latest effort to holistically combat malnutrition and promote child development, by building on past programs with a converged and strengthened approach. Further, digitalization has had a multi- dimensional impact on nutrition monitoring, Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), beneficiary authentication, and service delivery efficiency. Nationwide awareness campaigns, such as Poshan Maah and Poshan Pakhwada, have enhanced community participation in nutrition- related initiatives, fostering improved knowledge and behavioural changes toward maternal and child nutrition. Under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, a new strategy has been developed for reduction in malnutrition and for improved health, wellness and immunity through activities like community engagement, outreach, behavioural change and advocacy. It focuses on MaternalNutrition, 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. The Poshan Tracker App 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. *****