Parliament Question: AWCs with Poor Mobile Connectivity

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 5609 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.03.2026 AWCS WITH POOR MOBILE CONNECTIVITY 5609. SMT. PRIYANKA GANDHI VADRA: Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has received complaints from Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) in areas with poor mobile connectivity regarding their inability to upload details on the POSHAN Tracker app, if so, the details thereof; (b) whether the Government has taken action to identify Anganwadis in areas of poor mobile connectivity and rectify the problem, especially in Wayanad Parliamentary Constituency; (c) whether the Government is considering making exceptions in such areas to ensure that children and pregnant women are not wrongfully denied nutritional supplements, if so, the details thereof; and (d) whether the Government is taking initiatives to improve mobile connectivity at Anganwadis located in such areas, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR) (a) to (d): Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 is an umbrella scheme under the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) to strengthen nutrition services and address the challenge of malnutrition in the country. It is a Centrally Sponsored scheme where the responsibility for implementation of various activities lies with the States and UTs. This Mission includes beneficiaries: children under 6 years of age, pregnant women, lactating mothers and adolescent girls (age 14-18 years in Aspirational Districts and North-Eastern region) in the country. The ‘Poshan Tracker’ digital application has been rolled out as an ICT based governance tool for monitoring and tracking of all activities in the Anganwadi Centres (AWCs), Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and beneficiaries on defined indicators. It has facilitated near real time data collection for Anganwadi Services. It has substantially reduced the administrative work by simplifyingmanual data entry in physical registers and reducing operational challenges. The frontline functionaries are equipped with smartphones to enter the data related to services available under the Mission Poshan 2.0. An amount of ₹2000 per annum is provided to all AWWs across the country as internet connectivity charges. To support AWWs and address network-related issues such as low or no internet connectivity, the Poshan Tracker application has been specifically designed to allow data entry in offline mode. Reporting of daily activities like - opening of AWCs, daily attendance of children, THR and Hot Cooked Meal (HCM) distribution, activities conducted at AWC (Pre-school education, Personal Hygiene sessions) etc. are available in offline mode, independent of server availability. This creates ease of living for the beneficiaries to avail the Anganwadi Services and ease of doing business for AWWs to ensure uninterrupted service delivery. Block and District coordinators provide on-ground handholding support to AWWs and supervisors for effective usage of the Poshan Tracker Application and resolution of technical glitches. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is further ensuring stable broadband/internet connectivity and addressing disparities in telecom penetration in rural & remote areas and bridging the digital divide through the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) in the country. Key initiatives include: i. The BharatNet project provides broadband to Gram Panchayats (GPs) and villages (on demand). ii. Various schemes for high-speed internet/broadband and mobile services (including 4G) in remote areas, such as the North-East, Islands, LWE (Left-Wing Extremism)- affected regions, Aspirational Districts, and border villages. iii. Further, under Amended BharatNet Program (ABP) priority has been given to cover Government institutions including schools, PHCs, Anganwadi centres, Panchayat offices etc. ****