Parliament Question: Child malnutrition and Anganwadi infrastructure in Madhya Pradesh

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT RAJYA SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO: 4320 TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.04.2026 CHILD MALNUTRITION AND ANGANWADI INFRASTRUCTURE IN MADHYA PRADESH 4320. SHRI VIVEK K. TANKHA Will the MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state: (a) the prevalence of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) among children in aspirational districts of Madhya Pradesh during the years 2024 and 2025; (b) the number of Anganwadi Centres in Madhya Pradesh functioning without their own buildings or lacking basic facilities such as toilets and drinking water; (c) whether any proposal to revise the honorarium structure of Anganwadi workers has been examined during the last two years; and (d) the status of implementation and any available assessment of the fortified rice distribution programme with respect to nutritional outcomes among women? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR) (a) to (d): The details of prevalence of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) among children under 5 years in aspirational districts of Madhya Pradesh during the years 2024 and 2025 are available at the Poshan Tracker public dashboard at given link: https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics. The details of infrastructure available at Anganwadi centres in the State of Madhya Pradesh are available at Poshan Tracker public dashboard at the given link: https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics Under the Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and Anganwadi Helpers (AWHs) are honorary workers from the local community who voluntarily render services in the field of childcare and development to support the welfare of the community, for which they are paid an honorarium. The honorarium payable to AWWs and AWHs is revised from time to time. With effect from 1st October 2018, the Government ofIndia enhanced the monthly honorarium of AWWs at Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) from ₹3,000 to ₹4,500, and that of AWHs from ₹1,500 to ₹2,250, as per the prescribed cost-sharing ratio between the Centre and the States and UTs. In addition, performance-linked incentives of ₹500 per month for AWWs and ₹250 per month for AWHs are also provided. Under the Mission, Supplementary Nutrition is provided to Children (6 months to 6 years), Pregnant Women, Lactating Mothers and Adolescent Girls. Fortified rice was being supplied to AWCs to meet the requirement of micro-nutrients and to control anemia among women and children. A third-party evaluation and impact assessment of Poshan Abhiyaan was conducted by NITI Aayog in 2020 and it 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. *****