Parliament Question: Implementation of POSHAN

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA Unstarred Question no. 1124 To be answered on 24.07.2026 Implementation of POSHAN 1124. Shri Sachithanantham R: Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state: (a) whether despite the implementation of POSHAN Abhiyaan and other nutrition interventions, the National Family Health survey (NFHS-5) and subsequent Government data continue to show that over one-third of children under five are stunted and anaemia among women and children remains very high; (b) if so, the details thereof; (c) whether the Government has undertaken assessment of the reasons for these persistent outcomes along with the corrective measures proposed to achieve the nutrition targets; and (d) if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR) (a) to (d): Malnutrition is a complex and multi-dimensional issue, affected mainly by a number of generic factors including poverty, inadequate food consumption due to access and availability issues, poor maternal infant and child feeding and care practices, poor sanitary and environmental conditions, etc. 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. The issue is being addressed under the Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0) by establishing cross cutting convergence amongst more than 18 Ministries/Departments. Further, various rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) have shown improvement in malnutrition indicators in children across the country. Details of these indicators for children since NFHS-1 to NFHS-6 are given below:NFHS Survey Stunting % NFHS-1 (1992-93) * 52 NFHS-2 (1998-99) ** 45.5 NFHS-3 (2005-06) *** 48.0 NFHS-4 (2015-16) *** 38.4 NFHS-5 (2019-21) *** 35.5 NFHS-6 (2023-24) *** 29.3 Poshan Tracker Data of children measured in Anganwadi (June 2026) *** 29.30 * Under 4 years ** Under 3 years *** Under 5 years MoHFW also keeps record of data of children and women suffering from anaemia. As per NFHS- 5 (2019-21) the prevalence of anaemia is 67.1 percent in children aged 6-59 months and the prevalence of anaemia in women aged 15-49 years is 57 percent. As a whole of Government approach, high priority has been accorded to the issues of malnutrition in the country. Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) and Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSE&L) are continuously undertaking targeted interventions to improve the health and nutritional status of children in the country. Mission Poshan 2.0 is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) to address the challenges of malnutrition in the country. The responsibility for implementation of various activities lies with the States and UTs. Regular reviews are done by Ministry utilising the ‘Poshan Tracker’ digital application. It has facilitated monitoring and tracking of near real time activities at nearly 14 lakh AWCs in the country. The details are available at the link of Poshan Tracker Public Dashboard: https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics. Also, review meetings of states and UTs are being done regularly through video conferencing. A third-party evaluation and impact assessment of Poshan Abhiyaan was conducted by NITI Aayog in 2020 and also in 2025 and has found its relevance to be satisfactory for tackling malnutrition in the country. Under Mission Poshan 2.0, various measures have taken by the MoWCD to improve nutritional outcomes: • Supplementary Nutrition is provided to Children (6 months to 6 years), Pregnant Women, Lactating Mothers and Adolescent Girls in accordance with the nutrition norms contained in Schedule-II of the National Food Security Act, 2013. Additional Nutrition is also provided to Severely Acute Malnourished (SAM) children in form of Take-Home Ration (THR).• One of the major activities undertaken is Community Mobilization and Awareness Advocacy in the form of Jan Andolans (Poshan Pakhwada and Poshan Maah-annually celebrated in the months of September and March-April, respectively) to educate people on nutritional aspects as adoption of good nutrition habit requires sustained efforts for behavioural change. • The ‘Poshan Tracker’ application has been rolled out as an important governance tool, facilitating dynamic identification of stunting, wasting, underweight prevalence among children. • To encourage diet-diversity and consumption of wholesome local produce, Poshan Vatikas have been developed at Anganwadi Centres (AWCs). The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare implements Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) strategy in a life cycle approach under National Health Mission (NHM). This includes interventions to address nutrition concerns among adolescent girls, pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under 5 years, across the country. Details are placed below: • Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) addresses the high prevalence of anemia through the 7X7X7 strategy covering seven beneficiary age groups and seven interventions through robust institutional mechanisms. • Nutrition Rehabilitation centers (NRCs) to provide in-patient medical and nutritional care to children under 5 years suffering from Moderate and Severe Acute Malnourishment with medical complications. • Mothers' Absolute Affection (MAA) Programme to improve breastfeeding coverage. • Lactation Management Centres to ensure availability of safe, pasteurized Donor Human Milk for feeding of sick, preterm and low birth weight babies admitted in Neonatal Intensive Care Units and Special Newborn Care Units. • Under National Deworming Day (NDD) albendazole tablets are administered to reduce the Soil Transmitted Helminth (STH) infestation.• 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. *****