Executive Summary:
The Ministry of Women and Child Development addresses Lok Sabha Question No. 2144 regarding the National Nutrition Mission (Poshan Abhiyaan). The response includes state-wise malnutrition data for children under five from the Poshan Tracker (June 2025), details on the monitoring of the scheme, and the effectiveness of the Poshan Tracker application. The Poshan Abhiyaan was launched in March 2018 and has been realigned as part of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0.
Key Points / Main Content:
* **Malnutrition Data:**
* State/UT-wise data on stunting, wasting, and underweight percentages among children under 5 years are provided as per the Poshan Tracker (June 2025). Data from the Sixth round of National Family Health Survey NFHS6 is yet to be published.
* **Poshan Abhiyaan and Mission Poshan 2.0:**
* Poshan Abhiyaan, launched in March 2018, aims to improve the nutritional status of children (0-6 years), adolescent girls, pregnant women, and lactating mothers.
* The Abhiyaan has been realigned as part of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 under the 15th Finance Commission, focusing on strengthening nutritional content, delivery, outreach, and outcomes.
* It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented across all States/UTs.
* **Poshan Tracker Application:**
* Launched on March 1, 2021, it serves as a governance tool under Mission Poshan 2.0 for real-time monitoring at Anganwadi Centers (AWCs).
* It captures data on daily attendance, Early Childhood Care Education (ECCE) activities, growth measurements, Hot Cooked Meal (HCM) provision, and Take Home Ration (THR) distribution.
* It enables dynamic identification of stunting, wasting, and underweight prevalence to improve program effectiveness.
* Beneficiaries receive SMS alerts, and a Facial Recognition System (FRS) ensures transparency in THR distribution.
* A supportive supervision module is available for supervisors to monitor Anganwadi centers.
* **Monitoring and Review Mechanisms:**
* Dashboards with heat maps and analytics are available at block, district, state, and national levels for timely decision-making.
* Regular reviews and consultations (Chintan Shivir, zonal meetings, APIP meetings, video conferences, field visits) are conducted.
* Training workshops and on-ground support by Block and District Coordinators reinforce monitoring and accountability.
Impact Analysis:
* **Children (0-6 years), Adolescent Girls, Pregnant Women, and Lactating Mothers:**
* *Impact:* Improved nutritional status through targeted interventions and real-time monitoring of service delivery at Anganwadi Centers.
* *Action Required:* Beneficiaries to utilize services provided at Anganwadi Centers and adhere to guidelines for nutrition and health.
* **Anganwadi Workers and Supervisors:**
* *Impact:* Enhanced monitoring and data collection responsibilities through the Poshan Tracker application. Supervisors now have a supportive supervision module.
* *Action Required:* Anganwadi workers to accurately record and update data in the Poshan Tracker. Supervisors to use the new supervision module to ensure effective monitoring and support.
* **Government Officials (Block, District, State, and National Levels):**
* *Impact:* Access to real-time data and analytics for informed decision-making and targeted interventions.
* *Action Required:* Utilize dashboards and reports from the Poshan Tracker to identify areas needing improvement, implement corrective actions, and monitor program effectiveness.
Key Entities Referenced
National Nutrition Mission Poshan Abhiyaan: A government initiative aimed at improving the nutritional status of children, adolescent girls, pregnant women, and lactating mothers.
National Family Health Survey: A large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in India to collect data on various health and family welfare indicators.
National Council on India's Nutrition Challenges: A council constituted under Poshan Abhiyaan to provide policy directives related to nutrition.
Poshan Tracker: A mobile application used to collect real-time data and monitor interventions related to nutrition programs at Anganwadi Centers.
Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0: An integrated nutrition support program that includes Poshan Abhiyaan and aims to strengthen nutritional content, delivery, outreach, and outcomes.
Anganwadi Centers: Rural child care centers in India, that provide basic health care, preschool education and supplementary nutrition.
Andhra Pradesh: A state in India, mentioned in the context of malnutrition rates among children under age 5.
Uttar Pradesh: A state in India, mentioned in the context of malnutrition rates among children under age 5.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2144
TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.08.2025
NATIONAL NUTRITION MISSION – POSHAN ABHIYAAN
2144. SHRI TEJASVI SURYA:
Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:
(a) the details of reduction in malnutrition rates among children under age five as measured by
the National Family Health Survey-6, State-wise;
(b) the current status of monitoring of the scheme as well as the policy directives received from
the National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges constituted under Poshan Abhiyaan;
and
(c) the details of the effectiveness of the Poshan tracker application in enabling the collection of
real-time data and intervention?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
(SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)
(a) The data of Sixth round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) is yet to be published. The
percentage of malnutrition among children under age 5 years State/UTs wise as per June 2025 data
of Poshan Tracker is placed at Annexure.
(b) & (c) Poshan Abhiyaan was launched in March 2018 to achieve improvement in nutritional status
of Children from 0-6 years, Adolescent Girls, Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers by adopting
a synergised and result oriented approach.
Under the 15th Finance Commission, Poshan Abhiyaan has been re-aligned as part of Mission
Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, an integrated nutrition support programme that seeks to
strengthen nutritional content, delivery, outreach and outcomes with focus on developing practices
that nurture health, wellness and immunity from malnutrition. This Mission is a Centrally Sponsored
Scheme implemented across all States/UTs.
The ‘Poshan Tracker’ application, launched on 1st March 2021, acts as a key governance tool under
Mission Poshan 2.0 to facilitate real-time monitoring of infrastructure and service delivery at
Anganwadi Centers (AWCs). It captures data on daily attendance, Early Childhood Care Education
(ECCE) activities, growth measurements, and the provision of Hot Cooked Meal (HCM) and Take-
Home Ration (THR). The Tracker also enables dynamic identification of stunting, wasting, and
underweight prevalence, improving program effectiveness through data-based decision-making.Beneficiaries receive SMS alerts, and the recently introduced Facial Recognition System (FRS)
ensures last-mile tracking and transparency in THR distribution.
To strengthen on-ground implementation, a supportive supervision module has been launched for
supervisors to monitor the working of Anganwadi centres under them. Dashboards with heat maps
and analytics are available at block, district, state, and national levels. These tools support timely
decision-making, allow targeted interventions, and highlight data anomalies for correction.
In addition to digital systems, other monitoring mechanism include regular reviews and consultations
such as Chintan Shivir, zonal meetings, APIP meetings, video conferences, and field visits by
officials are conducted from time to time to assess and improve implementation. Training workshops
and on-ground support by Block and District Coordinators further reinforce the monitoring and
accountability framework under Mission Poshan 2.0.
*****Annexure
ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA QUESTION NO. 2144 FOR
01.08.2025 REGARDING “NATIONAL NUTRITION MISSION- POSHAN ABHIYAAN”
ASKED BY SHRI TEJASVI SURYA
The details of percentage of malnutrition among children under age 5 years State/UTs wise as per
June 2025 data of Poshan Tracker are as follows:
S. No. State Stunting% Wasting% Underweight%
1 Andhra Pradesh 18.43 4.97 7.68
2 Arunachal Pradesh 38.38 5.18 11.65
3 Assam 42.94 4.50 16.88
4 Bihar 42.68 9.31 20.98
5 Chhattisgarh 27.10 7.77 14.23
6 Goa 6.18 0.78 1.96
7 Gujarat 32.72 7.28 18.41
8 Haryana 23.41 3.83 7.85
9 Himachal Pradesh 19.68 2.41 6.88
10 Jharkhand 43.26 6.68 19.13
11 Karnataka 39.05 3.18 16.50
12 Kerala 35.75 3.20 10.18
13 Madhya Pradesh 42.09 8.19 24.82
14 Maharashtra 39.68 4.01 14.80
15 Manipur 9.27 0.67 2.69
16 Meghalaya 20.73 1.11 5.14
17 Mizoram 27.33 2.98 6.33
18 Nagaland 28.91 6.08 7.00
19 Odisha 27.91 3.21 11.63
20 Punjab 17.14 2.95 5.12
21 Rajasthan 36.10 6.49 17.57
22 Sikkim 7.89 1.95 1.69
23 Tamil Nadu 14.23 3.54 6.29
24 Telangana 36.24 5.93 17.00
25 Tripura 41.52 7.68 18.01
26 Uttar Pradesh 48.83 5.04 19.96
27 Uttarakhand 23.52 2.47 6.31
28 West Bengal 32.09 4.75 9.00
29 Andaman & Nicobar 6.62 1.66 2.93
Islands
30 Dadra & Nagar Haveli - 38.61 3.56 17.45
Daman & Diu
31 Delhi 30.63 3.81 15.35
32 J&K 15.94 1.55 4.05
33 Ladakh 12.28 0.25 1.98
34 Lakshadweep 44.83 11.62 22.54
35 Puducherry 40.88 6.40 12.20
36 UT-Chandigarh 22.27 5.34 14.69
*****