**Executive Summary**
This document is the response from the Minister of State in the Ministry of Women and Child Development to questions raised in Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2260, regarding the Poshan 2.0 program. The questions pertain to data on nutritional outcomes, anaemia, undernutrition in tribal populations, and the impact of Tribal Health/Wellness Centers and Poshan Vatikas. The date the question was asked on is 12.12.2025. The response details the use of the Poshan Tracker application, the status of Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs), and evaluations being conducted by NITI Aayog.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Poshan Tracker Application:**
* The 'Poshan Tracker' application, rolled out on 1st March 2021, monitors Anganwadi Centres (AWCs), Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and beneficiaries.
* It is used to identify stunting, wasting, and underweight prevalence dynamically among children.
* State-wise and district-wise malnutrition indicators are available at [https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics](https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics).
* Details of anaemia prevalence among women (15-49 years) in tribal populations are in Annexure I.
* **Poshan Vatikas/Nutri-gardens:**
* A key component of Mission Poshan 2.0 is enabling nourishment through Poshan Vatikas, providing affordable access to fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
* Poshan Vatikas aim to encourage diet diversity and consumption of local produce.
* **World Bank Survey (2021):**
* A survey in 11 priority states showed that services under Poshan Abhiyaan, including relevant messages, home visits, and community events, improved nutrition behaviors.
* The program's nutrition messages reached over 80% of women, and 81% practiced exclusive breastfeeding for six months.
* **NITI Aayog Evaluations:**
* NITI Aayog conducted evaluations of Poshan Abhiyaan in 2020 and will do so in 2025 for Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, finding them relevant for tackling malnutrition.
* NITI Aayog's Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO) commissioned an evaluation of AAM programme in July 2024.
* **Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs):**
* AAMs (formerly AB-HWCs) aim to provide comprehensive health services, including preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative care.
* As of 31.10.2025, 1,80,906 AAMs have been operationalized by strengthening Sub Health Centres (SHCs) and Primary Health Centres (PHCs).
* AAMs have improved infrastructure, increased community footfall, and improved access to comprehensive primary health care services.
* **Monitoring and Review:**
* The performance of various health programs under NHM is regularly monitored through review meetings, mid-term reviews, and field visits.
* Common Review Missions (CRM) are conducted annually to assess the progress and implementation status.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Tribal Women and Children**
* **Impact:** The data and interventions described directly impact the nutritional status and health outcomes of tribal women and children.
* **Action Required:** Participate in Poshan Abhiyaan activities, utilize Poshan Vatikas, and access healthcare services at AAMs.
**Stakeholder: Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and Anganwadi Centres (AWCs)**
* **Impact:** AWWs are responsible for implementing the Poshan Abhiyaan and utilizing the Poshan Tracker to monitor beneficiaries. AWCs are centers for service delivery.
* **Action Required:** Utilize the Poshan Tracker application, conduct home visits, organize community-based events, and ensure the effective delivery of nutrition services.
**Stakeholder: State Governments and UTs**
* **Impact:** Responsible for the operationalization of AAMs and for providing data on the AAM portal.
* **Action Required:** Strengthen Sub Health Centers (SHCs) and Primary Health Centers (PHCs) to improve access to and delivery of health services.
**Stakeholder: NITI Aayog**
* **Impact:** Charged with evaluating the impact of Poshan Abhiyaan and Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.
* **Action Required:** Continue to conduct evaluations and provide recommendations for improving the effectiveness of these programs.
Key Entities Referenced
POSHAN 2.0: A nutrition program mentioned in the Lok Sabha question and answer, aimed at improving nutritional outcomes among tribal women and children.
Poshan Tracker: A mobile application used for monitoring and tracking Anganwadi Centres, Anganwadi Workers, and beneficiaries, as well as identifying stunting, wasting, and underweight prevalence.
Ministry of Women and Child Development: The ministry responsible for addressing the Lok Sabha question related to nutrition and the Poshan 2.0 program.
NITI Aayog: Government think tank involved in third-party evaluation and impact assessment of Poshan Abhiyaan and Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs) programs.
Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs): Formerly Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs), an initiative to deliver comprehensive healthcare services.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2260
TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.12.2025
POSHAN 2.0
2260. DR. D RAVI KUMAR:
Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government has compiled district-wise data on nutritional outcomes
among tribal women and children under Poshan 2.0 till September, 2025;
(b) if so, details of the prevalence of anaemia and undernutrition among tribal populations
above the national average, State-wise and district-wise;
(c) whether the Ministry has assessed the impact of Tribal Health/Wellness Centres and
Poshan Vatikas in improving these indicators; and
(d) if so, the key findings thereof alongwith the timeline by which such an evaluation report
is expected to be made public?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
(SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)
(a) & (b): The ‘Poshan Tracker’ application was rolled out on 1st March 2021 as an important
governance tool. The Poshan Tracker facilitates monitoring and tracking of all Anganwadi
Centres (AWCs), Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and beneficiaries on defined indicators.
Technology under Poshan Tracker is being leveraged for dynamic identification of stunting,
wasting, underweight prevalence among children. The detail of malnutrition indicators, State-
wise, district-wise, including in tribal districts is available at:
https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics
Details of prevalence of Anaemia among Women (15-49 years) in Tribal Population of India
as per NFHS-5 (2019-2020) are placed in Annexure I.
(c) & (d): A key component of the Mission Poshan 2.0 is to enable the right kind of
nourishment through Poshan Vatikas or Nutri-gardens that are being set up across the countryto provide easy and affordable access to fruits, vegetables, medicinal plants and herbs. To
encourage diet-diversity and consumption of wholesome local produce, Poshan Vatikas have
been developed at AWCs.
Poshan Vatikas help to meet the important dietary diversity gap that has been repeatedly
revealed in different surveys by providing different fruits, nuts, herbs, medicinal plants and
vegetables round the year. The main objective of introducing the concept of Poshan Vatika is
to encourage community members to cultivate local food crops in their backyards. A nutrition
garden ensures an inexpensive, regular and handy supply of fresh fruits and vegetables that are
basic to good nutrition. Green vegetables and seasonal fruits contain vitamins and minerals that
protect against micro-nutrient deficiencies and diseases.
In 2021, the World Bank conducted a survey in 11 priority States (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil
Nadu and Uttar Pradesh) to assess the program’s delivery of nutrition services. The findings
demonstrated that the services delivered under 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 in 2025 for Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 and has found its relevance
to be satisfactory for tackling malnutrition in the country.
Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs) [erstwhile Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness
Centres (AB-HWCs)] is an attempt to move from a selective approach to health care to deliver
comprehensive range of services spanning preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative and
palliative care. It has two components which are complementary to each other. Ayushman
Arogya Mandirs are envisaged to deliver expanded range services that go beyond Maternal and
child health care services to include care for non -communicable diseases, palliative and
rehabilitative care, Oral, Eye and ENT care, mental health and first level care for emergencies
and trauma, including free essential drugs and diagnostic services.
As reported by States/UTs on AAM portal, a total of 1,80,906 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs
(AAMs) [erstwhile Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs)] have been
operationalized by strengthening Sub Health Centres (SHCs) and Primary Health Centres
(PHCs) in India, till 31.10.2025.
Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO), NITI Aayog has commissioned
evaluation of AAM programme in July 2024 assessing its implementation and impact. The
study highlights several encouraging outcomes, including significant improvements in
infrastructure and increased community footfall because of wider access to Comprehensive
Primary Health Care services—especially for NCD management, general Out-PatientDepartment (OPD) care, free medicines and diagnostics. The introduction of Community
Health Officers has strengthened frontline service delivery and digital tools such as e-
Sanjeevani have expanded access to specialist care.
Under NHM, the performance of various health programmes is also regularly monitored in all
the States/UTs, through review meetings, mid-term reviews of key deliverables, field visits of
senior officials, promoting performance by setting up benchmarks for service delivery &
rewarding achievements etc. Also, Common Review Missions (CRM) are conducted annually
to assess and monitor the progress and implementation status under the scheme.
*****Annexure I
ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF LOK SABHA QUESTION NO.
2260 FOR 12.12.2025 REGARDING “POSHAN 2.0” ASKED BY DR. D RAVI KUMAR
The State wise details of prevalence of Anaemia among Women (15-49 years) in Tribal
Population of India as per NFHS-5 (2019-2020) is as follows:
Sr. No.
Anaemia among Women (15-49
States/UTs
years)
1 Andaman & Nicobar Island 30.5
2 Andhra Pradesh 62.6
3 Arunachal Pradesh 36.3
4 Assam 69.2
5 Bihar 64.7
6 Chandigarh 0
7 Chhattisgarh 70.9
8 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 70.9
9 Delhi 51.5
10 Goa 42.5
11 Gujarat 78.3
12 Haryana 64.2
13 Himachal Pradesh 53.8
14 Jammu & Kashmir 68.6
15 Jharkhand 72
16 Karnataka 46.2
17 Kerala 52.9
18 Ladakh 92.4
19 Lakshadweep 24.2
20 Madhya Pradesh 64.2
21 Maharashtra 59.7
22 Manipur 26.8
23 Meghalaya 53.3
24 Mizoram 34.3
25 Nagaland 27.7
26 Odisha 71.7
27 Puducherry 67.3
28 Punjab 54.429 Rajasthan 61.6
30 Sikkim 42.6
31 Tamil Nadu 59
32 Telangana 64
33 Tripura 66.8
34 Uttar Pradesh 51.1
35 Uttarakhand 56
36 West Bengal 82.4
Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
*****