Parliament Question: POSHAN Abhiyaan in Tamil Nadu

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5596 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.03.2026 POSHAN ABHIYAAN IN TAMIL NADU 5596. SHRI MALAIYARASAN D: Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state: (a) the details of the initiatives taken to improve nutritional status of and children, adolescent girls and mothers under POSHAN Abhiyaan in Tamil Nadu; (b) the number of Anganwadi centres strengthened/upgraded under the said Mission including the quality of services provided therein; (c) the details of the measures being implemented to monitor malnutrition rates, service delivery and beneficiary satisfaction; (d) the details of the steps taken to increase awareness among communities about the importance of nutrition; and (e) the details of the efforts proposed to coordinate POSHAN Abhiyaan with health, sanitation and education programmes for better outcomes? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR) (a) to (e): Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0) is a Centrally Sponsored Mission wherein children under 6 years of age, Pregnant women, Lactating mothers and Adolescent girls (age 14-18 years, in Northeastern States and Aspirational Districts) are the beneficiaries covered in the whole country including the state of Tamil Nadu. The responsibility for implementation of various activities under the Mission lies with the States and UTs. The umbrella Mission has subsumed Anganwadi services, Poshan Abhiyaan and Scheme for Adolescent girls. The details of the initiatives taken to improve nutritional status of children, adolescent girls and mothers under Mission Poshan 2.0 in the country including the State of Tamil Nadu are as below: • Under Mission Poshan 2.0, a new strategy has been made for reduction in malnutrition and for improved health, wellness and immunity through activities like community engagement, outreach, behavioural change and advocacy. It focuses on Maternal Nutrition, Infant and Young Child Feeding Norms, treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM)/ Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) and wellness throughAYUSH practices to reduce prevalence of wasting, stunting, anaemia and being underweight. • Supplementary Nutrition is provided to Children (6 months to 6 years), Pregnant Women, Lactating Mothers and Adolescent Girls (age 14-18 years) in accordance with the nutrition norms contained in Schedule-II of the National Food Security Act, 2013. Greater emphasis is being laid on the use of millets at least once a week for preparation of Hot Cooked Meal and Take-Home ration at Anganwadi Centers. • Further, Ministries of Women & Child Development and Health & Family Welfare have jointly released the ‘Protocol for Management of Malnutrition in Children’ to prevent and treat severely acute malnutrition in children. • Poshan Vatikas have been developed at AWCs to encourage diet-diversity and consumption of wholesome local produce. • Under Mission Poshan 2.0, additional nutrition is provided in the form of Take-Home Ration (THR) to the SAM Children. The State Government of Tamil Nadu has implemented “Uttachathai Uruthi Sei” scheme to reduce malnutrition among children. Under this scheme, mothers of malnourished children below six months of age are provided with Nutri Kits to help improve the child’s nutritional status. o Mothers of severely malnourished children receive two Nutri Kits. o Mothers of moderately malnourished children receive one Nutri Kit. Further, there is a provision of Saksham Anganwadi Centres in the Mission which refers to an upgraded and modern version of the traditional Anganwadi Centre equipped with modern digital software and hardware infrastructure including internet/wifi connectivity, LED screens, water purifier/installation of RO machines and smart learning aids, audio-visual aids, child- friendly learning equipment and artwork (educational painting, practice board for children, information board). 2 lakh AWCs have been approved for five years under Mission Poshan 2.0 for upgradation as Saksham Anganwadi Centres, till now 1,03,940 AWCs have been upgraded. The Ministry has launched ‘Poshan Tracker’ digital application, an ICT based governance tool, for monitoring and tracking of all activities in the Anganwadi Centers (AWC), Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and beneficiaries on defined indicators including nutrition. It has facilitated near real time data collection for Anganwadi Services. The application has enabled the Ministry and States & UTs to review the implementation of the scheme on various parameters including health and nutrition status of the children and to make course corrections. For last mile tracking of Service Delivery, Facial Recognition System (FRS) has been introduced in Poshan Tracker Application and to ensure that benefit is given only to the intended beneficiary registered in the application. Aadhaar based tracking has enabled proper identification of beneficiaries, prevention of leakages and elimination of ghost entries. Also, Poshan Tracker has a web-based facility to raise grievances related to Mission Poshan 2.0 and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) schemes. Further, through the Poshan Helpline (1515) which is an integral part of Mission Poshan 2.0, a beneficiary can raise a concern about the services offered. The helpline is available in 17 languages.One of the major activities undertaken under the Mission is Community Mobilization and Awareness Advocacy to educate people on nutritional aspects. State and UTs are conducting and reporting regular sensitisation activities under Jan Andolans during Poshan Maah and Poshan Pakhwada celebrated in the months of September and March-April respectively. Also, Community Based Events (CBEs) have served as a significant strategy in changing nutritional practices and all Anganwadi workers are required to conduct two Community Based Events every month. A total of 9.8 crore CBEs and more than 150 crore Jan Andolan activities have been conducted since 2018 through 15 Jan Andolans. To effectively address the issue of malnutrition, cross cutting convergence has been ensured amongst more than 18 Ministries/Departments to adopt a multi-sectoral approach involving dimensions of food, health, water, sanitation and education. *****