Parliament Question: Poshan Abhiyan

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2267 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.12.2025 POSHAN ABHIYAN

2267. SHRI SASIKANTH SENTHIL:

Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has been able to achieve the key objectives of Poshan Abhiyan in Tamil Nadu, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(b) the number of Anganwadi Centres in said State where Poshan Abhiyan is currently being implemented, district-wise; and

(c) whether the Ministry has conducted any evaluation/study on the outcomes of this scheme in the said State, if so, the details along with the findings thereof and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)

(a): Poshan Abhiyan was launched in 2018 which has been subsumed under the umbrella Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 along with Anganwadi Services and Scheme for Adolescent girls (14-18 years, in Aspirational Districts and North-Eastern region). It is a Centrally Sponsored Mission, where the responsibility for implementation of various activities lies with the States and UTs. This Mission is a universal self-selecting umbrella scheme open to all eligible beneficiaries, i.e., Children under 6 years of age, pregnant women, lactating mothers till 6 months after childbirth and adolescent girls (14-18 years of age) in Northeastern States and Aspirational Districts of the country. This Mission is being implemented across the country including the State of Tamil Nadu.

The objectives of Mission are as follows: • To contribute to development of human capital in the country • Address challenge of malnutrition • Promote nutrition awareness and good eating habits for sustainable health and wellbeing(b): District wise status of implementation of the Scheme in the State of Tamil Nadu is

available at https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics. A total of 54,481 Anganwadi Centres are operational in the State of Tamil Nadu.

(c): The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India. It provides report on fertility, infant and child mortality, the practice of family planning, maternal and child health, reproductive health, nutrition, anaemia, utilization and quality of health and family planning services. Various rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare since 1992-93 have shown improvement in malnutrition indicators in children across India. Details of these indicators from NFHS-1 to NFHS-5 are given below:

NFHS Survey Stunting % Underweight % Wasting % NFHS-1 (1992-93) * 52 53.4 17.5 NFHS-2 (1998-99) ** 45.5 47 15.5 NFHS-3 (2005-6) *** 48.0 42.5 19.8 NFHS-4 (2015-16) *** 38.4 35.8 21.0 NFHS-5 (2019-21) *** 35.5 32.1 19.3 Poshan Tracker (October 2025) *** 33.54 14.41 5.03 * Under 4 years ** Under 3 years *** Under 5 years The analysis of the above NFHS data and the Poshan Tracker data shows improvement in malnutrition indicators in children across the country including the State of Tamil Nadu.

Further, from the Poshan Tracker, the status of nutritional indicators and its improvement over

the years in the State of Tamil Nadu may be seen below:

Poshan Tracker Data for the State of Tamil Nadu October- October- October- October-25 Indicators 22 23 24 Stunted Children (%) 22.59 16.57 13.39 11.56 Wasted Children (%) 6.05 4.75 3.57 3.32 Underweight Children (%) 10.53 8.08 7.06 5.77In 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 also in 2025 for Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 and has found its relevance to be satisfactory for tackling malnutrition in the country including Tamil Nadu.

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