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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 4759
TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.03.2026
POSHAN BHI PADHAI BHI PROGRAMME
4759. SHRI THARANIVENTHAN M S:
Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:
(a) the details and the features of the Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi Programme;
(b) the details of the funds estimated under the said scheme across the country till date;
(c) the number of States proposed to be initially cover under the said programme along with
the target set in this regard;
(d) whether the Government has already undertaken activities under the said programme
within the country;
(e) if so, the details thereof, State-wise; and
(f) the details of its response received in the said States?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
(SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)
(a) to (d): Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) launched the Poshan Bhi
Padhai Bhi (PBPB) initiative under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0. PBPB
aims at improving the quality of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) through the
Anganwadi system by equipping Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) with high-quality infrastructure,
play equipment, and well-trained Anganwadi Workers (AWWs).
Capacity building of AWWs has been envisioned as the first step towards improving the quality
of ECCE. Under PBPB initiative, a total of ₹476.05 crores has been sanctioned for the financial
year 2023-24 to 2025-26 for training of AWWs. Under the 2-tier training module, Child
Development Programme Officers (CDPOs), Supervisors and Additional Resource Persons
etc. are trained as State Level Master Trainers (SLMTs) with the support of Savitribai Phule
National Institute of Women and Child Development (SPNIWCD) and SLMTs, in turn, impart
training to AWWs. Funds for capacity building of SLMTs and AWWs are released out of the
allocation of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0.As on 16th March 2026, 41,645 SLMTs and 10,35,949 AWWs have been trained in Round-1
in ECCE pedagogy and delivery of nutritional services. Round-2 of the training was started in
November, 2025 for reinforcing Anganwadi workers’ understanding on ECCE and nutrition,
innovations in Poshan, new features on Poshan Tracker, feeding practices, and micronutrient
deficiencies etc.
Under PBPB, allocation for Pre-school Education (PSE) Kits has been increased to ₹3,000 per
AWC per year for providing adequate PSE kits at the AWCs. Guidelines for conducting ECCE
days and Community Based Events were issued to States and Union Territories (UTs) on 29th
November, 2023.
In order to improve the quality of ECCE, Government launched in March 2024, Navchetana -
a National Framework for Early Childhood Stimulation for children up to 3 years of age, and
Aadharshila - National Curriculum for ECCE for children of 3 to 6 years age. Navchetana
framework empowers caregivers and AWWs for holistic early stimulation of children through
responsive caregiving. Aadharshila improves the quality of early childhood education
transacted at AWCs by prioritizing play-based activities covering all learning domains.
Government has so far upgraded 1,03,940 Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) into Saksham
Anganwadi Centres for better delivery of nutrition and increased focus on Early Childhood
Care and Education (ECCE) services to the beneficiaries. The upgradation includes provision
of LED screens and other audio-visual aids, Wi-Fi/Internet connectivity (wherever feasible),
safe drinking water facilities such as water filters/RO systems, BaLA (Building as Learning
Aid) paintings, age-appropriate ECCE learning materials, Poshan Vatikas (kitchen gardens),
and clean storage facility for provisions etc.
(e) and (f): State and UT-wise status of training imparted under Round-1 of PBPB training as
on 16th March, 2026 is given at Annexure.
*****ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY IN THE PARTS (E) AND (F) OF LOK
SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO. 4759 FOR ANSWER ON 20.03.2026 ON THE
SUBJECT 'POSHAN BHI PADHAI BHI PROGRAMME (PBPB)” ASKED BY SHRI
THARANIVENTHAN M S, HON’BLE MEMBER OF THE PARLIAMENT.
State and UT-wise status of training under Round-1 of PBPB
(As on 16th March, 2026)
Sl. No. Name of States & UTs (SLMTs) AWWs
Target C ompleted Target Completed
1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands 45 49 720 791
2. Andhra Pradesh 2,059 2,050 54,908 53,446
3. Arunachal Pradesh 465 648 6225 4,298
4. Assam 2,353 2,794 60,964 56,721
5. Bihar 3,366 2,178 1,12,094 91,885
6. Chandigarh 24 33 434 616
7. Chhattisgarh 2,126 2,009 51,245 42,131
8. Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu 24 50 405 375
9. Delhi 434 581 10498 10,444
10. Goa 65 64 1224 1,151
11. Gujarat 2,044 2,127 49,884 34,812
12. Haryana 804 808 23,902 21,980
13. Himachal Pradesh 746 744 18,663 10,999
14. Jammu and Kashmir 1,265 1,244 27,543 24,936
15. Jharkhand 862 980 37,944 32,862
16. Karnataka 2,247 2,149 64,118 18,316
17. Kerala 1,348 1,656 33,115 16,575
18. Ladakh 46 73 1143 1,152
19. Lakshadweep 4 8 59 0
20. Madhya Pradesh 3,567 2,996 95,953 91,462
21. Maharashtra 2,892 2,475 1,05,023 1,04,352
22. Manipur 489 636 11,466 10,978
23. Meghalaya 306 288 5896 5,127
24. Mizoram 161 202 2244 2,360
25. Nagaland 293 398 3980 3,798
26. Odisha 3,266 2,742 73,314 20,960
27. Puducherry 19 47 595 616
28. Punjab 847 1,184 27,075 18,633
29. Rajasthan 1,622 1,644 60,874 58,644
30. Sikkim 95 81 1308 389
31. Tamil Nadu 2,062 1,828 43,602 43,652
32. Telangana 1,540 1,531 33,789 32,538
33. Tripura 308 282 10,131 9,565
34. Uttar Pradesh 3,585 2,132 1,59,938 89,138
35. Uttarakhand 652 634 19,311 16,622
36. West Bengal 1,457 2,303 1,05,575 1,03,624
*****