**Executive Summary:**
This document presents the Ministry of Women and Child Development's response to questions regarding child malnutrition and anaemia in India, with a focus on Rajasthan, based on NFHS5 and POSHAN Tracker data. It details improvements in malnutrition indicators, current statistics, and government initiatives under Mission POSHAN 2.0 to strengthen Anganwadi services and nutrition delivery. Data is current up to June 2025, with district-wise data for Rajasthan until May 2025 provided.
**Key Points / Main Content:**
* **Malnutrition Trends:**
* NFHS data from 1992-93 to 2019-21 indicates improvements in stunting, underweight, and wasting among children in India.
* As of June 2025, POSHAN Tracker data shows that of the children enrolled in Anganwadis and measured:
* 37.07% of children up to 5 years are stunted.
* 15.93% of children up to 5 years are underweight.
* 5.46% of children up to 5 years are wasted.
* 35.91% of children up to 6 years are stunted.
* 16.50% of children up to 6 years are underweight.
* Rajasthan shows improvement in wasting and underweight children according to NFHS 5 data and POSHAN Tracker (June 2025).
* **Government Initiatives:**
* Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 aims to address malnutrition through a multi-sectoral approach involving 18 Ministries/Departments.
* Strategies include community engagement, behavioral change, advocacy, focus on maternal nutrition, and treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM).
* Supplementary Nutrition is provided to children (6 months-6 years), pregnant women, lactating mothers, and adolescent girls, following revised nutrition norms from January 2023.
* Fortified rice is supplied to Anganwadi Centres (AWCs), and millets are emphasized in meals.
* Community Management of Malnutrition (CMAM) protocol is implemented.
* **Anganwadi Strengthening:**
* 2 lakh Anganwadi Centres are being upgraded to Saksham Anganwadis with better infrastructure like internet connectivity, LED screens, and water purifiers.
* In Rajasthan, 187 Anganwadis are Saksham Anganwadis as of June 2025.
* Mini AWCs are being upgraded to full-fledged Anganwadi Centres; 6204 have been upgraded in Rajasthan as of June 2025.
* Smartphones and data recharge support are provided to Anganwadi workers, supervisors, and block coordinators; 65,943 smartphones are available in Rajasthan.
* Growth monitoring devices are provided to all Anganwadi Centres.
* **Adolescent Girls Scheme:**
* The Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG) is now part of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0.
* It provides nutritional support, IFA supplementation, health checkups, nutrition and health education, and skilling to adolescent girls (14-18 years) in Aspirational Districts and Northeastern States.
* Funds released to Rajasthan under SAG were ₹988.66 Lakhs in 2024-25 and ₹137.93 Lakhs in 2025-26 (as of 30.06.2025).
* **Rajasthan District-wise Data (May 2025):**
* District-wise data on stunting, wasting, and underweight among children (0-5 years) in Rajasthan is provided in Annexure I.
**Impact Analysis:**
* **Children (0-6 years):**
* *Impact:* Targeted beneficiaries of improved nutrition delivery and early childhood care and education through Anganwadi services.
* *Action Required:* To be enrolled in Anganwadis for growth monitoring and access to supplementary nutrition.
* **Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers:**
* *Impact:* Beneficiaries of supplementary nutrition to combat intergenerational malnutrition.
* *Action Required:* Access Anganwadi services for nutritional support and health education.
* **Adolescent Girls (14-18 years):**
* *Impact:* Targeted beneficiaries of the Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG) for improved health and nutritional status.
* *Action Required:* Participate in SAG programs for nutritional support, health checkups, and skilling.
* **Anganwadi Workers, Supervisors, and Block Coordinators:**
* *Impact:* Equipped with smartphones and data support for improved data collection and monitoring.
* *Action Required:* Utilize smartphones and growth monitoring devices for regular monitoring of growth parameters and implement community-based events.
* **State Government of Rajasthan:**
* *Impact:* Responsible for implementing Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0.
* *Action Required:* Ensure effective implementation of the mission, upgrade Anganwadi infrastructure, and conduct regular sensitization activities.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Women and Child Development: The Indian government ministry responsible for policies and programs related to women and children.
NFHS5: National Family Health Survey 5, a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in India.
POSHAN Tracker: A digital platform used for monitoring nutrition interventions and collecting data related to child and maternal health in India.
Rajasthan: A state in India, specifically mentioned as having high levels of child malnutrition and anaemia.
Anganwadi Services: A network of community-based child care centers in India providing health, nutrition, and early childhood education services.
Mission POSHAN 2.0: An initiative by the Government of India to address malnutrition through a convergent and integrated approach.
National Food Security Act: An Act of the Parliament of India which aims to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two-thirds of the country's population.
Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG): A scheme focused on improving the nutritional and health status of adolescent girls in India.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1063
TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.07.2025
POSHAN TRACKER DATA
1063. SHRI RAHUL KASWAN:
Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state:
(a) whether as per NFHS-5 and POSHAN Tracker data, India continues to record high
levels of child malnutrition and anaemia in various States, specially in Rajasthan
being among the worst-affected States;
(b) if so, the details thereof, providing the data for Rajasthan till May 2025, district-
wise;
(c) the manner in which the Government proposes to strengthen Anganwadi Services
and nutrition delivery under Mission POSHAN 2.0 in high-burden districts;
(d) whether Anganwadi Centres in Rajasthan lack functional infrastructure, weighing
devices, or real-time digital tracking tools, if so, the details thereof;
(e) whether the Government has initiated any targeted interventions for adolescent
girls and children in said State, district-wise; and
(f) if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
(SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)
(a) & (b) : 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 for children since 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 15.5NFHS-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
* Under 4 years
** Under 3 years
*** Under 5 years
The above table gives a representative picture of malnutrition indicators among all children
of 0-3 years, 0-4 years and 0-5 years age at the relevant time.
The projected population of all children up to 5 years in India for the year 2021 is 13.75
crores approximately (source: Population Projections for India and States 2011-2036,
National Commission on Population, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare). However, only
7.36 crores children up to 5 years were enrolled in Anganwadis and registered on Poshan
Tracker of the Ministry of Women & Child Development as per the June, 2025 data. 7 crores
of these children were measured on growth parameters of height and weight. 37.07% of
them have been found to be stunted, 15.93% have been found to be underweight and 5.46
percent wasted.
Further, the projected population of all children in India up to 6 years for the year 2021 is
approximately 16.1 crores. As per the June, 2025 data of Poshan Tracker, 8.61 crores
children (0-6 years) were enrolled in Anganwadis out of whom 8.19 crores were measured
on growth parameters of height and weight. 35.91% of these children (0-6 years) have been
found to be stunted and 16.50% children (0-6 years) have been found to be underweight.
Name of Stunting (%) Wasting (%) Underweight (%)
State/UT Poshan NHFS 5 Poshan NHFS 5 Poshan NHFS 5
Tracker June (2019-21) Tracker June (2019-21) Tracker June (2019-21)
2025 2025 2025
Rajasthan 36.10 31.8 6.49 16.8 17.57 27.6
The analysis of the above NFHS 5 data and the Poshan Tracker June 2025 data shows
improvement in wasting and underweight children in the State of Rajasthan.
The district wise data on Stunting, wasting and underweight of May, 2025 for Rajasthan as
per Poshan Tracker data is placed at Annexure I.
(c) & (d): Under the 15th Finance Commission, various components like Anganwadi
services, Poshan Abhiyaan and Scheme for Adolescent girls (of 14-18 years in Aspirational
Districts and North-Eastern region) have been subsumed under the umbrella Mission
Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0) to address the challenge of
malnutrition. 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-selectingumbrella scheme that is being implemented across all the States and UTs including in the
State of Rajasthan.
Nutrition goes beyond mere eating of food; it requires proper digestion, absorption, and
metabolism which are influenced by factors like sanitation, education and access to safe
drinking water. As malnutrition requires a multi-sectoral approach involving dimensions of
food, health, water, sanitation and education, it is crucial to effectively address the issue of
malnutrition. It is being addressed under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 by
establishing cross cutting convergence amongst 18 Ministries/Departments.
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, behavioral 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 through AYUSH practices to reduce prevalence of
wasting, stunting, anaemia and being underweight.
Under this mission, Supplementary Nutrition is provided to Children (6 months to 6 years),
Pregnant Women, Lactating Mothers and Adolescent Girls to beat the intergenerational
cycle of malnutrition by adopting a life cycle approach. Supplementary nutrition is provided
in accordance with the nutrition norms contained in Schedule-II of the National Food
Security Act. These norms have been revised in January, 2023. The old norms were largely
calorie-specific; however, the revised norms are more comprehensive and balanced in
terms of both quantity and quality of supplementary nutrition based on the principles of diet
diversity that provides for quality protein, healthy fats and micronutrients.
Fortified rice is being supplied to AWCs to meet the requirement of micro-nutrients and to
control anaemia among women and children. 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.
M/o Women & Child Development and M/o Health & Family Welfare have jointly released
the protocol for Community Management of Malnutrition (CMAM) to prevent and treat
severely acute malnutrition in children and for reducing associated morbidity and mortality.
Under this Mission, one of the major activities undertaken is Community Mobilization and
Awareness Advocacy to educate people on nutritional aspects as adoption of good nutrition
habit requires sustained efforts for behavioural change. State and UTs are conducting and
reporting regular sensitisation activities under Jan Andolan during Poshan Maahs and
Poshan Pakhwadas celebrated in the months of September and March-April respectively.
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.
(e) and (f) As on date, 2 lakh Anganwadi Centres have been approved to be upgraded as
Saksham Anganwadis for improved nutrition delivery and for imparting early childhood careand education. Saksham Anganwadis are provided with better infrastructure than the
conventional Anganwadi Centres which includes internet/Wi-Fi connectivity, LED screens,
water purifier/installation of RO Machine and smart learning equipments. According to the
data received from the State Government of Rajasthan, there are 187 Saksham
Anganwadis in the state
The Government has also taken a policy decision to upgrade all Mini AWCs to a full-fledged
Anganwadi Centres with one worker and one helper each to help in carrying out various
responsibilities under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 including
responsibilities related to Early Childhood Care & Education. Sanction for upgradation of
88,716 Mini-AWCs has been issued till date. As of June 2025, a total of 6204 Mini AWCs
have been upgraded to Main AWCs in the State of Rajasthan.
Under Mission Poshan 2.0 smartphones are provided to Anganwadi workers, Supervisors
and Block Coordinators. Data recharge support of Rs. 2,000 per annum is provided to
AWWs, Supervisors and Block Coordinators. Number of 65,943 smartphones are available
in the State of Rajasthan.
Regular monitoring of growth parameters is done by Anganwadi workers. All Anganwadi
Centres across India including those in the State of Rajasthan have been equipped with
Growth Monitoring devices like infantometer, stadiometer, weighing scale.
Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG) has been subsumed under Mission Saksham
Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0. The Scheme aims at providing nutritional support to
Adolescent Girls (AGs) [14-18 years] for improving their health and nutritional status under
the nutrition component and providing them IFA supplementation, Health check-up and
Referral Service, Nutrition & Health Education and Skilling etc. under non-nutrition
component of the Scheme. The targeted beneficiaries under the Scheme are AGs in the
age group of 14 to 18 years in Aspirational Districts and all Northeastern State.
Status of release of funds to the State of Rajasthan during last 5 years under SAG is as
follows:
(Rs in Lakhs)
Name of the State 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-5 2025-26*
Rajasthan 0 0 0 988.66 137.93
*As on 30.06.2025
*****ANNEXURE-I
ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF LOK SABHA QUESTION NO. 1063
FOR 25.07.2025 REGARDING “POSHAN TRACKER DATA” ASKED BY SHRI RAHUL
KASWAN
District wise details of malnutrition indicators of children (0-5 years) in Rajasthan for May,
25 from Poshan Tracker data are as follows:
District Stunted (%) Wasted (%) Underweight (%)
AJMER 38.25 7.42 18.04
ALWAR 42.31 6.98 19.77
BALOTRA 41.31 5.07 14.68
BANSWARA 38.45 10.92 20.38
BARAN 50.9 6.26 24.47
BARMER 42.04 5.31 12.82
BEAWAR 36 8.55 20.69
BHARATPUR 27.89 5 12.87
BHILWARA 43.46 9.47 22.6
BIKANER 36.78 3.5 12.97
BUNDI 39.82 7.88 23.83
CHITTORGARH 33.04 7.98 16.97
CHURU 32.81 3.76 12.76
DAUSA 25.44 8.42 17.99
DEEG 34.6 5.79 14.7
DHOLPUR 36.78 3.78 12.12
DIDWANA-KUCHAMAN 26.53 4.73 11.5
DUNGARPUR 49.56 8.29 34.72
HANUMANGARH 34.97 5.98 14.52
JAIPUR 20.64 1.81 7.04
JAISALMER 39.9 7.49 18.28
JALORE 44.76 7.38 16.12
JHALAWAR 40.04 11.68 27.23
JHUNJHUNU 27.71 4.03 10.72
JODHPUR 37.31 6.08 16.62
KAROULI 31.36 5.2 15.46
KHAIRTHAL-TIJARA 42.44 6.57 17.84
KOTA 35.5 4.83 16.83
KOTPUTLI-BEHROR 31.52 3.28 9.71
NAGAUR 21.01 3.75 8.29
PALI 38.14 8.07 17.02
PHALODI 44.73 6.6 18PRATAPGARH 46.69 6.82 27.89
RAJSAMAND 42.25 11.08 22.24
SALUMBAR 53.44 10.98 34.25
SAWAI MADHOPUR 42.73 5.91 22.49
SIKAR 38.44 6.11 18.73
SIROHI 53.47 6.21 26.9
SRI GANGANAGAR 23.58 2.62 8.63
TONK 38.23 5.14 20.13
UDAIPUR 36.51 8.9 22.55
*****