**Executive Summary:**
This document addresses questions raised in the Lok Sabha regarding the Take-Home Ration (THR) program through Anganwadi centers. It details the number of pregnant and lactating women receiving THR, the implementation of Aadhaar-based facial authentication via the Poshan App, and measures for data security and privacy. Key dates include the implementation of facial recognition on July 1, 2025, and data reflecting the status as of August 5, 2025.
**Key Points / Main Content:**
* **Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0:**
* Anganwadi services, Poshan Abhiyaan, and the Scheme for Adolescent Girls are now under this umbrella mission.
* The mission aims to address malnutrition and is a centrally sponsored scheme implemented by States and UTs.
* It's a self-selecting scheme with no entry barriers for beneficiaries.
* **Supplementary Nutrition:**
* Provided to pregnant women and lactating mothers as per National Food Security Act Schedule II.
* Nutrition norms were revised in January 2023 to be more comprehensive and balanced.
* Data on beneficiaries is based on Aadhaar-verified individuals minus those who opted out, as reported on the Poshan Tracker.
* **Aadhaar-Based Facial Authentication:**
* The Face Recognition System (FRS) was piloted in August 2024 and implemented optionally nationwide in December 2024.
* Mandatory since July 1, 2025, for ensuring THR delivery to rightful beneficiaries.
* eKYC and liveness image capture are required once per beneficiary.
* Face matching can be performed both online and offline monthly.
* For children up to 6 years old with Bal Aadhaar, FRS of the mother/father/guardian is used.
* As of August 5, 2025, 75.12% of eligible THR beneficiaries (3.69 crore out of 4.91 crore) have completed face capturing and eKYC.
* **Technical Support and Data Security:**
* NeGD State Coordinators provide regular training and support.
* Ministry officials conduct field visits and meetings to address technical difficulties.
* Data protection protocols include purpose limitation, informed consent, and access restrictions.
* Data is encrypted during transit, and no images/data are permanently stored on devices.
* Access to data is role-based, logged, and monitored.
* The application's internal database is encrypted, and face images are handled in an encoded format.
**Impact Analysis:**
* **Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers:**
* *Impact:* Continued access to supplementary nutrition through the THR program, now subject to Aadhaar-based facial authentication for verification.
* *Action Required:* Complete eKYC and facial authentication via the Poshan App to continue receiving THR benefits.
* **Anganwadi Workers:**
* *Impact:* Responsible for implementing facial authentication using the Poshan Tracker application and ensuring accurate beneficiary verification.
* *Action Required:* Utilize the Poshan Tracker app for eKYC and facial recognition, provide support to beneficiaries, and adhere to data protection protocols.
* **State and UT Governments:**
* *Impact:* Responsible for the implementation and monitoring of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, including THR distribution and beneficiary verification.
* *Action Required:* Ensure adequate training and support for Anganwadi workers, address technical challenges, and adhere to data security guidelines.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Women and Child Development: A ministry of the Government of India responsible for policies and programs related to women and children.
Poshan Abhiyaan: A centrally sponsored scheme in India aimed at improving the nutritional status of children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers.
Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0: An umbrella mission encompassing Anganwadi services, Poshan Abhiyaan, and the Scheme for Adolescent Girls, aimed at addressing malnutrition.
Anganwadi Centres: Rural child care centers in India, providing basic health care, nutrition, and early childhood education services.
Take Home Ration (THR): Supplementary nutrition provided to pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children through Anganwadi centres.
Poshan App: A mobile application used for monitoring and managing nutrition-related services, including Aadhaar-based facial authentication of beneficiaries.
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.
Andhra Pradesh: A state in India mentioned in the context of data related to Take Home Ration beneficiaries.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3279
TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.08.2025
TAKE-HOME RATION THROUGH ANGANWADI CENTRES
3279. SHRI SAPTAGIRI SANKAR ULAKA:
Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state:
(a) the number of pregnant/ lactating women receiving Take-Home Ration (THR)
through Anganwadi centres during the last five years, State/UT wise;
(b) the number and percentage of beneficiaries subjected to Aadhaar-based facial
authentication via the Poshan App along with present cumulative total, State/UT
wise;
(c) whether facial authentication is mandated (orders/circulars with dates) or in pilot
stage along with criteria for selection of districts;
(d) whether any specific network/device/application issues have been reported by
Anganwadi Workers affecting Poshan App uploads, if so, the details thereof along
with the steps taken to ensure no beneficiary is denied THR for technical failure; and
(e) the details of the measures being taken for data security, consent, purpose, limitation,
retention, access control and privacy audit of collected biometric data?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
(SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)
(a) 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-selecting umbrella
scheme where there are no entry barriers for any beneficiary to register and receive
services.Supplementary Nutrition is provided to pregnant women and lactating mothers 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. The details of the number
of pregnant women and lactating mothers, for whom Supplementary nutrition is being
provided for first quarter of FY 25-26 to the States and UTs are placed at Annexure-I. The
number of beneficiaries is based on the number of Aadhaar-verified beneficiaries minus
opted out beneficiaries as reported on the Poshan Tracker on the last day of the first month
of the preceding quarter.
(b) to (e) Face Recognition System (FRS) Module was initially implemented as a pilot in
the month of August 2024. It was implemented on an optional basis pan India in the month
of December 2024. Since then, dutyholders in the States and UTs have been trained to
perform facial recognition and verify beneficiaries with Aadhaar database. It is implemented
since July 1, 2025 for ensuring last mile delivery of take-home ration to the rightful
beneficiary. The FRS module has been developed as part of Poshan Tracker application.
To verify a beneficiary through Aadhar identification, eKYC is performed along with
capturing of liveness image of the beneficiary. This onboarding process is performed once
in the lifetime of the beneficiary on Poshan Tracker. For availing benefits of take-home ration
on monthly basis, face matching can be performed both in online and offline mode and no
repeated eKYC is required. The offline mode feature has been developed keeping in
consideration the areas with low digital connectivity. The Facial Recognition feature has
been made compatible for low end version phones as well. Bal Aadhar for children under
5 years of age doesn’t contain any biometric data; therefore, for children aged upto 6 years,
the FRS of the mother/father/guardian is being done and not that of the child.
As on 5th August 2025, face capturing and e-KYC of 3.69 crore THR beneficiaries out of
the 4.91 crore eligible beneficiaries registered for Take Home Ration(THR), which is almost
75.12%, have already been completed. State/UT wise details of beneficiaries eligible for
THR and who have completed their face capturing and e-KYC as on 5th August 2025 are
placed at Annexure-II.
Regular training and handholding sessions have been conducted by NeGD State
Coordinators. Further, field visits by officials of the Ministry of Women and Child
Development, GoI. and regular meetings with State officials have also been conducted to
understand and redress technical difficulties.
Various Data Protection Safeguards exist in the system. Some of them are mentioned
below:
The data of the beneficiary, which is collected, is subject to all existing data protection
protocols, which mandates purpose limitation, informed consent, and access
restrictions.
All requests and responses related to Face Verification are encrypted during transit,
ensuring data is protected from interception or tampering. No images or data are stored permanently on the device. As a precautionary
measure, all cached or temporary data is wiped automatically when the Anganwadi
worker logs out of the application.
The private data is not publicly accessible; it is only available to authorized personnel
solely for verification purposes.
The Poshan Tracker application is typically used by Anganwadi Workers and it is not
open to the public or any unauthorized party. Access is role-based, logged and
monitored to prevent misuse.
Further, the application's internal database is encrypted, preventing access to
sensitive information outside the app environment
Face images are handled in encoded format within the app to ensure safe processing
and transmission.
*****Annexure-I
ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA QUESTION NO. 3279
FOR 08.08.2025 REGARDING “TAKE-HOME RATION THROUGH ANGANWADI
CENTRES” ASKED BY SHRI SAPTAGIRI SANKAR ULAKA
The details of the number of pregnant women and lactating mothers, for whom
Supplementary nutrition is being provided for first quarter of FY 25-26 to the States and UTs
are as below:
S.No State/UT Pregnant Women and
Lactating Mothers
1 Andhra Pradesh 457921
2 Bihar 1303166
3 Chhattisgarh 340451
4 Goa 8685
5 Gujarat 457810
6 Haryana 256160
7 Jharkhand 352302
8 Karnataka 669253
9 Kerala 226788
10 Madhya Pradesh 954001
11 Maharashtra 754318
12 Odisha 554701
13 Punjab 204284
14 Rajasthan 673563
15 Tamil Nadu 610932
16 Telangana 293402
17 Uttar Pradesh 2850060
18 West Bengal 1138312
19 Delhi 141263
20 Puducherry 7691
21 Himachal Pradesh 75635
22 J&K 112432
23 Uttarakhand 131129
24 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 1783
25 UT-Chandigarh 7311
26 Dadra & Nagar Haveli - Daman & Diu 5959
27 Ladakh 2422
28 Lakshadweep 795
29 Arunachal Pradesh 4818
30 Assam 30959531 Manipur 20767
32 Meghalaya 39865
33 Mizoram 12192
34 Nagaland 3591
35 Sikkim 3489
36 Tripura 33620Annexure-II
ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF LOK SABHA QUESTION NO. 3279
FOR 08.08.2025 REGARDING “TAKE-HOME RATION THROUGH ANGANWADI
CENTRES” ASKED BY SHRI SAPTAGIRI SANKAR ULAKA
State/UT wise details of beneficiaries eligible for THR and who have completed their face
capturing and e-KYC are as follows:
SN State/UTs Total Eligible Total Face Total Face
Beneficiaries Captured + eKYC Captured + eKYC
(n) (%)
1 Andaman & Nicobar
Islands 8233 6848 83.18
2 Andhra Pradesh 1541251 1459328 94.68
3 Arunachal Pradesh 47927 14132 29.49
4 Assam 1581495 1242723 78.58
5 Bihar 5383275 3851780 71.55
6 Chhattisgarh 1287755 1150313 89.33
7 Dadra & Nagar Haveli
- Daman & Diu 20651 17730 85.86
8 Delhi 457226 429438 93.92
9 Goa 35341 30443 86.14
10 Gujarat 1773624 1262970 71.21
11 Haryana 832270 653613 78.53
12 Himachal Pradesh 278721 262848 94.31
13 J&K 453832 321578 70.86
14 Jharkhand 1613004 943551 58.50
15 Karnataka 2284001 2158911 94.52
16 Kerala 856882 558215 65.14
17 Ladakh 9549 7284 76.28
18 Lakshadweep 3325 2972 89.38
19 Madhya Pradesh 3369660 2828899 83.95
20 Maharashtra 2943966 2705717 91.91
21 Manipur 149839 105604 70.48
22 Meghalaya 227423 97721 42.97
23 Mizoram 61606 53366 86.62
24 Nagaland 58240 16364 28.10
25 Odisha 2042986 1783135 87.28
26 Puducherry 30201 24182 80.07
27 Punjab 820270 525942 64.12
28 Rajasthan 2177151 1910690 87.76
29 Sikkim 14993 7092 47.30
30 Tamil Nadu 2052158 1415731 68.99
31 Telangana 1116108 779654 69.8532 Tripura 164009 124973 76.20
33 UT-Chandigarh 22419 21687 96.73
34 Uttar Pradesh 10771468 8902968 82.65
35 Uttarakhand 472776 405620 85.80
36 West Bengal 4184540 839279 20.06
Total 49148175 36923301 75.12
*****