Parliament Question: POSHAN Abhiyaan in Gujarat

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO. 2100 ANSWERED ON 31.07.2026 POSHAN ABHIYAAN IN GUJARAT

2100. SHRI RAJESH NARANBHAI CHUDASAMA:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

(a) the number of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) functioning under POSHAN Abhiyaan in Gujarat and the number of beneficiary children/mothers associated with this scheme;

(b) whether special priority has been given to districts with high malnutrition rates in Gujarat, if so, the districts where special measures have been taken; and

(c) whether digital nutrition trackers/mobile apps are being used in Gujarat, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)

(a) to (c): Under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, the ‘Poshan Tracker’ digital application has been rolled out as an ICT based governance tool for monitoring and tracking of all services being provided to the beneficiaries registered at Anganwadi Centres (AWCs). Poshan Tracker has been onboarded by all the states and UTs of the country including Gujarat. States have login credentials for monitoring of the programme digitally. The number of functional AWCs, the number of children and mothers of all the States and UTs including Gujarat is available at Poshan

Tracker dashboard: https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics.

The Mission is being implemented in all the States and Union Territories of the country. Various measures have been taken by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) to

improve nutritional outcomes: • Supplementary Nutrition in form of Hot cooked meal (HCM) and Take-Home Ration

(THR) is provided to Children (6 months to 6 years), Pregnant Women, Lactating Mothers and Adolescent Girls in accordance with the nutrition norms contained in Schedule-II of the National Food Security Act, 2013. Additional Nutrition is also provided to Severely Acute Malnourished (SAM) children in form of Take-Home Ration (THR).• Mission Poshan 2.0 empowers the frontline functionaries by providing them with smartphones along with data recharge facility. Further, there is a provision of Growth Monitoring Devices (GMDs) as Infantometer, Stadiometer, Weighing Scale-Infant and Weighing Scale-Mother & Child at each Anganwadi Centre (AWC) for the regular growth monitoring of registered beneficiaries.

• Technology under Poshan Tracker is also leveraged for dynamic identification of stunting, wasting and under-weight prevalence among children. • Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) conduct structured home visits to support pregnant women, lactating mothers, and young children (0-3 years) through nutrition counselling, caregiving guidance, and promotion of early childhood development.

• One of the major activities undertaken is Community Mobilization and Awareness Advocacy in the form of Jan Andolans (Poshan Maah and Poshan Pakhwada celebrated in the months of September and March-April respectively) to educate people on nutritional aspects as adoption of good nutrition habit requires sustained efforts for behavioural change.

• Ministry of Women & Child Development and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare have jointly released the Protocol for Management of Malnutrition in Children to prevent and treat severely acute malnutrition in children and for reducing associated morbidity and mortality.

• To encourage diet-diversity and consumption of wholesome local produce, Poshan Vatikas have been developed at Anganwadi Centres (AWCs). Poshan Vatikas or Nutri-gardens are being set up under Mission Poshan 2.0 at Anganwadi Centers across the country to encourage consumption of local and seasonal fruits, vegetables, thereby improving diet- diversity and increase the intake of micronutrients.

• To review the progress of the Mission every month, District Nutrition Committees have been constituted under the chairpersonship of District Magistrate/Collector with certified nutrition experts as Members.

• The State Level Steering Committee have also been formed to review the progress of the scheme. This Committee chaired by the Chief Secretary, serves as a key convergence platform for inter-departmental coordination, strategic oversight and periodic review of key indicators. The Committee is envisaged to strengthen governance, monitor implementation, quality, and facilitate timely action for improving nutritional outcomes in the State.

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