Strengthening Anganwadi Centers: Mission Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0

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Strengthening Anganwadi Centers: Mission Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0

Strengthening Anganwadi Centers: Mission Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0

By Khritish Swargiary

The Government of India has embarked on an ambitious mission to revamp and strengthen the Anganwadi ecosystem across the country. Under the Mission Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 scheme, the Ministry of Women and Child Development is taking concerted efforts to improve infrastructure, enhance service delivery, and ensure holistic development for children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers.

Reorganization of Schemes

In the 15th Finance Commission, several components, including nutritional support for children below the age of 6 years, pregnant women, lactating mothers, and adolescent girls (14-18 years), Early Childhood Care and Education (3-6 years), Anganwadi infrastructure, Saksham Anganwadi, POSHAN Abhiyaan, and the Scheme for Adolescent Girls, have been reorganized under the umbrella of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0.

Fund Allocation and Utilization

The Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 scheme is a centrally sponsored program being implemented across the country, including aspirational districts. To achieve the scheme's objectives, funds are disbursed to all states and union territories in the prescribed cost-sharing ratio. The central government has been persistent in its efforts to ensure optimum utilization of funds towards the cause.

Fund Data
State-wise breakdown of funds released and utilized under the scheme:
Sl. No. State/UTs Rs. In lakhs 2021-22 2022-23* 2023-24
1 ANDHRA PRADESH 74460.38 74990.85 79210.34 53304.08
2 BIHAR 157443.07 160801.5 167871.47 114337.73
3 CHHATTISGARH 60673.15 52272.36 58909.3 49752.00
4 GOA 1083.56 1291.72 1452.6 843.99
5 GUJARAT 83985.65 75792.18 90097.17 100576.48
6 HARYANA 17303.35 14698.8 19521.36 17666.92
7 JHARKHAND 35297.77 18330.29 35733.95 46438.93
8 KARNATAKA 100370.19 98461.76 75118.35 73657.07
9 KERALA 38822.74 39797.9 44213.5 22349.37
10 MADHYA PRADESH 108546.91 107787.58 98501.92 100286.09
11 MAHARASHTRA 171338.93 160901.59 163377.2 117208.52
12 ODISHA 106598.46 96445.74 87506.99 59405.09
13 PUNJAB 38351.68 17793.83 7473.96 18749.83
14 RAJASTHAN 68264.63 77164.16 95301.83 71209.77
15 TAMIL NADU 65538.13 68127.94 74844.97 55340.62
16 TELANGANA 48232.68 47929.87 51474 11777.08
17 UTTAR PRADESH 240755.08 234191.44 268122.42 184067.26
18 WEST BENGAL 66835.22 137830.5 120031.77 95425.83
19 DELHI 13310.7 12552.28 18277 10440.10
20 PUDUCHERRY 277.8 612.87 0.75 408.72
21 HIMACHAL PRADESH 24798.74 25209.25 26051.03 17626.78
22 JAMMU & KASHMIR 40573.74 37918.293 47746.57 37408.37
23 UTTARAKHAND 35365.25 33602.58 34877.55 20857.02
24 ANDAMAN & NICOBAR 1971.15 1333.23 431.68 666.99
25 CHANDIGARH 1532.18 2308.52 3309.9 858.71
26 D. & NAGAR HAVELI & DAMAN & DIU 933.39 838.79 579.95 581.80
27 LADAKH 1469.55 1467.45 1878.52 1746.07
28 LAKSHADWEEP 210.52 272.64 44.18 98.26
29 ARUNACHAL PRADESH 17082.84 14564.45 12934.21 11729.66
30 ASSAM 131989.88 143219.22 161876.99 144940.11
31 MANIPUR 22892.04 17728.41 11962.31 14254.83
32 MEGHALAYA 17332.82 17786.35 19170.27 10937.88
33 MIZORAM 5931.57 6196.87 4216.61 3552.39
34 NAGALAND 15980.27 16020.96 19633.32 17518.50
35 SIKKIM 2573.06 2459.08 1968.56 10.49
36 TRIPURA 18672.47 17165.52 14746.76 9822.46
Total 1836799.55 1835866.77 1918469.3 1495855.8

Impact on Nutrition Indicators

The efforts under the Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 scheme have shown promising results in improving nutrition indicators for children under 5 years of age across the country. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) 2019-21, the prevalence of wasting has declined from 21% (NFHS-4) to 19.3%, the percentage of underweight children has reduced from 35.7% (NFHS-4) to 32.1%, and the stunting indicator has shown a decline from 38.4% (NFHS-4) to 35.5%.

Moreover, as per the data from the POSHAN Tracker for November 2023, around 7.44 crore children under 6 years were measured, and 37.51% were found to be severely or moderately stunted, while 17.43% were found to be severely or moderately underweight. The prevalence of wasting, as per the POSHAN Tracker, stands at 6%, which is much below the NFHS-5 level of 19.3%.

Addressing Infrastructure Gaps

To address infrastructure gaps and improve the facilities at Anganwadi Centers (AWCs), the Ministry has undertaken several initiatives. These include:

  1. Increasing the cost of drinking water facilities and toilets at AWCs from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 17,000 and Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 36,000, respectively.
  2. Issuing directions to states and UTs to co-locate AWCs running on rent without sufficient infrastructure with nearby primary schools.
  3. Providing for the construction of 50,000 AWC buildings over five years at a rate of 10,000 AWCs per year under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0.
  4. Revising the construction cost of AWC buildings in convergence with MGNREGS from Rs. 7 lakh to Rs. 12 lakh per unit.
  5. Advising states and UTs to tap funds from various schemes for constructing AWC buildings, such as MPLADS, MLALADS, RIDF, Finance Commission Grants to Panchayati Raj Institutions, NREGA, MSDP of the Ministry of Minority Affairs, etc.
  6. Upgrading and strengthening 2 lakh AWCs at a rate of 40,000 AWCs per year across the country for improved nutrition delivery and early childhood care and development under the Saksham Anganwadi component.
  7. Upgrading all Mini AWCs with one worker to full-fledged AWCs with one worker and one helper.
  8. Enhancing the monthly rent for AWCs in rural areas from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 2,000, in urban areas from Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 6,000, and in metropolitan areas from Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 8,000.

The Mission Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 scheme is a comprehensive initiative aimed at revitalizing the Anganwadi ecosystem, improving nutrition and health outcomes, and fostering holistic development for children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers across the country.

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