What happened

The Ministry of Women and Child Development launched Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0) to improve nutritional outcomes for children aged 0–6 years and other vulnerable groups. The Mission is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Mission, with implementation responsibilities for activities placed on States and Union Territories.

Background and earlier position

Nutrition-related delivery for young children and vulnerable groups existed through multiple programme tracks, including Anganwadi services and Poshan Abhiyaan, and adolescent-girl nutrition support in specified geographies. For Anganwadi delivery monitoring, the Ministry introduced the Poshan Tracker application in March 2021 to track Anganwadi Centres, Anganwadi Workers and beneficiaries on defined indicators.

What changed now under Mission Poshan 2.0

Mission Poshan 2.0 integrates beneficiary coverage, programme components and monitoring tools within one mission framework. The Mission includes children under 6 years; pregnant women; lactating mothers; and adolescent girls aged 14–18 years in the North-Eastern region and Aspirational Districts. The Mission subsumes Anganwadi services, Poshan Abhiyaan and adolescent-girl nutrition support. Governance and implementation monitoring relies on Poshan Tracker for indicators such as Anganwadi Centre opening, daily child attendance, Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) activities, growth monitoring, distribution of Hot Cooked Meal (HCM) and distribution of Take-Home Ration (THR). For last-mile tracking of THR distribution, Mission Poshan 2.0 includes Facial Recognition System (FRS) functionality within the Poshan Tracker application to support delivery to the intended registered beneficiary. Mission Poshan 2.0 also sets out a lifecycle nutrition strategy covering maternal nutrition; Infant and Young Child Feeding norms; management of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM); and wellness through AYUSH practices, with stated intent to reduce wasting, stunting, anaemia and being underweight. Supplementary nutrition is provided as per nutrition norms referenced in Schedule-II of the National Food Security Act, 2013, with nutrition norms revised in January 2023. Extra supplementary nutrition through THR is provided for SAM children. The Mission also uses a jointly released protocol for management of child malnutrition developed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which follows a community-based approach for timely detection and screening of severe acute malnutrition, home-based management for children without medical complications using wholesome local nutritious foods, and supportive medical care. Community engagement and behavioural change are reinforced through awareness advocacy and sensitisation under Jan Andolans during Poshan Maah and Poshan Pakhwada (September and March–April), along with monthly Community Based Events (CBEs) in which Anganwadi workers are required to conduct two CBEs every month.

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