Mission Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0
Why in News?
Recent replies by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in Parliament highlighted the implementation and expansion of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0. The Centre has approved 2 lakh Anganwadi Centres for upgradation into Saksham Anganwadis, while the Union Budget allocation for the mission in 2025–26 stood at ₹21,960 crore.
About the Mission
Mission Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 is a Centrally Sponsored scheme implemented across all States and Union Territories. It integrates:
- Anganwadi Services.
- POSHAN Abhiyaan.
- Scheme for Adolescent Girls aged 14–18 years in Aspirational Districts and the North-Eastern Region.
The mission has four broad verticals: nutrition support, Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), Anganwadi infrastructure, and POSHAN Abhiyaan.
Beneficiaries and Services
The mission covers:
Beneficiaries and Services
The mission covers:
- Children aged 6 months to 6 years.
- Pregnant women and lactating mothers.
- Adolescent girls aged 14–18 years in Aspirational Districts and the North-Eastern Region.
Anganwadi Centres provide six integrated services: supplementary nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, nutrition and health education, immunisation, health check-ups, and referral services. Health-related services are delivered in coordination with the National Health Mission.
Recent Developments
Recent Developments
- Infrastructure modernisation: Saksham Anganwadis are to be equipped with LED screens, water-purification systems, smart learning aids, Early Childhood Care and Education material, child-friendly facilities, and Poshan Vatikas.
- Digital governance: The Poshan Tracker monitors Anganwadi Centres, workers, attendance, growth measurements, supplementary nutrition, Take-Home Ration and ECCE activities.
- Targeted delivery: Aadhaar verification, e-KYC and facial-recognition-based authentication have been introduced to reduce duplication and leakage. A Nominee Module enables beneficiaries to receive Take-Home Ration through an authorised nominee.
- Nutrition outcomes: The government is using Poshan Tracker data to monitor stunting, wasting and underweight among children below five years.
- Parliamentary data: Jammu and Kashmir utilised ₹1,229.99 crore under the scheme during 2023–24 and 2024–25, while ₹401.62 crore was released during 2025–26.
Significance
- The mission adopts a life-cycle approach to malnutrition by linking maternal nutrition, infant feeding, early childhood development and adolescent nutrition.
- Upgraded Anganwadi Centres can function not merely as food-distribution points but as platforms for foundational learning, preventive healthcare and community-level nutrition awareness.
Key Concerns
- Uneven quality of supplementary nutrition across States.
- Infrastructure and connectivity gaps in remote and tribal regions.
- Excessive dependence on digital authentication may exclude beneficiaries facing problems with Aadhaar, mobile connectivity or biometric verification.
- Anganwadi Workers continue to face heavy administrative and data-entry responsibilities.
- Poshan Tracker data requires independent verification and privacy safeguards.
Way Forward
India should strengthen local and diverse food procurement, improve Anganwadi Worker training and remuneration, ensure offline alternatives to digital authentication, and converge POSHAN 2.0 with the National Health Mission, School Education, sanitation and rural-development programmes. Outcome-based monitoring should focus not only on food distribution but also on reductions in stunting, wasting, underweight and anaemia.
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India should strengthen local and diverse food procurement, improve Anganwadi Worker training and remuneration, ensure offline alternatives to digital authentication, and converge POSHAN 2.0 with the National Health Mission, School Education, sanitation and rural-development programmes. Outcome-based monitoring should focus not only on food distribution but also on reductions in stunting, wasting, underweight and anaemia.
