§ 09Nutrition

Nutrition, growth and the early years

India’s largest nutrition programme, read through its official figures — each with its source and its date.

Figures below are those reported by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the Poshan Tracker dashboard and the National Family Health Survey. Where two official figures differ, both are shown.

One thousand days, one dot for each A grid of 1,000 dots. The first 270, in rose, represent pregnancy; the next 365, in saffron, the first year of life; the last 365, in coral, the second year.
Pregnancy · 270 days Year one · 365 days Year two · 365 days

Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2026 · Varanasi · 9 September 2026

The Anganwadi network, as stated at the launch of the 9th Poshan Maah

14 lakh+Anganwadi Centres delivering nutrition, health and early childhood care
7.5 crore+children served
1.10 crorepregnant women and lactating mothers served

Minister’s statement, PIB 2308322, 9 September 2026 — which also cites nearly 16 lakh adolescent girls. PIB’s backgrounder of 8 September 2026 (PIB 2307886) gives, as of 31 July 2026, nearly 13.99 lakh centres, 13.30 lakh Anganwadi workers and almost 8.94 crore beneficiaries, including over 7.2 crore children aged six months to six years.

POSHAN Abhiyaan → POSHAN 2.0

From a mission to an integrated programme

  1. 8 March 2018POSHAN Abhiyaan launched by the Prime Minister at Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan. PIB 2109222
  2. 1 March 2021Poshan Tracker rolled out for real-time monitoring of Anganwadi services. PIB 2247564
  3. 10 May 2023Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi launched to strengthen pre-school education in Anganwadis. PIB 2224434
  4. March 2024Navchetana (0–3 years) and Aadharshila (3–6 years) frameworks launched. PIB 2013429
  5. 23 June 2026Guidelines for Anganwadi Management Committees issued. PIB 2307886

POSHAN Abhiyaan

Launched in 2018, POSHAN Abhiyaan (the Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment) brought convergence, technology and community mobilisation to the fight against malnutrition. Its community campaign — the Jan Andolan — has since recorded more than 150 crore activities, according to the Ministry.

Mission Saksham Anganwadi & POSHAN 2.0

POSHAN 2.0 integrates three earlier schemes — Anganwadi Services, the Scheme for Adolescent Girls and POSHAN Abhiyaan — into one mission (PIB 2251769). Through the Anganwadi it delivers six services: supplementary nutrition; pre-school non-formal education; nutrition and health education; immunisation; health check-ups; and referral services (PIB 2247564).

Supplementary nutrition is provided to children from six months to six years, pregnant women, lactating mothers and adolescent girls under Schedule II of the National Food Security Act, with norms revised in January 2023. Adolescent girls aged 14–18 are covered in the North-Eastern states and aspirational districts.

Saksham Anganwadis are centres upgraded with better infrastructure and learning equipment. Two lakh centres were sanctioned for strengthening; 1,03,940 had been upgraded by April 2026 (PIB 2251769, 2247564). The Poshan Tracker, which received the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2024, now verifies Take Home Ration beneficiaries through face recognition — 97.01% of beneficiaries had completed it by February 2026 (PIB 2245025).

The Anganwadi ecosystem

Who the network serves

The Poshan Tracker’s public dashboard counts every centre, worker and registered beneficiary. As last updated on 31 August 2026 it records 13,98,954 Anganwadi Centres and 13,31,131 Anganwadi Workers across 36 States and UTs and 787 districts, serving 8,93,34,047 eligible beneficiaries.

The “14 lakh+” in ministerial statements is a rounding of this count. Beneficiary numbers change daily as children age in and out of the programme.

Children, 6 months – 3 years3.64 cr
Children, 3 – 6 years3.59 cr
Pregnant women63.9 lakh
Children, 0 – 6 months45.9 lakh
Lactating mothers45.7 lakh
Adolescent girls15.4 lakh

Poshan Tracker, statistics, last updated 31/08/2026 (poshantracker.in). Bars scaled to the largest group.

Maternal & child nutrition

The baseline the programme works against

The National Family Health Survey is the Government’s principal measure of nutrition outcomes. Its fifth round (2019–21) found that more than a third of children under five were stunted, and that anaemia affected two-thirds of young children and more than half of women of reproductive age.

Maternal nutrition is addressed through supplementary nutrition and counselling for pregnant and lactating women at the Anganwadi, and maternity benefit under PMMVY. Child nutrition combines growth monitoring, infant and young child feeding counselling, and community-based management of acute malnutrition — a protocol the Minister has answered on in the Lok Sabha (13 March 2026).

Children under 5 who are stunted35.5%
Children under 5 who are wasted19.3%
Children under 5 who are underweight32.1%
Children 6–59 months who are anaemic67.1%
Women 15–49 who are anaemic57.0%

NFHS-5 (2019–21), India Fact Sheet, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare / IIPS. Bars on a 0–100% scale.

Poshan Pakhwada · Rashtriya Poshan Maah

Two national campaigns a year

Poshan Pakhwada — a fortnight, March–AprilRashtriya Poshan Maah — a month, from September

Poshan Pakhwada Spring fortnight

  • 7th · 8–22 April 2025Four themes: the first 1,000 days of life; self-registration through the Poshan Tracker beneficiary module; community-based management of malnutrition; and healthy lifestyles to address childhood obesity. PIB 2251769
  • 8th · 9–23 April 2026 — “Maximizing Brain Development in the First Six Years of Life”Launched by the Minister at Vigyan Bhawan. PIB notes that “scientific evidence indicates that over 85% of brain development occurs by the age of six”. Focus areas: maternal and child nutrition; early stimulation (0–3); play-based education (3–6); parents’ and community’s role in minimising screen time; and community participation in Anganwadis. PIB 2249920, 2250637

Rashtriya Poshan Maah National Nutrition Month

  • 7th · September 2024Launched by the Minister at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, on 31 August 2024. Themes included anaemia, growth monitoring, complementary feeding, Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi and “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam”. The Ministry reported 12.86 crore activities at 13.95 lakh centres. PIB 2050437, 2060268
  • 8th · 17 September – 16 October 2025Launched by the Prime Minister at Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, under the theme “Swasth Nari, Sashakt Parivaar”; more than 14 crore activities reported. PIB 2167416, 2180534
  • 9th · 9 September – 8 October 2026 — “Hamari Anganwadi, Hamari Jimmedari”Launched by the Minister at Varanasi. Focus areas: dietary diversity and adequate protein; fresh hot cooked meals; community ownership through Anganwadi Management Committees; nutrition and early stimulation; and ten years of PMMVY. PIB 2308322

Community participation

A Jan Andolan

“Poshan Maah is becoming a nationwide festival and is taking the form of a Jan Andolan.”Smt. Annpurna Devi, launch of the 7th Rashtriya Poshan Maah, Gandhinagar, 31 August 2024 — PIB 2050437

The POSHAN campaigns depend on convergence — health workers, schools, panchayats, self-help groups and families. The 2025 Poshan Maah added “Men-streaming”, engaging fathers and men in nutrition, with over 1.5 crore activities reported. From June 2026, Anganwadi Management Committees and SNP menu boards were introduced to give communities a formal role in running their centres.

On 24 September 2024, in her own constituency, the Minister chaired the district administration’s Kuposhan Mukt Jharkhand event in Koderma, which included the Poshan oath, recognition of PMMVY beneficiaries and Godh Bharai and Annaprashan ceremonies at an Anganwadi centre (PIB 2058318).

The record

Documented ministerial participation

  1. 31 August 2024Launched the 7th Rashtriya Poshan Maah, Gandhinagar. PIB 2050437
  2. 13 September 2024Reviewed the Ministry’s schemes in Ranchi; approval was granted to upgrade 2,551 mini-Anganwadis in Jharkhand to full centres. PIB 2054544
  3. 24 September 2024Chaired the Kuposhan Mukt Jharkhand event, Koderma. PIB 2058318
  4. 30 September 2024Scheduled to attend the Poshan Maah closing ceremony in Ranchi, at which more than 11,000 Saksham Anganwadis across 20 states were inaugurated virtually. PIB 2060026, 2060268
  5. 10–13 April 2025Poshan Pakhwada visit to Arunachal Pradesh, including a review with state officials in Itanagar. PIB 2120289, 2120896
  6. 11 August 2025Chaired the Consultative Committee of MPs on face recognition in POSHAN 2.0. PIB 2155283
  7. 9 April 2026Launched the 8th Poshan Pakhwada, New Delhi: “Our children are the future of the nation and will carry forward the resolve of a Viksit Bharat.” PIB 2250637
  8. 9 September 2026Launched the 9th Rashtriya Poshan Maah, Varanasi. PIB 2308322