Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 is a Centrally Sponsored scheme. Under the Mission, a package of six services i.e., Supplementary Nutrition (SNP), Pre-school Non-formal Education, Nutrition & Health Education, Immunization, Health Check-up, and Referral Services are provided to the eligible beneficiaries through Anganwadi Centres. Three of the six services, viz., Immunization, Health check-up and Referral Services are related to health and are provided through National Health Mission (NHM) & Public Health Infrastructure. These services are provided to the eligible registered beneficiaries i.e., children up to the age of 6 years, Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers across the country and Adolescent Girls in the age group of 14 to 18 years in Aspirational Districts of States and all districts of North Eastern Region by through the platform of Anganwadi Centre.

Under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, two lakh Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) located in Government buildings have been sanctioned as Saksham Anganwadis for delivery of improved nutrition and for Early Childhood Care and Education in the 15th Finance Commission cycle. Saksham Anganwadis are provided with infrastructure such as LED screens, water filtration system, Poshan Vatika, Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) material and Building as Learning Aid (BALA) paintings. A total of 23,697 AWCs have been approved for upgradation as Saksham Anganwadis for the State of Uttar Pradesh including 206 AWCs to the District of Ghaziabad.

Under Mission Saksham Anagnwadi and Poshan 2.0, performance based incentive is given to Anganwadi Workers and Anganwadi Helpers on monthly basis @ ₹500 & ₹250 per month respectively for growth monitoring of at least 80% of children in 0-6 age group and for Completing at least 60% of home visits.

The Ministry releases funds to all States and UTs for procurement of Smart Phones to Anganwadi Workers (AWWs), Lady Supervisors and Block Coordinators for registration, data entry, tracking and monitoring of all beneficiaries in the Poshan Tracker application. Funds for Growth Monitoring Devices (Infantometer and Stadiometer for length and height measurement, Weighing Scale-Infant and Weighing Scale-Mother & Child for weight measurement of the beneficiaries) are also released to all the States and UTs. An amount of ₹10,000+ GST per Smart phone and ₹8,000/- for a set of 4 GMDs is provided by the Central Government on cost-sharing basis. Growth measurement i.e., length/height & weight of all registered children is an essential component under the scheme to obtain their status as Normal, Underweight, Stunted, SAM or MAM. Poshan Tracker app has enabled the Ministry to review the implementation of the scheme on various parameters and to make course correction. It has facilitated near real time data collection for Anganwadi Services such as, opening of AWCs, daily attendance of children, ECCE activities, Growth Monitoring of children, Provision of Hot Cooked Meal (HCM) and Take-Home Ration (THR), Growth Measurement etc.

A key component of the Mission is to enable the right kind of nourishment through Poshan Vatikas or Nutri-gardens set up across the country to provide easy and affordable access to fruits, vegetables, medicinal plants and herbs. To encourage diet-diversity and consumption of wholesome local produce, Poshan Vatikas have been developed at AWCs.

Poshan Vatikas help to meet the important dietary diversity gap that has been repeatedly revealed in different surveys by providing different fruits, nuts, herbs, medicinal plants and vegetables round the year. The main objective of introducing the concept of Poshan Vatika is to encourage community members to cultivate local food crops in their backyards. A nutrition garden ensures an inexpensive, regular and handy supply of fresh fruits and vegetables that are basic to good nutrition. Green vegetables and seasonal fruits contain vitamins and minerals that protect against micro-nutrient deficiencies and diseases.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Women and Child Development Smt. Savitri Thakur in Lok Sabha in reply to a question.

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