Around 10.11 crore beneficiaries registered under POSHAN Abhiyaan; highest from UP

NEW DELHI: Around 10.11 crore beneficiaries have been registered under the POSHAN Abhiyaan, the minister of women and child development Smriti Zubin Irani told the Lok Sabha today. The scheme was launched on March 8, 2018, to improve nutritional status of children from 0-6 years, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers, the minister said.

The highest number of 2,11,05,303 beneficiaries have been registered from Uttar Pradesh and second in the list is Bihar with 1,03,82,035.

In order to avail the services under the mission, Aadhaar verification is mandatory. Of the total beneficiaries registered on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) application Poshan tracker, approximately 94% have been Aadhaar verified. “Poshan Abhiyan is part of the Integrated Nutrition Support Programme, Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, which includes Anganwadi Services and Scheme for Adolescent Girls,” the written reply read.

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Smriti Irani informed that an important focus has been on ‘Behaviour Change Communication’ or BCC through Community Based Events (CBEs) and Jan Andolans in the form of Rashtriya Poshan Maahs and Poshan Pakhwadas. In the last four years, nearly 3.70 crore community based events have been conducted.

PM POSHAN Abhiyaan

As on July 31, 2023, total 46,36,094 beneficiaries are registered on Poshan Tracker in Rajasthan. An amount of Rs 10,005.28 lakh has been released to the state for implementation of various activities under the Abhiyaan for the period from 2019-20 to 2023-24, she answered to a question on how many beneficiaries were registered from Rajasthan.

Explaining the registration process, the minister said that if a child does not have an Aadhaar, the benefits can be accessed using the mother’s Aadhaar card. “Anganwadi Services scheme is being digitized by the ministry through the Poshan Tracker App to enable the ministry to identify the beneficiaries as part of the programme as a whole and to ensure uninterrupted supply of nutrition to the children, pregnant women and lactating mothers and adolescents girl beneficiaries, who move within the state or outside the state due to any reason,” she said.