New Delhi: The government informed Parliament on Wednesday that around 34 per cent of children under the age of five are stunted, while 15 per cent are underweight, according to data from the ‘Poshan Tracker’.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur highlighted that malnutrition indicators have shown notable improvement across the country.
As of October, more than 6.44 crore children aged 0–5 years enrolled in Anganwadis were assessed for height and weight.
“Out of these, 33.54 per cent were found to be stunted and 14.41 per cent were underweight, while 5.03 per cent fell under the wasted category,” Thakur said, citing the Poshan Tracker data.
She added that, as per the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019–21), 35.5 per cent of children under five were stunted, 32.1 per cent were underweight, and 19.3 per cent were wasted.
Thakur also referred to a 2021 World Bank survey conducted in 11 priority states — Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh — known for high levels of anaemia and stunting.
“The findings showed that services provided under the Poshan Abhiyaan — including nutrition messages, home visits by Anganwadi workers, and participation in community events — contributed to improved nutrition practices,” she said.
The survey revealed that over 80 per cent of women received nutrition-related messages, and 81 per cent exclusively breastfed their babies for the first six months.
Under the 15th Finance Commission, programmes such as Anganwadi Services, Poshan Abhiyaan, and the Scheme for Adolescent Girls (14–18 years) in Aspirational Districts and the North-East have been integrated into Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 to tackle malnutrition more effectively.
Launched in March 2021, the Poshan Tracker serves as a key governance platform, enabling comprehensive monitoring of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs), Anganwadi Workers (AWWs), and beneficiaries.
Through this technology, authorities can dynamically track the prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight conditions among children.
WIth inputs from IANS