Nearly 34 per cent of children under the age of five in India remain stunted, while about 15 per cent are underweight, the government informed Parliament on Wednesday, citing recent data from the Poshan Tracker.
In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur said that although malnutrition remains a concern, key nutrition indicators among children have shown measurable improvement over the years. The data shared was based on real-time monitoring through the Poshan Tracker, a digital platform used to track child nutrition across the country.
According to the ministry, as of October, growth parameters of height and weight were measured for over 6.44 crore children aged between 0 and 5 years who are enrolled at Anganwadi centres. Of these, 33.54 per cent were found to be stunted, 14.41 per cent underweight, and 5.03 per cent classified as wasted.
The minister compared the figures with findings from the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) conducted during 2019–21, which showed higher levels of malnutrition. As per NFHS-5 data, 35.5 per cent of children under five were stunted, 32.1 per cent were underweight, and 19.3 per cent suffered from wasting, indicating a decline in several indicators over time.
Thakur also referred to a World Bank survey conducted in 2021 covering 11 priority states with high prevalence of anaemia and stunting. The survey included Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh.
According to the survey findings shared in Parliament, services delivered under the Poshan Abhiyaan, including nutrition messaging, home visits by Anganwadi workers, and participation in community-based programmes, were associated with improved nutrition-related behaviours. The study reported that nutrition messages reached more than 80 per cent of women beneficiaries.
The World Bank survey also found that 81 per cent of women practiced exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months, reflecting better adoption of recommended infant feeding practices.
To strengthen efforts against malnutrition, several schemes such as Anganwadi Services, Poshan Abhiyaan, and the Scheme for Adolescent Girls have been consolidated under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, in line with the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission. The integrated mission targets children, adolescents, pregnant women and lactating mothers, including those in Aspirational Districts and the North-Eastern region.
The Poshan Tracker application, launched in March 2021, continues to function as a key governance and monitoring tool. It enables tracking of Anganwadi centres, workers and beneficiaries, while leveraging technology for dynamic identification of stunting, wasting and underweight prevalence among children.
