The Ministry of Women and Child Development has strengthened two lakh Anganwadi Centres located in government buildings as Saksham Anganwadis under Mission Poshan 2.0, with 40,000 centres upgraded per year. The initiative, part of a centrally sponsored scheme to address malnutrition, enhances infrastructure for Early Childhood Care and Education, providing LED screens, water filtration systems, Poshan Vatikas, ECCE material, and BALA paintings.
Community mobilisation and awareness campaigns are conducted through Poshan Maahs and Poshan Pakhwadas, along with two mandatory Community Based Events each month for every Anganwadi worker to promote nutritional practices.
Under PM JANMAN, 2,500 Anganwadi Centres have been sanctioned for 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups, while 875 centres have been approved under the Dharti Abha Janjati Gram Unnat Abhiyan to improve socio-economic conditions in tribal communities. Funding for drinking water and toilet facilities at centres has been increased to Rs.17,000 and Rs.36,000, respectively.
The Poshan Tracker, an ICT monitoring tool supported by a dedicated Poshan Helpline (1515), tracks infrastructure, service delivery, and child nutrition indicators in near real-time, covering attendance, growth measurement, hot cooked meals or take-home rations, and monthly progress reports. The system allows photo-based daily tracking of Anganwadi activities and facilitates complaints and assistance across regions.
In convergence with the Ministry of Education, guidelines for co-locating Anganwadi Centres within government primary schools were launched on 3 September 2025 to strengthen foundational literacy, numeracy, and ECCE services. Where physical co-location is not feasible, centres are mapped to the nearest primary school.
According to the UDISE+ portal, 2,99,546 Anganwadi Centres have been co-located with government primary schools nationwide. The information was provided by the Minister of State for Women and Child Development in the Lok Sabha.
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