Latest news with #POSHANAbhiyaan
The Hindu
26-06-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
National Analytical Facility for Nutrition and Metabolism Research inaugurated
The National Analytical Facility for Nutrition and Metabolism Research at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Hyderabad (TIFRH), was inaugurated by the Chairman-Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and Secretary-Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in Hyderabad on Monday. The new facility has been established under the ambit of TIFR/ARUMDA (Advanced Research Unit on Metabolism, Development, and Aging), a first-of-its-kind multidisciplinary research centre dedicated to cutting-edge research in metabolism, nutrition, and aging. This pioneering hub bridges basic science and clinical research, uniting biologists, physicians, and public health experts to address India's most pressing health challenges - anaemia, obesity, diabetes, and double-burden malnutrition, informed ARUMDA principal investigator and coordinator Ullas Kolthur. The unit is considered to be the first multi-disciplinary dedicated research unit in the country to address metabolic/life-style diseases by bridging basic biology, epidemiology, community health and clinical research, he said. The main theme is to address genetic, dietary and geographical diversities, which along with socio-economic disparities and rapidly changing lifestyles, are leading to an explosive rise in the incidence of metabolic syndromes and age-associated diseases, explained Dr. Kolthur, also Director of Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), here in the city. The facility is equipped with advanced technologies to support both clinical and pre-clinical studies for anaemia research and micronutrient deficiencies/supplementation, obesity and metabolic disorders via body composition analysis and measuring energy expenditure; diabetes and metabolic health using high-resolution metabolomics, targeted metabolomics, and metallomics, double-burden malnutrition (coexisting undernutrition and obesity) etc. It will also be supporting national health programs like Anaemia 'Mukt Bharat' – enhancing strategies to combat iron deficiency; 'POSHAN Abhiyaan' – tackling malnutrition through precision nutrition research and 'Ayushman Bharat' – strengthening preventive and metabolic healthcare. Besides, the facility is also being utilised to serve an ICMR centre of advanced research on 'Normative Baseline for Childhood Development in India,' and the technologies are used for setting standards for early-life metabolic health and growth trajectories, he said. 'TIFRH mandates that fundamental research should benefit applications to socially relevant issues with Arumda being a prime example', said Centre director M. Krishnamurthy. 'With this facility, Indian researchers will gain a comprehensive understanding of metabolic health, further fuel efforts in implementing informed dietary interventions and aid in alleviating malnutrition in the country,' added ARUMDA principal investigator & coordinator Mahendra Sonawane.
India Gazette
24-06-2025
- Health
- India Gazette
Over 17,000 nutrition kits distributed in Mandi: BJP MP Kangana Ranaut on Poshan Abhiyaan
Kullu (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 25 (ANI): BJP MP from Mandi and actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut distributed nutrition kits under the Poshan Abhiyaan in Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh, on Tuesday. The initiative aims to combat malnutrition and promote healthy dietary practices among women and children. Speaking on the occasion, Kangana Ranaut said, 'This effort is aimed at empowering women by providing essential nutrients. Each kit, designed for three months, contains various types of nutrients, and we have urged everyone to incorporate them into their daily diet. Over 17,000 kits are being distributed here.' Highlighting the issue of malnutrition, she added, 'Malnutrition remains a significant challenge, primarily due to a lack of awareness.' Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the unique initiative, POSHAN Abhiyaan (erstwhile National Nutrition Mission), on the occasion of International Women's Day on March 8, 2018, from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan. The POSHAN (Prime Minister's Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition) Abhiyaan directs the country's attention towards the problem of malnutrition and aims to address it in a mission-mode. POSHAN Abhiyaan is India's flagship programme to improve nutritional outcomes for children, adolescent girls, pregnant women, and lactating mothers. This ambitious program aims to combat malnutrition with a specific focus on reducing the alarming prevalence of stunting among young children aged 0 to 6 years. The goal is to decrease the current stunting rate of 38.4 per cent to a more acceptable 25 per cent by the year 2022, ensuring a healthier future for the nation's youngest and most at-risk populations. The POSHAN Abhiyaan aims to improve the nutritional status of children aged 0 to 6 years, as well as pregnant women and lactating mothers, within a specified timeframe. Actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut, who registered her first victory on a BJP ticket from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, took oath as a member of Parliament in 2024. She defeated Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. (ANI)
Time of India
06-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
New tools offer breakthrough in tackling 'hidden hunger' in India
NEW DELHI: A new toolkit developed by The George Institute for Global Health (GIGH), India, in collaboration with Rutgers University, US and other international partners, promises to reshape India's response to malnutrition by helping map and understand its complex food environments. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The study, published in Current Developments in Nutrition, addresses how availability, affordability, and access to food influence nutritional outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like India. The GIGH is an independent medical research organisation with a focus on improving the health of millions worldwide, particularly those living in disadvantaged settings. Established in 1999 and headquartered in Sydney, it operates major research centres in India, China, and the UK. Led by Shauna Downs of Rutgers and featuring Suparna Ghosh-Jerath from The George Institute, the research introduces a 'Food Environment Toolbox' that includes seven practical tools such as participatory mapping and market assessments. These tools were piloted across rural, urban, and peri-urban areas in India and Cambodia. India's food landscape is shifting rapidly, with growing market dependence not matched by better nutrition. 'We developed the toolbox through an iterative process, ensuring it reflects the realities of LMICs,' said Dr. Ghosh-Jerath. The country continues to battle a double burden—widespread nutrient deficiencies alongside rising diet-related diseases. National surveys reveal severe anaemia among women and children, underscoring the need for diet quality over mere calorie sufficiency. The new toolkit could enhance key nutrition schemes like POSHAN Abhiyaan, ICDS, and the Mid-Day Meal Scheme by aligning them more closely with regional food realities. 'The tools were adaptable across diverse contexts,' noted Dr. Downs, calling them a 'timely step toward more effective, evidence-based nutrition policy.'
Hans India
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
PM Modi didn't just speak of modernising Anganwadis but delivered it: Smriti Irani
New Delhi: While the Modi government completes 11 years in power, 'Garib Kalyan' has remained at the core of governance as reflected in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's oft-repeated pitch of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Prayas'. Much like Ujjwala Yojana, DBT, Jan Dhan Yojana and others, Anganwadi centres have seen upgradation and transformation for the first time, under Prime Minister Modi. Former Union Minister Smriti Irani on Thursday explained in detail how the Anganwadis remained "institutions of no relevance" during UPA rule but became digitised and modernised under the Modi government. The Modi Story, a popular social media handle on X, shared a video of Smriti Irani shedding light on the differences between the BJP and Congress regimes in their outlook, focus and governance regarding Anganwadis. In the video, Irani, the former Women and Child Development Minister, said there is too much of a difference between boasting about bringing change and delivering it on the ground. "PM Modi didn't just speak about modernisation but delivered it. He not just spoke about revamping old ways of working in the Anganwadis but also brought structural changes to ensure that the real change happens on the ground," she said. Lamenting the ignorance and negligence of Anganwadi centres during the Congress regime, she said that it remained in power for so many years, but Anganwadis were never on its list of priorities. Recalling the range of initiatives to strengthen Anganwadis, Irani said that under Prime Minister Modi, more than 11 lakh Anganwadis received smart devices and 12 lakh growth monitoring devices, a first in the country's history. Over 10 lakh Anganwadi workers were trained digitally and offline, she further informed, calling it a true example of turning vision into action. Notably, Anganwadi Services are one of the flagship programmes of the government providing early childhood care and development of the beneficiaries i.e. children in the age group of 0-6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers through a large network of Anganwadi workers (AWW) and Helpers (AWH). Under POSHAN Abhiyaan, the Aanganwadi workers (AWWs) have been technologically empowered with smartphones. A total of 11.03 lakhs smartphones have been procured by States/UTs. In a first-of-its-kind initiative this year, the Women and Child Development Ministry decided to extend childcare services through Anganwadi cum Creche (AWCC).
The Hindu
16-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
The ingredient to turn around nutrition outcomes
The analysis of India's free foodgrain programme for 800 million people underscores a grim reality: that hunger and malnutrition remain pressing concerns. Yet, in India's long battle against malnutrition, women and girls remain the most overlooked section. Despite steady economic progress and numerous welfare schemes, nutritional inequality continues to be deeply gendered. Launched in 2018 with the vision of a malnutrition-free India by 2022, the Prime Minister's Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment (POSHAN) Abhiyaan has the aim of improving nutrition for pregnant women, lactating mothers, adolescent girls, and young children. However, stark disparities persist. Structural failures The National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 reveals that 57% of women in the age group 15 to 49 years are anaemic, in comparison to 26% of men; nearly one in five women are underweight. In other words, women are far more likely to be malnourished than men in India. These figures point to structural failures in how we address nutrition. Even after merging schemes into 'POSHAN 2.0' and investing heavily, the needle has not moved enough for women. Indeed, POSHAN Abhiyaan is India's largest nutrition programme with a hefty budget. In 2022-23, the Ministry of Women and Child Development was allocated nearly ₹24,000 crore for Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, but by December 2022, only 69% of those funds had been utilised. Despite such spending, the prevalence of anaemia among women actually rose from 53% to 57% between the last two NFHS rounds, and about 18.7% of women remain underweight. This contrast suggests that just pumping in resources into a women-centric nutrition scheme is not enough. In many Indian households, especially the poorer ones, women's nutritional needs are literally last in line. Entrenched cultural norms often mean that when food is scarce, women and girls eat least and last. Thus, malnutrition is not just a biomedical or food-supply issue; it is a social justice issue. If a woman lacks economic independence or decision-making power, she may have little control over her diet and health. Even government data underscores this link: the NFHS-5 found that 49% of women lack decision-making power over how their own earnings are spent. This financial dependence often translates into compromised nutrition — a result of gender-based deprivation. The issue of empowerment Studies have shown that empowering women financially is one of the most effective ways to improve nutrition. Nobel laureate Esther Duflo, for instance, finds that when women control extra income, they are more likely to spend it on nutrition and children's well-being. In a study we conducted among low-income communities, we observed that women with even a modest independent income or control over household spending were far less likely to be undernourished. The missing piece in India's nutrition puzzle is women's economic and social empowerment. The state of women's employment suggests that female labour force participation has risen from about 23% in 2017-18 to around 33% in 2021–22 — a positive shift on paper. But a vast majority of working women are in insecure, low-paying jobs. According to the Periodic Labour Force Surveys, as of 2021-22 only 5% of working women held a regular salaried job, while nearly 20% were self-employed (mostly in small-scale or informal activities). Moreover, self-employed women earned on average 53% less than men in similar work. In effect, many women who do work are barely earning enough to survive, employment has not yet translated into the power to make decisions or invest in their own nutrition and well-being. Thus, it is not enough to get women into the workforce; the quality and security of their jobs matter just as much. Without skills training, equal pay, and access to stable employment, women remain economically vulnerable even when they work. As a result, even well-intentioned nutrition programmes such as POSHAN will have limited impact if women cannot afford or are not empowered to consume the nutritious food being provided. Government reports praise Poshan Abhiyaan for creating awareness and a 'Jan Andolan' around nutrition, but awareness alone cannot fill an empty stomach. Need for convergence If POSHAN 2.0 aims to eliminate undernutrition, it should work in tandem with schemes that boost women's incomes and status. First, it must set measurable targets not just for reducing anaemia or stunting, but also for increasing the proportion of women with independent incomes and decision-making power. Second, it must break the silos, making sure that nutrition, health, and livelihood departments work together on joint interventions in high-malnutrition districts. Third, it must use Anganwadi centres and health workers to not only distribute food and supplements but also to connect women with skill training, credit schemes, or job opportunities. An Anganwadi can double as a one-stop hub for women's welfare (meals, antenatal care, financial literacy workshops). Ultimately, a malnutrition-free India will be possible only when women are not seen as passive beneficiaries of nutrition schemes but as active agents driving the health and the prosperity of their families. Divya Bharti is a Researcher and Faculty Associate, KIIT School of Management
