Union Minister Annpurna Devi chairs meeting of Consultative Committee of MPs

New Delhi [India], December 17 : The Meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Members of Parliament for the Ministry of Women and Child Development was held in the national capital on Monday.
The subject of the meeting was 'Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0', the Ministry of Women and Child Development said in a press release.
Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Annpurna Devi chaired the meeting. Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Savitri Thakur was also present. Members of Parliament of various political parties from Lok Sabha and Rajya took part in the meeting.
During the meeting, Annpurna Devi provided a brief overview of various schemes of Ministry of Women & Child Development viz Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0), Mission Shakti and Mission Vatsalya and highlighted that the Ministry is dedicated to the cause of women and children, to improve their livelihood in every manner from the first days of their life, to when they enter the workforce and become mothers, the release stated.
Anil Malik, Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development provided a brief overview of the scheme to all the members of the Consultative Committee. Gyanesh Bharti, Additional Secretary, MWCD gave a presentation on the subject.
Members of Parliament provided suggestions concerning the actual implementation of the scheme. Annpurna Devi expressed gratitude to the participants for their valuable contributions. She further directed officials to take appropriate actions to incorporate the suggestions made by Members of Parliament and prioritize the welfare of the people.
She also requested the Members of the Parliament to undertake visits in their regions and create awareness amongst the people and also requested all the members to provide their valuable suggestions/issues being faced at ground level to enable the Ministry to take proactive measures for smooth and effective delivery of services to end beneficiaries.
"Under Mission Poshan 2.0, efforts are being made to strengthen and upgrade two lakh AWCs as Saksham Anganwadis to enhance the delivery of nutrition and stimulate the cognitive, emotional, and social development of children under six years of age. On September 30, 2024, over 11,000 Saksham Anganwadis were inaugurated, offering improved nutrition and Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) services," the release added.
Under PM JANMAN for the targeted development of 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) out of the total 2500 Anganwadi Centres to be constructed in three Financial Years (FYs) up to 2025-26, a total of 2139 Anganwadi centres have been sanctioned out of which 780 operational catering to approximately 22845 beneficiaries in PVTG areas.
One of the important pillars of Mission Poshan 2.0 is governance in which Jan Andolan and community-based events serve as an important components. More than 100 crore Jan Andolan activities and 6 crore community-based events (CBEs) were conducted since 2018.
According to the Ministry, for the first time, baseline data on nutritional indicators are available on the Poshan Tracker. All Anganwadi centres are equipped with smartphones. Poshan Tracker is available in 24 languages.
Ministry has developed a two-factor authentication system using face authentication and OTP for ensuring last-mile delivery of Take Home Ration to registered beneficiaries.
To promote decision-making at the State level and provide input for policy making, a monthly Factsheet giving a comprehensive overview of key nutritional indicators and Anganwadi infrastructure is provided to States/UT.
Beneficiary Registration was introduced for Self-registration by selecting the Anganwadi centre to avail the benefits of Anganwadi services.
It has been announced in the interim budget FY 2024-25 to extend healthcare annual coverage of Rs. 5 Lakhs under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) to all Anganwadi workers and helpers. As per the information furnished by the National Health Authority (NHA), Ayushmnan Cards have been created for approx. 8.15 Lakh AWWs/AWHs, the Ministry added.