What Is Saksham Anganwadi?
Saksham Anganwadi refers to the upgradation of traditional Anganwadi Centres into modern centres with improved infrastructure, technology and better facilities for nutrition, healthcare and early childhood education.
It is implemented under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0, an umbrella scheme of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
The objective is to transform Anganwadi Centres into integrated hubs for nutrition, health, learning and child development.
Objectives
- Improve the nutritional status of children, pregnant women and lactating mothers
- Reduce malnutrition, stunting, wasting and anaemia
- Strengthen Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)
- Upgrade Anganwadi infrastructure and service quality
- Promote behavioural change towards healthy nutrition and hygiene
- Ensure convergence of nutrition, health and education services
Key Features
- Modern, child-friendly Anganwadi buildings
- Safe drinking water and sanitation facilities
- Smart learning tools and digital infrastructure
- Growth-monitoring equipment
- Internet connectivity, wherever feasible
- Nutrition gardens (Poshan Vatikas)
- Improved kitchens and food storage facilities
- Better spaces for pre-school education and community activities
The Government has approved the upgradation of 2 lakh Anganwadi Centres across the country in a phased manner.
Services Provided
Saksham Anganwadi Centres provide an integrated package of services, including:
- Supplementary nutrition
- Pre-school non-formal education
- Nutrition and health education
- Immunisation
- Health check-ups
- Growth monitoring
- Referral services for children and mothers requiring specialised care
These services are delivered through convergence between the Women and Child Development Ministry and the Health Ministry.
Beneficiaries
The scheme primarily benefits:
- Children below six years of age
- Pregnant women
- Lactating mothers
- Adolescent girls (under specified interventions)
POSHAN Tracker
The POSHAN Tracker is the digital platform supporting Mission Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0.
It enables:
- Digital registration of beneficiaries
- Real-time monitoring of service delivery
- Child growth monitoring
- Nutrition surveillance
- Better transparency and data-driven decision-making
- Efficient monitoring of Anganwadi Centres
Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi Initiative
The initiative integrates nutrition with early childhood education, recognising that a child’s physical and cognitive development go hand in hand.
Important components include:
- Navchetana: Early childhood stimulation framework for children from birth to 3 years.
- Aadharshila: National curriculum framework for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) for children aged 3–6 years.
The initiative focuses on improving language development, cognitive abilities, motor skills, creativity and socio-emotional learning.
Significance
Saksham Anganwadi represents a shift from a nutrition-centric approach to a holistic child development approach.
It aims to transform Anganwadi Centres into community institutions that provide:
- Better nutrition
- Quality early childhood education
- Regular health monitoring
- Digital governance
- Maternal care and counselling
- Convergence of welfare services at the grassroots level
By investing in the first six years of a child’s life, the programme seeks to improve learning outcomes, health indicators and overall human capital development in the long run.
