Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget 2020-21 on Saturday, said that over six lakh Anganwadi workers are equipped with smartphones. She added that using the smartphones, Anganwadi workers are able to upload nutritional status of more than 10 crore households.
The steep jump of over 900 per cent in allocation of nutrition-related programmes, which include mid-day meal schemes in schools and Anganwadis, also aim to promote the availability of horticulture and hygienic fish as part of healthy and nutritious food. It is a welcome move considering India accounts for 46.6 million or one-third of the world's stunted children, according to 2015 data of the Global Nutrition Report.
Giving reasons for the higher allocation, the finance minister stated, “Health of mother and child are closely correlated. Nutrition is a critical component of health. To improve the nutritional status of children (0-6 years), adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers, our Prime Minister launched a 'Poshan Abhiyan' in 2017-18. More than six lakh Anganwadi workers are equipped with smartphones to upload the nutritional status of more than 10 crore households. The scale of these developments is unprecedented.”
Sitharaman allocated ₹35,600 crore for nutrition-related programmes for 2020-21.
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