What is Poshan Abhiyan? Check its objectives, focus area and Launch Date in April 2025

Poshan Abhiyan was launched on March 8, 2018, in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan. Poshan Abhiyaan is a national initiative aimed at improving the nutrition levels of children, who should be aged between 0-6 years, for the adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers. This programme uses technology, teamwork across departments, and community involvement to reduce issues like stunting, undernutrition, anaemia, and low birth weight in children. The 7th edition of Poshan Pakhwada is going to be organised from 8th April 2025 to 23rd April 2025. Poshan Abhiyan aims to promote a healthy and nutritious diet among children and women. In this article, we will explore Poshan Abhiyan, its features & objectives and all about its 7th edition of Poshan Pakhwada in detail.

Poshan Pakhwada 2025 (8th April to 23rd April)

Every child deserves a healthy start, every mother deserves proper nourishment, and every family deserves access to nutritious food. Yet, for millions in India, malnutrition remains a silent crisis—one that affects not just… pic.twitter.com/z4yeidDTAA

— PIB India (@PIB_India) April 7, 2025

What is Poshan Abhiyan?

POSHAN Abhiyaan, also known as the National Nutrition Mission, is a transformative initiative that brings together various ministries under one umbrella with a shared vision — to create a malnutrition-free India. Launched with the goal of reducing stunting, undernutrition, anaemia, and low birth weight in children, this mission is also deeply committed to ensuring the health and nutritional well-being of pregnant women and lactating mothers.

At its core, the Abhiyaan isn't about creating new schemes but rather weaving together the many existing ones. While India has long had several nutrition-related programmes, the lack of synergy and coordination among them has been a major roadblock. POSHAN Abhiyaan addresses this gap by building a strong convergence mechanism. It focuses on aligning efforts, improving efficiency, and ensuring that each part of the system supports the other towards one common goal: better nutrition for all.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) is at the helm of this mission. In its first year, the program rolled out across 315 districts, followed by 235 more in the second year. The remaining districts were brought under the initiative in the third phase, ensuring nationwide coverage.

What are the features of POSHAN Abhiyan?

POSHAN Abhiyan mainly focuses on making sure everyone works together to fight malnutrition. Here are some of its main features, explained in simple words:

• Holistic Monitoring: POSHAN Abhiyan keeps an eye on all the nutrition programs happening in the country. It checks if everything is working well and if different departments are moving in the same direction.
• Convergence of Schemes: It brings together all the government programmes related to nutrition so they work as a team rather than separately.
• Use of Technology: The mission uses digital tools to watch progress in real-time. This helps to make sure everything is transparent and on track.
• Incentives for Good Performance: States, Union Territories, and Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) get rewards when they meet their goals and use technology properly.
• Digital Records at Ground Level: Anganwadi Centres are now using digital tools instead of paper records. This helps in collecting and managing data more efficiently.
• Tracking Child Growth: Children’s height and growth are regularly measured at Anganwadi Centres. This helps to catch any health issues early.
• Community Participation: Through the Jan Andolan movement, the public is encouraged to take part in spreading awareness about good nutrition.
• Support and Training Centers: Special centers are being set up to give training and share useful information with local workers and communities

These features together help in fighting malnutrition and building a healthier future for India.

Despite the variety of schemes and programmes in place over the years, India has continued to face a serious malnutrition challenge. What POSHAN Abhiyaan brings to the table is a unified, integrated approach that makes nutrition a shared responsibility—where governments, institutions, communities, and individuals come together to build a healthier future.

What are the objectives of Poshan Abhiyan?

The main objectives of Poshan Abhiyan are to reduce stunting, undernutrition, and anaemia. All its objectives are given with its target groups below in the table:

How many pillars are there for Poshan Abhiyan?

There are four pillars for the Poshan Abhiyan that are:

1. Quality Services Access
   Through schemes like:
   
• ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services)
  
• NHM (National Health Mission)
  
• PMMVY (Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana)
  
2. Cross-Sectoral Coordination
   Coordination among various sectors like:
   
• Sanitation (Swachh Bharat Mission)
  
• Clean drinking water (National Drinking Water Mission)
  
3. Technology Use
   
• Poshan Tracker App helps monitor nutrition data in real time.
  
4. Community Engagement – Jan Andolan
   
• Encouraging public participation to raise awareness and drive change.
  

In which areas is Poshan Abhiyan mainly focused?

🔶 First 1,000 Days Matter the Most

From pregnancy to the child’s 2nd birthday is a critical period for:

• Physical growth
  
• Brain development
  
• Long-term health
  

🔶 Expanding Essential Services

• Bringing together multiple schemes for health, education, nutrition, and sanitation.
  
• Ensuring services reach everyone, especially those in need.
  

🔶 Jan Andolan for Mass Movement

• Involvement of all sectors and people in a nationwide movement to eliminate malnutrition.
  

🔶 Convergence Across Sectors

• A special National Council under NITI Aayog monitors and guides policies for better integration of programmes.
  

Which technology is used in Poshan Abhiyan?

The main technology used in Poshan Abhiyan is the ICDS-CAS App, in which there is a Mobile tool used by Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) to record the data, to monitor the child's growth, and to share real-time updates with ministries

Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0

A government-backed mission to improve health, nutrition, and immunity and make modernize Anganwadi Centers (AWCs) across 36 States/UTs

Poshan Pakhwada 2025 – 7th Edition

🗓 Dates: April 8 – April 23, 2025
📌 Focus Areas:

• Maternal and infant nutrition
  
• Using digital tools for beneficiaries
  
• Combating childhood obesity
  

How many activities are included in Poshan Pakhwada 2025 in the 7th edition?

There are mainly 5 main activities included that are:

• Promoting antenatal care and checkups
  
• Encouraging healthy eating habits
  
• Daily water intake – 8 glasses
  
• Registering on the Poshan Tracker app
  
• Pledging to eat well and stay active
  

Why the First 1,000 Days Are So Important

These early days shape a child’s future:

• Good nutrition impacts physical, mental, and emotional development.
  
• Guidance for mothers ensures better health outcomes.
  
• Poshan Abhiyaan works to educate families on:
  
• Breastfeeding practices
  
• Balanced diets
  
• Local food choices, especially in tribal areas
  

Poshan Tracker – Merging Tradition with Technology

📱 Launched: March 1, 2021

The AI-powered Poshan Tracker helps AWWs:

• Track attendance
  
• Monitor meals and health
  
• Register beneficiaries
  
• Provide early education tools
  

🔹 As of Feb 28, 2025, all AWCs are registered on the app, and beneficiaries can now self-register too.

Fighting Malnutrition with CMAM Protocol

Introduced in October 2023, the Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) protocol helps AWWs:

• Detect malnutrition
  
• Refer children for treatment
  
• Carry out appetite tests
  

✅ Goal: Make every Anganwadi a nutrition care center in the village.

Childhood Obesity – A New Challenge

While undernutrition is a concern, childhood obesity is growing too.

⚠️ Statistics:

• Overweight children under 5:
  
• 2015-16 (NFHS-4): 2.1%
  
• 2019-21 (NFHS-5): 3.4%
  

🏫 Recommendations to Schools:

• Ban sale of junk food (HFSS) within 200 meters of schools
  
• Only offer healthy snacks (fruits, veggies, dairy)
  
• Avoid fried items and sugary drinks
  
• Make physical activity mandatory
  
• Replace soda with juices, lassi, buttermilk, and flavored milk
  

What shall be the final thoughts for this programme?

Poshan Pakhwada 2025 is not just an event—it’s a step towards a malnutrition-free India.

💡 What you can do:

• Encourage healthy eating in your family
• Use the Poshan Tracker App
• Educate others about proper nutrition
• Be a part of this national movement
  

Together, let’s build a healthy, strong, and nourished India—because a nourished child today is a stronger India tomorrow.