VARANASI, SEP 9 (AGENCIES): The Ministry of Women and Child Development today launched the 9th Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2026 at the Rudraksh International Cooperation and Convention Centre (RICCC), Varanasi, inaugurating a month-long nationwide Jan Andolan for nutrition under the theme “Hamari Anganwadi, Hamari Jimmedari”.
The launch event was attended by Shri Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh; Smt. Annpurna Devi, Union Minister for Women and Child Development; Smt. Savitri Thakur, Minister of State for Women and Child Development; and Smt. Baby Rani Maurya, Minister for Women Welfare, Child Development and Nutrition, Government of Uttar Pradesh, along with senior officials from the Central and State Governments, development partners, frontline workers and beneficiaries.
In her keynote address, Smt. Annpurna Devi, Union Minister for Women and Child Development, reiterated the Government’s commitment to improving nutrition outcomes through Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0. She stated that more than 14 lakh Anganwadi Centres are currently delivering nutrition, health and early childhood care services to over 7.5 crore children, 1.10 crore pregnant and lactating women, and nearly 16 lakh adolescent girls. Emphasizing the importance of the first 1,000 days of life, she noted that the Government is upgrading 2 lakh Anganwadi Centres into Saksham Anganwadis, of which around 24,000 centres have been approved in Uttar Pradesh. The Minister also highlighted that the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) has completed ten years of implementation and has so far transferred more than Rs. 21,000 crore through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to over 4.65 crore mothers across the country. She further underlined the role of community participation in improving dietary diversity, adequate protein intake, fresh hot cooked meals, sanitation, and early childhood development, and called upon citizens to make nutrition a true Jan Andolan in pursuit of the vision of a Suposhit Bharat and Viksit Bharat@2047.
