Malnutrition has long shadowed India's children. POSHAN Abhiyaan (2018) knit together anganwadi centres, mid-day meals, and free food-grain for about 81 crore people to fight stunting, wasting and anaemia.
Nutrition · POSHAN
Nutrition · POSHAN
India runs a nationwide nutrition mission. POSHAN Abhiyaan (2018), a 14 lakh-strong anganwadi network and free food-grain for about 81 crore people helped bring child stunting down from 38.4% (2015-16) to 35.5% (2019-21) and 29.3% in NFHS-6 (2023-24), with wasting and anaemia targeted alongside. The digital Poshan Tracker follows about 14 lakh anganwadi centres and nearly 9 crore beneficiaries (March 2026). The counter shows the child stunting rate.
29.3%
Child stunting (NFHS-6)
81 cr
Entitled to free food-grain
2018
POSHAN Abhiyaan
Child stunting (under-5)
| Year | Child stunting (under-5) |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 38.4 % |
| 2021 | 35.5 % |
| 2024 | 29.3 % |
| Dashed bars are years the source does not publish; the shape between published years is drawn, not measured. | |
2016
0.0%
Child stunting (under-5)
20162024
Since 2016
Reduced
−9.1 %
2016
38.4 %
2024
29.3 %
Dashed bars are years the source does not publish; the shape between published years is drawn, not measured.
Why it matters Good early-childhood nutrition shapes lifelong health, learning and productivity — tackling stunting is one of the highest-return investments a nation can make.
- Child stunting (under-5): 38.4% (NFHS-4) → 35.5% (NFHS-5) → 29.3% (NFHS-6)
- POSHAN Abhiyaan (2018); Poshan Tracker; free grain for 81 cr people
- Sources: NFHS-4, NFHS-5, NFHS-6
History
How it works
India fights malnutrition mainly through the Anganwadi network — over a million village centres that give young children, pregnant women and new mothers supplementary food, growth monitoring, immunisation and pre-school care. This runs under POSHAN Abhiyaan, which uses technology to track children's growth in real time, alongside the school mid-day meal (PM POSHAN) and the Anaemia Mukt Bharat campaign. Because nutrition depends on clean water and health too, the effort is deliberately multi-sectoral.
Outlook
Child stunting fell to 29.3% in NFHS-6 (from 38.4% in NFHS-4), backed by POSHAN Abhiyaan and Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0. The approach now joins the dots deliberately: clean water under Jal Jeevan, sanitation under Swachh Bharat, diverse diets through millets and fortified rice in ration shops, and 14 lakh anganwadis tracked on the Poshan Tracker, 2 lakh of them sanctioned for upgrading.
By the numbers
Child stunting 38.4% (NFHS-4) → 35.5% (NFHS-5) → 29.3% (NFHS-6); free grain for 81 cr people; POSHAN Abhiyaan (2018); Poshan Tracker: 14 lakh anganwadis, nearly 9 cr beneficiaries (March 2026). Sources: NFHS-4, NFHS-5, NFHS-6; PIB.
Data current to: NFHS-6 (2023-24)
Source: National Family Health Survey (Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, with IIPS) — children under 5 who are stunted (height-for-age, %), by survey round: NFHS-4 (2015-16) 38.4%, NFHS-5 (2019-21) 35.5% and NFHS-6 (2023-24, provisional) 29.3%. Each round is plotted at the year it ends; there are no survey figures for the years in between. PIB, May 2026: stunting declined from 35.5% to 29.3% (linked). · link