WCD Ministry asks states to cut sugar in meals at Anganwadi centres

New Delhi: The Ministry of Women and Child Development on Monday said it has issued advisories to states to cut down sugar content in meals served at Anganwadi centres, with a preference for jaggery and less processed forms of sugar.

Addressing a session during the 17th Civil Services Day, Women and Child Development Secretary Anil Malik also urged the states to monitor the quality and quantity of cooking oil being used in the supplementary nutrition provided to women and children.

“We have issued an advisory to all states that you cannot have more than 10 per cent sugar in any food -- preferable is 5 per cent -- and jaggery and less processed sugar is always preferred and advised states to look at cooking oil also,” said Malik, Secretary of the ministry.

Malik’s comments come as the ministry received the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration (Innovation category) for the Poshan Tracker app -- a digital tool that has brought real-time oversight into the delivery of nutrition and early childhood care services across India.

Responding to a question during a session on bottlenecks being faced in implementation, he said infrastructure gaps remain a major concern.

“This programme has been around for 50 years, but there’s still a long way to go. Not every Anganwadi centre has a toilet, drinking water facility, kitchen, kitchen garden, or even electricity,” he said.

With over 1.4 million Anganwadi centres in the country, the ministry is working with states to ensure that every centre is equipped with four critical facilities ‘-- sanitation, clean water, cooking infrastructure, and power -- within the next two to three years, he said.

The lack of permanent infrastructure, especially in urban areas, is also a concern, he said. “Only about 70 per cent of Anganwadis are in government or government-like buildings. The rest are mostly rented premises in urban areas, where land and construction costs are high. But we would prefer to have our own buildings where children and women feel safe and more at home,” he said.

Malik also highlighted the need to strengthen monitoring mechanisms under the Poshan Tracker, noting that much of the current data depends on self-reporting by Anganwadi workers.

“We would now like to put those checks and balances. We are in a position now where facial recognition can happen. The beneficiary comes and the photo is taken and it’s matched with the original photo of the beneficiary when she or the child was registered with her.... we are proceeding in that direction with more and more technology,” he said.