Millets/coarse grains (Sri Anna) allocated to States/UTs for preparation of Supplementary food under Wheat Based Nutrition Programme (WBNP) of SakshamAnganwadi and Poshan 2.0
Millets/coarse grains (Sri Anna) are allocated to States/UTs as made available by Department of Food and Public Distribution at subsidized price of Rs. 1/- per kg under National Food Security Act 2013 for preparation of Supplementary food under Wheat Based Nutrition Programme (WBNP) of SakshamAnganwadi and Poshan 2.0.
Under WBNP, for International Year of Millets(Sri Anna) , emphasis is being given on the supply of millets(Sri Anna) for preparation of Hot Cooked Meal and Take Home rations at Anganwadis for Pregnant Women, Lactating mothers and children below 6 years of age, as millets (Sri Anna) are known to have high nutrient content which includes protein, essential fatty acid, dietary fibre, B-Vitamins, minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, folic acid and other micro-nutrients thus helping to tackle anemia and other micro-nutrient deficiencies common among women and children.
As per the Mission SakshamAnganwadi&Poshan 2.0 guidelines, millets (Sri Anna) need to be mandatorily supplied at least once a week and suitably integrated in Take Home Ration and Hot Cooked Meal in a palatable form.
To promote the usage of Millets(Sri Anna), sustained engagements with States/UTs have also been undertaken for sensitization on the following:
(i) Assessment of Millets/ coarse grains (Sri Anna) from each State/ UT as per their requirement.
(ii) Best practice sharing with respect to usage of millets (Sri Anna) in diets of Supplementary Nutrition delivered through Anganwadis, PoshanMaah, PoshanPakhwada, and Nutrition centric Jan Andolan..
(iii) Documenting recipes using locally available millets (Sri Anna) for day to day consumption by women and children.
(iv) Ensuring availability of millets (Sri Anna) for preparation of Hot cooked meals and Take Home Ration at Anganwadis for beneficiaries.
In PoshanMaah 2021, close to 2.9 lakh demonstration activities on cooking with millets was held across the country. Under PoshanMaah 2022 as well, close to 2.5 lakh activities were reported on promotion of millets. These include awareness sessions on sensitizing institutions, functionaries and communities on benefits of millets, events /camps to 'promote millets' and 'Backyard Kitchen Gardens’, recipe competitions focusing on millets etc.
In addition to this, States/ UTs are encouraged time and again for raising awareness about the health benefits of millets(Sri Anna) and sharing recipes incorporating millets (Sri Anna), training Anganwadi Workers regarding millet (Sri Anna) based recipes during monthly sector meetings, mothers’ group meetings, promotion of millets (Sri Anna) through community engagement strategies, campaigns on TV and Radio etc.
This information was given by the THE MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
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SS/AKS