SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has 338 Anganwadi centres approved for upgradation into Saksham Anganwadis under the Centre’s Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, the Ministry of Women and Child Development told the Rajya Sabha on December 10, 2025.
In a written reply to A A Rahim, Minister of State Savitri Thakur said the upgradation of 2 lakh Anganwadi centres nationwide has been sanctioned under the 15th Finance Commission cycle. Jammu and Kashmir’s 338 centres form part of this national effort to modernise early childhood care and nutrition delivery, the minister added.
The scheme envisages strengthening 2 lakh Anganwadis located in government buildings at a pace of 40,000 centres per year, with each approved Anganwadi eligible for financial assistance of Rs 1 Lakh. Upgraded centres are to be fitted with improved infrastructure, including LED screens, water filtration systems, Poshan Vatika, Early Childhood Care and Education material and BALA paintings, the Ministry said.
Thakur outlined the prerequisites for upgradation, availability of a government owned building, electricity, drinking water, a functional toilet and a kitchen. States and Union Territories have been asked to ensure these facilities before a centre is considered for modernisation, she said.
Compared with larger States, the number of sanctioned centres in Jammu and Kashmir is modest. Madhya Pradesh leads with 24,662 approved centres, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 23,697, Karnataka at 17,732 and Jharkhand at 16,775, according to the annexure attached to the minister’s reply. By contrast, Ladakh has 14 centres approved for upgradation.
The Ministry said Poshan Tracker, an information and communications technology tool, has been implemented to monitor infrastructure and service delivery at Anganwadi centres and to track beneficiaries on defined indicators. Poshan Tracker is being leveraged for near real-time data collection on attendance, provision of hot cooked meals and take-home rations, growth measurement and identification of stunting, wasting and underweight prevalence among children.
To support screening and early intervention, Anganwadi centres are being equipped with growth monitoring devices such as infantometer, stadiometer, infant weighing scales and mother and child weighing scales, the reply added.
The Centre told Parliament that the upgradation package allows inter se flexibility among components, and the strengthened centres will aim to improve learning environments, nutrition services and infrastructure quality. The minister also said that the sanctioned count of 2 lakh centres reflects approvals made to date and implementation will proceed in accordance with State and Union Territory plans.
The Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 framework places emphasis on infrastructure, digital monitoring and early childhood education, while leaving routine implementation and site suitability checks to State and Union Territory administrations.
