India’s network of over 1.4 million Anganwadi Centers (AWCs) serves as the foundation of the world’s largest early childhood development programme. These centers provide supplementary nutrition, preschool education, health check-up and vaccination support to pregnant and lactating mothers as well as more than 8 crore children under six years of age. Yet persistent undernutrition highlights deeper systemic weaknesses that go far beyond funding gaps. According to NFHS-5 (2019-21), 35.5% children under five years of age are stunted, 19.3% are wasted, and 32.1% are underweight. While recent nutrition tracker data suggests a modest decline in stunting and underweight compared to NFHS-5, the numbers are unacceptably high for a country aiming to achieve developed nation status by 2047.
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) has now been strengthened under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Nutrition 2.0. ₹In recent years, Rs 21,000-23,000 crore has been spent annually on key nutritional components. However, challenges in infrastructure, workforce capacity, supply chain reliability and outcome measurement are limiting the impact. Tackling the crisis requires structural reforms focused on quality infrastructure, a professional workforce, strong quality controls and measuring actual child development outcomes from tracking inputs.
Many Anganwadi centers lack basic facilities. A large portion work from rented rooms, community halls, school verandahs or even temporary structures and open spaces. In Gujarat, the 2025 CAG performance audit revealed deficiencies in 16,045 Anganwadi centres. Thousands of the 53,029 centers operated in dilapidated buildings, makeshift setups or in open areas, with problems such as lack of toilets and inadequate space. Similar differences exist across states, affecting service delivery across the country.
Without dedicated, child-friendly buildings of sufficient size (typically 600–800 square feet), centers struggle with core functions. Nutritional supplements spoil due to poor storage. Without a proper kitchen it becomes difficult to prepare and serve hot cooked food hygienically. Preschool activities tend to be disorganized in cramped or inappropriate spaces for cognitive and social development. Urban centers often suffer from overcrowding, while rural centers often lack electricity, clean water or sanitation. Poshan 2.0 aims to upgrade two lakh centers into ‘enabling Anganwadis’ with better infrastructure, including water filters, learning kits and better facilities – with a target of about 40,000 upgrades per year. Progress is underway, but capital spending often remains limited as states redirect funds toward salaries and recurring costs. When almost half the centers lack proper shelter, even substantial budget outlays fail to translate into better nutrition or early education outcomes. Safe, functional spaces are not optional – they are fundamental to effective early childhood interventions.
Anganwadi workers (AWW) and helpers (AWH) are the human core of the system. A typical worker handles many responsibilities: monitoring and weighing children’s growth, preparing or distributing supplementary nutrition, running preschool sessions, making home visits for counseling on breastfeeding and nutrition, maintaining records, and coordinating with health services. The workload often extends beyond the expected six-hour shift. continues on central honorarium ₹4,500 per month for regular Anganwadi workers and ₹₹2,250 for AWH (with a slightly lower amount for mini centres), supplemented varyingly by the state’s contribution. Total monthly compensation often lies between ₹6,000 more ₹₹15,000 depending on the state, with higher amounts in states like Tamil Nadu or Karnataka. While some states have increased top-ups, many workers still receive modest wages relative to their responsibilities and local living costs. Helper vacancies remain significant in many areas, leading to single-employee centers that compromise quality. Training is another weak link. Although basic induction exists, comprehensive, ongoing professional development in nutrition, early childhood care and education (ECCE) and counseling is limited. Many employees learn practical aspects on the job. Under Saksham Anganwadi, responsibilities have expanded to include strong ECCE components and digital reporting, which has increased the burden without matching support structures. The adoption of performance linked incentives recommended by NITI Aayog has been slow. Treating these frontline workers primarily as honorary volunteers rather than as skilled professionals affects motivation and retention. Strong career paths, regular skill upgrading and fair compensation along with responsibilities will strengthen the entire delivery chain.
Nutrition distribution is unequal. Take-home rations (THR) and hot cooked meals do not always reach beneficiaries consistently or on time. CAG audits in various states have pointed to gaps in coverage, unmet needs as well as unspent funds and quality concerns. The fortified staple, intended to address micronutrient deficiencies, has faced issues of leakage, poor supply and inconsistent compliance in some cases. Private contractors or decentralized models through self-help groups can improve local relevance, but they require strict quality inspection, testing and cold-chain facilities where necessary. Orders to include millet, eggs or miscellaneous food items sometimes remain partially in force when basic provisions are irregular. Field reports and past audits have revealed cases of poor quality ingredients or low nutritional diversity during festivals or supply disruptions. These problems reduce the ability of the program to effectively tackle stunting and wasting. Children may be getting calories but not vital proteins, vitamins and minerals during the critical first 1,000 days of life, when interventions yield the highest returns.
The monitoring system is improved with the Nutrition Tracker app, which has millions of downloads and enables real-time reporting of services. However, the focus remains more on inputs rather than outcomes – food distributed, THR packets issued, or registered beneficiaries. Development monitoring data are not uploaded or used consistently across all states. Anemia testing coverage, especially post-Covid, has been limited in many areas. Pregnant and lactating women are often not systematically tracked across trimesters, leaving intergenerational cycles of undernutrition undetected. Smartphones and apps help with logistics, but accurate anthropometric measurements (height, weight, mid-upper arm circumference) still depend on trained staff and functional equipment. A meaningful change would prioritize reduction in height loss and stunting rates over simple calculations of locally cooked food. Regular, reliable data on child development, cognitive milestones and anemia prevalence will enable better targeting and accountability.
Resolving the anganwadi crisis requires coordinated action on multiple fronts:
- boost infrastructure: Accelerating the creation and upgradation of dedicated, climate-resilient centers using convergence with schemes like MNREGA. Give priority to districts with high malnutrition and ensure that every center has basic facilities – kitchen, storage, toilets, electricity and safe drinking water.
- strengthening the workforce: Increase compensation with regular salary increases, provide extensive training and refresher courses, and create clear promotion paths (e.g. assistants to workers, assistants to workers to supervisors). Recognize Anganwadi workers and Anganwadi workers as skilled frontline professionals with appropriate social security benefits.
- supply chain improvement:Strengthen quality assurance through rigorous testing, third-party audits, and transparent procurement. Blend decentralized cooking where it works well with centralized standards for gourmet foods. Reduce leakages through better digital tracking and community monitoring.
- result oriented accountability: Link funding releases, incentives, and performance reviews to verifiable outcomes such as improved development monitoring coverage, reduction in stunting at the project level, and higher service utilization. Empowering local panchayats and mother groups for social audit.
- better convergence: Integrate efforts with the National Health Mission for anemia control and vaccination, sanitation programs for sanitation and education initiatives for quality preschool. Use technology not only for reporting but also for predictive insights and targeted interventions.
States that have invested in better decentralized models, consistent training and quality focus – elements such as those seen in Tamil Nadu or Odisha over specific periods – provide lessons for scalable reforms.
Investing effectively in early childhood nutrition is a moral and economic imperative. Stunting affects cognitive development, school performance and future productivity. Global evidence shows that undernutrition in the early years leads to significant losses in lifetime earnings and national GDP. Conversely, well-nourished children grow up to be healthier, more capable adults, strengthening India’s human capital and demographic dividend. The first 1,000 days represent a critical window where interventions provide high returns. With political will and focused implementation, the Anganwadi system can become a true engine of human development rather than a symbol of unfulfilled potential. The challenges have been well documented through NFHS surveys, CAG audits and program evaluations. Budgets provide the necessary resources, but lasting change requires a focus on infrastructure, people, processes and outcomes. By treating early childhood nutrition as a national priority supported by structural reforms, India can make decisive progress against malnutrition and secure a healthy future for its youngest citizens.
(Views expressed are personal)
This article is written by columnist and climate researcher Anushrita Dutta and Assistant Professor Harjeet Singh, Akal University, Punjab.
