Annapurna Devi Promotes Women-Led Growth, Child Welfare

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Monday, 13 July 2026

Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Annapurna Devi, on Sunday emphasized that the current government is concentrating on women-centric development and the nutrition of the children in order to provide a safe environment for women and children.

While addressing ANI, she mentioned that the Ministry was initiating programs on the issues of nutrition, child care, empowerment of women, and technology-led governance in order to enhance the welfare services. According to her, these steps were helping in creating the social infrastructure, developing the human capital, and adding to the vision of a developed India of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking at the conference, the Union Minister reiterated the Government of India’s dedication towards promoting development that led by women and child welfare through integrated policy measures.

Key Highlights:

• 1.4 million Anganwadi centres support nearly 90 million beneficiaries nationwide
• Poshan Tracker and flagship schemes strengthen nutrition and child welfare delivery
• Women-led development remains central to India's inclusive growth and welfare agenda

Speaking about the number of outreach programs organized by the Ministry, Annapurna observed that “Under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, around 1.4 million Anganwadi centres are operational, catering to nearly 90 million beneficiaries. For children between the ages of three and six years, our focus is not only on providing nutrition but also on preparing them for school.”

She underscored that the Anganwadi centres act as one-stop centers where not only nutritional assistance is provided but pre-school education and foundational learning is imparted to the young learners to ensure that they are ready for schooling.

Moreover, take-home rations are provided along with nutrition and health services to pregnant and lactating women as well as adolescent girls. Addressing these issues is also viewed as key pillars of India's inclusive growth agenda.

The Minister also emphasized the importance of technology in enhancing service delivery through the use of the Poshan Tracker application, which helps the Anganwadi workers in accessing educational content and spreading awareness among the people.

She explained, 'Through Poshan Tracker, we can create short videos and reels for Anganwadi workers, helping them educate families about children's activities and developmental milestones.'

Highlighting the need for collaborative governance, Annapurna pointed that projects such as Poshan Maah (Nutrition Month) and Poshan Pakhwada (Nutrition Fortnight), were aimed at bringing various stakeholders from within the government, communities, and the civil society together to solve problems related to nutrition issues using an integrated approach.

'These are theme-based programmes with large participation, focusing on promoting millets, local foods, cleanliness, tackling obesity and addressing various nutrition-related issues,' the Minister added.

It was stated that the ministry has been working towards strengthening its social development strategy through flagship schemes like Saksham Anganwadi & Poshan 2.0, Mission Shakti, and Mission Vatsalya. These schemes have been made possible with the help of Poshan Tracker – an integrated tech-based platform.

In regard to safety measures for women, the minister stated that the government has launched the SHe-Box online platform through the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act to assist women who suffer from sexual harassment at their workplace. Annapurna detailed that, 'The Ministry firmly believes that only when women are safe can they perform their work effectively. The She-Box portal is available for women who face issues at the workplace,'