On December 8, 2021, the Minister for Women & Child Development, Smriti Irani, noted in Parliament that, State Governments and Union Territories have used only 56% of the total funds released under Poshan Abhiyan or Nutrition Mission in last three years.

Key Points

• The central government highlighted that, out of total amount of Rs 5312 crore given between financial years 2019 to 2021, Rs 2985 crore was used.
• The five States & UTs where utilisation were lowest are:

1. Arunachal Pradesh (25.14%)
2. Puducherry (28.03%)
3. Ladakh (31.2%)
4. Punjab (33.62%) and
5. Uttar Pradesh (33.73%).

• Five States & UTs that made most use of the funds are:

1. Nagaland (98.34%)
2. Meghalaya (98.14%)
3. Mizoram (94.22%)
4. Sikkim (93.13%) and
5. Dadra & Nagar Haveli (88.2%).