Resources · Nutrition
Anganwadi, mid-day meal and Poshan: what a child is legally entitled to eat
India's child nutrition programmes are not charity — most of what they provide is a statutory entitlement under the National Food Security Act, 2013, measured in calories and grams of protein per child per day. This page sets out exactly what an Anganwadi Centre and a school must provide, who qualifies, what Gujarat adds on top, and how a family enrols. Every figure carries its source.
The entitlement
What the law guarantees, in calories and grams
Schedule II of the National Food Security Act, 2013, as substituted by gazette notification S.O. 403(E) of 25 January 2023, sets the nutritional standard. These are not targets — they are the entitlement.
| Who | What they get | Calories per day | Protein per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children 6 months – 3 years | Take Home Ration | 500 kcal (6–12 months: 200 kcal) | 12–15 g (6–12 months: 8–10 g) |
| Children 3 – 6 years | Hot Cooked Meal at the Anganwadi | 500 kcal | 12–15 g |
| Severely malnourished children 6 months – 6 years | Additional Take Home Ration | 800 kcal | 20–25 g |
| Pregnant women and lactating mothers | Take Home Ration | 600 kcal | 18–20 g (Schedule II; see note) |
| Lower primary — Classes I–V | Mid-day meal at school, every school day | 450 kcal | 15–20 g |
| Upper primary — Classes VI–VIII | Mid-day meal at school, every school day | 700 kcal | 22–25 g |
The Anganwadi
What an Anganwadi Centre is, and who can walk into one
An Anganwadi Centre is the village- or ward-level centre through which India delivers early childhood nutrition, health and pre-school education. It is staffed by an Anganwadi Worker and a Helper, and one is meant to exist for every 400–800 people. The underlying scheme, Integrated Child Development Services, was launched in 1975 and now runs as “Anganwadi Services” under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0.
An Anganwadi provides six services: supplementary nutrition; pre-school non-formal education; nutrition and health education; immunisation; health check-ups; and referral services. Three of those six — immunisation, health check-ups and referral — are delivered through the public health system and the National Health Mission rather than by the Anganwadi Worker alone, which is why an Anganwadi and the local health sub-centre work as a pair.
The point most families do not know: being below the poverty line is not a condition of enrolment. Every eligible child aged 0–6, every pregnant woman and every lactating mother can use an Anganwadi Centre, regardless of income. Nobody needs a BPL card to claim a meal for a three-year-old.
Children 0–6, pregnant women, lactating mothers
Supplementary nutrition begins at 6 months. Adolescent girls aged 14–18 are covered by a separate Scheme for Adolescent Girls under Poshan 2.0, currently in the North-Eastern states and Aspirational Districts; in Gujarat, out-of-school girls aged 11–14 are covered.
Hot Cooked Meal and Take Home Ration
Children aged 3–6 eat a hot cooked meal at the centre. Children aged 6–36 months, pregnant women and lactating mothers receive Take Home Ration, because those beneficiaries do not attend daily. Under Poshan 2.0, THR must be ready-to-eat fortified food, not raw ration, and its distribution uses facial recognition to confirm the beneficiary received it.
The register is now an app
Launched 1 March 2021 and available in 24 languages, the Poshan Tracker records attendance, meals, growth measurement and referrals on the Anganwadi Worker's phone. As of May 2026 the government reported 8.93 crore registered beneficiaries and 6.3 crore children aged 0–5 growth-monitored.
The school meal
PM POSHAN — the mid-day meal scheme, properly named
Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman
PM POSHAN replaced the National Programme of Mid-Day Meal in Schools. “POSHAN” here stands for POshan SHAkti Nirman. It was approved for the five-year period 2021-22 to 2025-26.
Bal Vatika and Classes I–VIII
All children enrolled in Government, Government-aided and local body schools, plus children in pre-primary (Bal Vatika) classes attached to those schools.
Section 5, NFSA 2013
Every child up to Class VIII, or aged 6–14, is entitled to one free mid-day meal every school day — except on school holidays. It is a right, not a benefit that can be withdrawn locally.
Primary: the food entitlement
100 g foodgrains, 20 g pulses, 50 g vegetables, 5 g oil and fat per child per day, plus salt and condiments as needed.
₹6.78 and ₹10.17
The cooking cost per child per school day with effect from 1 May 2025: ₹6.78 primary, ₹10.17 upper primary. This is the material cost component, shared between the Centre and the State.
Food security allowance
Where a meal is not provided on a school day, the National Food Security Act requires a food security allowance to be paid to the entitled child. Raise it with the head teacher, then the block education officer.
The mission
POSHAN Abhiyaan and Poshan Maah
POSHAN Abhiyaan, the National Nutrition Mission, was launched on 8 March 2018 at Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, and now runs in every district of all 36 States and Union Territories. Its targets are stated as annual rates of reduction rather than absolutes: stunting down 6 percentage points at 2% a year; underweight down 6 points at 2% a year; anaemia among children aged 6–59 months down 9 points at 3% a year; and anaemia among women and adolescent girls aged 15–49 down 9 points at 3% a year.
Rashtriya Poshan Maah is the nationwide nutrition campaign held every September, with a companion fortnight, Poshan Pakhwada, around March. The 9th Rashtriya Poshan Maah was launched on 9 September 2026 at Varanasi, under the theme “Hamari Anganwadi, Hamari Jimmedari” — our Anganwadi, our responsibility — with five priority areas including dietary diversity with adequate protein, and fresh hot cooked meals through menu rotation.
As reported for Poshan Maah 2026, with data as on 31 July 2026, India had nearly 13.99 lakh Anganwadi Centres and 13.30 lakh Anganwadi Workers.
Where India actually stands
Stunting 35.5% (from 38.4% in NFHS-4) · wasting 19.3% (from 21.0%) · underweight 32.1% (from 35.8%). Improving, but from a very high base.
Gujarat is worse than the national average on all three
Stunting 39.0% · wasting 25.1% · underweight 39.7%. Each figure is higher than India's. This is the single most important number on this page for anyone working on nutrition in this state, and it is the reason Scapex treats nutrition as a core area rather than an add-on.
Gujarat
What Gujarat adds
426 ICDS projects
ICDS has run in Gujarat since 1975 and currently operates through 426 ICDS projects. The most recent official Anganwadi count we could verify is 53,029 centres with 41.5 lakh beneficiaries (34.9 lakh children, as on 30 June 2021). A more current count was not available on an official source.
Fortified milk
As described by WCD Gujarat: 100 ml of fortified, flavoured, double-toned milk to children five days a week, and 200 ml twice a week to pregnant and lactating women. A separate official page, under Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana, describes 200 ml daily to school students in tribal talukas since 2007-08. The two official descriptions differ; confirm which applies in your taluka.
Spot feeding for mothers
One full meal plus iron-folic acid and calcium supplementation with nutrition counselling for pregnant and lactating women, currently in 10 blocks across 5 districts.
Adolescent girls 15–18
Supplementary nutrition with vocational and life-skills support. Separately, the Scheme for Adolescent Girls in Gujarat covers out-of-school girls aged 11–14.
Step by step
How a family enrols, and what a mother is owed
Find the Anganwadi Centre
There should be one per 400–800 people. Ask the Anganwadi Worker, the ASHA, or the gram panchayat. No income certificate and no BPL card is required.
Get registered on the Poshan Tracker
The Anganwadi Worker registers the child, pregnant woman or lactating mother on the app. Registration is Aadhaar-verified. Being on the Tracker is what turns an entitlement into a delivered ration.
Claim the maternal entitlement
Under section 4 of the National Food Security Act, every pregnant woman and lactating mother is entitled to a free meal through pregnancy and for six months after birth, plus maternity benefit.
Apply for PMMVY
Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana pays ₹5,000 for the first living child in two instalments (₹3,000 + ₹2,000), and ₹6,000 in a single instalment for a second child if that child is a girl, after birth registration and completion of the 14-week immunisation schedule.
If a child is malnourished, say so
Section 6 of the National Food Security Act requires the State Government, through the local Anganwadi, to identify children suffering from malnutrition and provide them with meals free of charge. A severely malnourished child aged 6 months to 6 years is entitled to 800 kcal and 20–25 g of protein a day — nearly double the ordinary ration. Ask for the child to be measured and classified.