2. Introduction
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
• The Indian government launched the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) in
1975, to combat malnutrition, provide immunization and other healthcare facilities, and
offer pre-school education to children.
• Local centers called “Anganwadi Centers” (AWC) established under ICDS provide these
services to children up to 6 years of age, adolescent girls, and pregnant and lactating
women.
• CRY- Child Rights and You maintains a sharp eye on exercise of children’s rights in the
country.
• During the 6 months from October 2014 to March 2015, CRY mobilized its formidable
team of volunteers to evaluate the implementation of the ICDS scheme and determine if
the norms laid out therein are being met.
45
Volunteers
5
cities
159
AWC’s
Over 10,900 children registered as beneficiaries in AWC’s surveyed
3. Contents
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
Background & Methodology
Enrolment vs. Turnout
Nutrition
Health & Immunization
Pre-School Non-Formal Education
Infrastructure
Operations & Registers
Conclusions
Acknowledgements
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4. Background & Methodology
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
Background & Methodology
Enrolment vs. Turnout
Nutrition
Health & Immunization
Pre-School Non-Formal Education
Infrastructure
Operations & Registers
Conclusions
Acknowledgements
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5. The National Anganwadi Assessment
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
Assessment of the gap between:
ICDS provisions and on-the-ground realities
• Integrated Child Development Scheme
• Established under Indian government’s Early Childhood Care and
Education (ECCE) Policy
ICDS
• “Courtyard shelters” started under the ICDS program
• Provide health, nutrition and education services to children under
age of 6, pregnant and nursing mothers and adolescent girls
• 13.3 lakh operational AWC across India
Anganwadi
• The Indian government has prescribed certain financial, nutritional, educational, and
health-related minimum norms that must be met by each Anganwadi Centre (AWC).
• The purpose of this assessment was to determine if the prescribed norms are being
met by the AWC and to compare the results with last year’s observations.
6. The ICDS Scheme
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
Target Group Healthcare Services Nutrition Services Education Services
Children aged
0-3 years
• Health checkups
• Immunization
• Deworming
• Treatment of minor
illnesses
• Referral services for severe
illnesses
• Supplementary feeding
• Growth monitoring
• Take home rations
-
Children aged
3-6 years
• Supplementary feeding
• Growth monitoring
• Early childhood care
• Pre-school education
• Nutrition and health
education
Adolescent girls
aged 11-18 years
• Health checkups
• Treatment of minor
illnesses
• Referral services
Take home rations
• Non-formal education
• Nutrition and health
education
Pregnant women
• Health checkups
• Immunization
• Referral services
Take home rations Nutrition and health
education
Nursing mothers
• Health checkups
• Referral services
Take home rations Nutrition and health
education
All women aged
15-45 years
Nutrition and health
education
8. Methodology
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
Identification of
AWC
Permission from
Child Development
Project Officer
Field Visits
Questionnaires &
Community
Interactions
Evaluation of
Results
Note: Necessary permissions could not be obtained in Mumbai, hence assessment of the Mumbai
AWC is based upon community interactions, comprising of 81 households.
9. Enrollment vs. Turnout
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
Background & Methodology
Enrolment vs. Turnout
Nutrition
Health & Immunization
Pre-School Non-Formal Education
Infrastructure
Operations & Registers
Conclusions
Acknowledgements
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10. • AWC’s claim that all potential beneficiaries falling under their
coverage area have been enrolled into the program.
• While that may indeed be the case, the actual turnout is far lower.
• This is because many parents do not send their children to the AWC,
due to the problems highlighted further in this report.
Enrollment vs. Turnout
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
Enrollment
Turnout
11. Enrollment vs. Turnout
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
• Bangalore stands heads and shoulders above other cities in terms of turnout. Turnout of
both male and female children was over 90% in Bangalore.
• In other cities, turnout of children averaged around 50% in most AWC’s.
• Many parents prefer to send children to private schools, as they believe that teaching is not
up to date in AWC’s.
• Parents prefer to give home-cooked food to their children rather than the lower quality
food provided by AWC’s.
66%
48%
91%
59% 53%
91%
63%
50%
91%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Delhi Kolkata Bangalore
Turnout Pattern of Children Aged 0-6 Years
Male
Female
Total
Note: Details of turnout could not be collected for Chennai and Mumbai AWC’s.
12. Nutrition
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
Background & Methodology
Enrolment vs. Turnout
Nutrition
Health & Immunization
Pre-School Non-Formal Education
Infrastructure
Operations & Registers
Conclusions
Acknowledgements
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13. Nutrition
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
Food Item Malnourished Lactating Normal
Rice 50 grams 70 grams 50 grams
Daal 25 grams 30 grams 50 grams
Eggs 4.25 (4 times/week) 4.25 (4 times/week) 4.25 (4 times/week)
Vegetables 60 grams 33 grams 23 grams
ICDS Food Norms for Children
Freshly cooked food
provided at almost all
AWC’s
ICDS norms met by
nearly all AWC’s,
although complaints
exist
14. Food Quality & Quantity
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
74%
50%
100% 95%95% 90%
100% 100%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Delhi Kolkata Chennai Bangalore
Satisfaction With Food Quality & Quantity
Quality
Quantity
• Most respondents expressed satisfaction with the quality and quantity of the food
provided at the AWC’s.
• Chennai led the way with all AWC’s providing food of satisfactory quality and quantity.
• Bangalore followed close behind with observation of low quality food at just 1 out of 22
AWC’s. Food quantity was sufficient in all Bangalore AWC’s.
• Food quality as well as quantity was comparatively poorer in Delhi and Kolkata AWC’s,
as detailed ahead.
15. Food Quality & Quantity
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
• In Delhi, a majority of the respondents were satisfied with the food quality. Still, the
proportion of respondents discontent with the quality was higher than in Chennai and
Bangalore.
• An exceptional case in Delhi was the Mandangir village, where 70% of the respondents
were unhappy with the quality of the food.
• In Kolkata, respondents complained of poor quality of rice in 5 out of 10 AWC’s.
• Food quantity was insufficient in one AWC each in Delhi and Kolkata.
Delhi and Kolkata Lag in Food Quality
• The most common complaint regarding poor food quality was adulterated food. Some
respondents even complained of finding stone chips and worms in the food.
• Another recurring complaint was lack of variety in food, although the situation has
improved considerably since last year in this aspect.
Complaints
16. Food Quality & Quantity
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
• In Mumbai, about 10% of the respondents expressed discontent with the food quality.
• However, another 10% respondents claimed that they were either unaware of the ICDS
facility, or the food was simply not being provided to them.
• Further, a few respondents claimed that they had to pay money for the food provided by
the AWC, which is a blatant violation of ICDS norms.
• These facts indicate a lack of supervision of the ICDS scheme in Mumbai, which may be
preventing its proper implementation.
Observations in Mumbai
Lumpy dalia served at a Delhi AWC Khichdi served with soya bean at Sikdar Bagan, Kolkata
17. Malnutrition
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
8%
4%
0%
9%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
Delhi Kolkata Chennai Bangalore
Percentage of Malnourished
Children
• Bangalore and Delhi had the highest
percentage of malnourished children.
• However, a majority of the cases in
Bangalore and Delhi were of Grade 1
malnutrition, which is the least severe
category.
• On the other hand, in Kolkata, half of the
children suffering from malnutrition
were categorized as Grade 3, which is
severe malnutrition.
City No. of Malnourished
Children
Delhi 416
Kolkata 22
Chennai 0
Bangalore 8
Total 465
18. Take Home Rations
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
ICDS norms: Take Home Rations (THR) are prohibited except if:
The child/mother is sick
The mother is 8 months pregnant or has a
baby younger than 1 month
• With the exception of AWC’s in Delhi’s
Dwarka region, AWC’s generally
adhere to ICDS’ prohibition on THR.
• Most AWC’s in the Dwarka region
completely ignore the restriction on
THR, as in most cases children pack the
food provided at the AWC’s and take it
home.
• Other AWC’s do not allow THR except
for valid exceptions like ill health, late
stage pregnancy, emergencies, festivals,
etc.
Food menu at a Delhi AWC
19. Health & Immunization
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
Background & Methodology
Enrolment vs. Turnout
Nutrition
Health & Immunization
Pre-School Non-Formal Education
Infrastructure
Operations & Registers
Conclusions
Acknowledgements
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20. Healthcare Services
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
ICDS norms - Healthcare:
• Regular visits by Auxillary Nurse
Midwife (ANM)
• Healthcare of children less than 6
years of age
• Treatment of minor illnesses
• Antenatal care of expectant mothers
• Newborn care
• Post-natal care of nursing mothers
60%
90% 91% 86%77%
50%
91% 91%
80%
70%
100% 95%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Delhi Kolkata Chennai Bangalore
Healthcare Services
Regular ANM Visits Regular health checkups Treatment of minor illnesses
• Chennai’s AWC’s are the most reliable
in providing regular healthcare
services.
• Healthcare services are inconsistent in
Delhi and Kolkata’s AWC’s.
• In one AWC of Delhi and Kolkata each,
there is no ANM.
• In many cases, the healthcare services
are provided by medical centers rather
than the AWC’s.
21. Healthcare Services
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
• In Kolkata’s Young Society Club AWC, an ANM has not been appointed since the last 5-6
years after the previous ANM retired. Similarly, no ANM is appointed in one AWC in
South Delhi.
• No healthcare services are being provided in these two ANM’s. This is a serious
oversight that should be addressed immediately.
• In Delhi, only 60% of the AWC’s have regular visits from the ANM’s.
• Regular health checkups of children are being done only in 50% of the AWC’s surveyed
in Kolkata.
Detailed Observations
Community interaction in Mumbai
22. Immunization
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
Immunization for: Polio, Diptheria, Tetanus, Tuberculosis, Measles
Immunization of
children done in all
AWC’s except in
Kolkata
In 5 AWC’s in Kolkata,
children are referred
to corporation medical
centers for
immunization
23. Growth Monitoring
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
ICDS norms
Children must be weighed once a
month and a growth chart should be
maintained.
• Only one AWC in Chennai and
Delhi each do not take monthly
weight of children.
• It is worth noting that several
AWC’s in Delhi refused to share
their growth monitoring
information.
• This indicates that such AWC’s
may apprehensive about letting
their non-adherence come to
light.
99% 100%
91%
100%
86%
88%
90%
92%
94%
96%
98%
100%
Delhi Kolkata Chennai Bangalore
Regular Weighing of Children
In Mumbai, 62 of 83 households
surveyed were not aware that growth
monitoring services are provided by
AWC’s.
24. Pre-School Non-Formal Education
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
Background & Methodology
Enrolment vs. Turnout
Nutrition
Health & Immunization
Pre-School Non-Formal Education
Infrastructure
Operations & Registers
Conclusions
Acknowledgements
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25. Pre-School Education
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
ICDS norms: Children in the age group 3-6 years should be actively engaged in
educational program of at least 3 hours
69%
50%
100%
77%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Delhi Kolkata Chennai Bangalore
Minimum 3 Hours Educational Program
• All AWC’s in Chennai conduct minimum 3 hours of educational programs as required.
• Educational programs in AWC’s in the other three cities are inconsistent, with only 50%
AWC’s in Kolkata fulfilling the ICDS norms. However, the time spent on educational
programs was less than 3 hours in all Kolkata AWC’s.
• In Delhi, even in AWC’s supposedly fulfil the 3-hour requirement, we found that
children are not engaged in any productive activities. Rather, they just sit in the
classroom and play with toys.
• Parents in Delhi’s AWC’s do not
seem to believe in the program’s
educational benefits.
• They only enrol their children in
the AWC’s to avail the free meals
for their kids.
26. Pre-School Education
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
116
9
15
18
Medium of Instruction
Hindi Bengali Tamil Kannada
63% 60%
100%
64%57%
100%
73% 68%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Delhi Kolkata Chennai Bangalore
Classroom Environment
Child-
friendly
classrooms
Toys &
learning
material
• Most AWC’s do not have child-friendly classrooms
except in Chennai. Many classrooms are cramped and
unclean, making them highly unsuitable for children.
• In a few AWC’s, cooking materials like gas cylinders
and stoves are kept inside the classroom itself, which
poses a serious safety risk for children.
• Availability of toys and learning materials for children
is also inconsistent. Where toys are available, they are
often in a dilapidated condition.
27. Infrastructure
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
Background & Methodology
Enrolment vs. Turnout
Nutrition
Health & Immunization
Pre-School Non-Formal Education
Infrastructure
Operations & Registers
Conclusions
Acknowledgements
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28. Infrastructure
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
12% 10%
82%
32%
9% 10%
82%
14%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Delhi Kolkata Chennai Bangalore
Indoor and Outdoor Space
30 sq. mt. indoor space 35 sq. mt. outdoor space
60%
30%
36%
55%
27% 30%
82%
14%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Delhi Kolkata Chennai Bangalore
Building and Surroundings
Safe & clean building Child-friendly surrounding
• Infrastructure is extremely poor in all cities other
than Chennai.
• Almost all AWC’s in Delhi and Kolkata are
extremely cramped. Some AWC’s in Kolkata had
indoor space of as little as 5 sq. mt.
• Similarly, most AWC’s are located in old buildings
in poor localities, making them unsuitable for
children.
• The condition of the classrooms is also very poor
in numerous AWC’s. Problems like insufficient
lighting, leaking roof, and water logging was
noticed at many centres. Water logged cooking area at a Kolkata AWC
29. Infrastructure
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
42%
90%
64% 59%
7%
0%
55%
9%
19%
0%
36% 32%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Delhi Kolkata Chennai Bangalore
Infrastructure Facilities
Drinking water Separate toilets for boys & girls Hand wash area
• Sufficient drinking water is available in most AWC’s, but it is not necessarily safe. For
instance, in Kolkata, none of the AWC’s have provision for boiled drinking water.
Corporation water is provided to children, which is unfit for consumption.
• The worrying aspect is that a number of AWC’s do not have a drinking water facility at
all. Less than half centres in Delhi have provision for drinking water.
• Except in Chennai, separate toilets for boys and girls is a rare facility in AWC’s.
However, none of the AWC’s in Kolkata had even a single toilet, since the centres are
operating out of rented rooms.
• Similarly, a separate hand wash area is not available in a majority of the AWC’s.
30. Infrastructure
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
13%
60%
100%
41%
7% 0%
82%
36%
76%
100% 91% 91%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Delhi Kolkata Chennai Bangalore
Infrastructure Facilities
Cooking area Nap area First-aid kits
• All AWC’s in Chennai have a separate cooking
area, while only 15 out of the 115 AWC’s
surveyed in Delhi had such a provision.
• Similarly, over 80% of AWC’s in Chennai have
a nap area for children. In other cities, rarely
any AWC’s have a separate nap area.
• Most AWC’s have first-aid or medical kits in all
four cities. However, 28 centres in Delhi do not
have a first-aid kit, which should be a
minimum requirement for operating an AWC.
Cramped room at a Kolkata AWC
31. Operations & Registers
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
Background & Methodology
Enrolment vs. Turnout
Nutrition
Health & Immunization
Pre-School Non-Formal Education
Infrastructure
Operations & Registers
Conclusions
Acknowledgements
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32. Operations
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
70%
100% 100%
68%
83% 90% 100%
64%
100% 90% 91%
73%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Delhi Kolkata Chennai Bangalore
AWC Operations
AWC's Operating on Schedule Both staff present Teacher trained in pre-school education
• All AWC’s in Chennai and Kolkata are
operational during the scheduled time.
• In Delhi and Bangalore, AWC’s close in 1-2
hours due to absence of teachers. Some
AWC’s are operational only for the mid-
day meal.
• Both staff, namely, the teacher and the
helper are generally present in all AWC’s.
• Most teachers are trained in pre-school
education, except in case of Bangalore.
AWC in Mumbai
33. Registers
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
The following registers must be
maintained by the AWC’s:
• Family Survey Register
• AWC Attendance Register
• Birth and Death Register
• Growth chart Register
• Services for Pregnant and
Lactating Women Register
• Immunization Register
• Supplementary nutrition and pre-
school education Register
• Home visit Register
• Daily diary Register
All registers are
maintained by at least
80% AWC’s in all cities
The Daily Register is
an exception, as it is
not maintained by 57
of 159 AWC’s
surveyed.
34. Conclusions
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
Background & Methodology
Enrolment vs. Turnout
Nutrition
Health & Immunization
Pre-School Non-Formal Education
Infrastructure
Operations & Registers
Conclusions
Acknowledgements
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35. Conclusions
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
Average turnout of around 50% in
most AWC’s due to outdated teaching
methods and poor food quality
OBSERVATIONS RECOMMENDATIONS
Regular monitoring of teaching
standards and food quality to
encourage attendance
1/3rd of the AWC’s surveyed are not
being visited by ANM’s regularly
ANM’s should be held accountable if
AWC’s are not visited regularly
Pre-school educational activities not
conducted properly for prescribed
duration in 46 of 159 AWC’s
Regular monitoring of teaching
standards and teachers to be held
accountable for shortcomings
Extremely poor infrastructure in most
AWC’s except in Chennai
Increase in government funding so
that better centers can be rented
30% AWC’s in Delhi and Bangalore
not operational for prescribed
duration
Surprise visits by Supervisor;
AWC staff to be held accountable for
shortcomings
36. Acknowledgements
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
Background & Methodology
Enrolment vs. Turnout
Nutrition
Health & Immunization
Pre-School Non-Formal Education
Infrastructure
Operations & Registers
Conclusions
Acknowledgements
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37. Acknowledgements
National Anganwadi Assessment 2014-15
We would like to thank the Child Development Project Officers
and the AWC staff for their cooperation and support, without
which this project could have come to fruition.
Most important of all, we would like to thank the thousands of
children benefitting from the ICDS program, who were often the
source of the most unbiased and honest feedback.
We would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to members of
the community for trusting us with their views on the ICDS
program, which was instrumental in carrying out a true and fair
assessment of the scheme.
Last but not the least, we would like to thank our tireless
volunteers, who contributed much time and effort for making this
assessment a reality.
