Punjab Revolutionises Anganwadi Nutrition System

Sep15,2026 | Jagrati Lahar Bureau | Chandigarh

1.1 Lakh Children Aged 3 to 6 Years Across 27,000 Anganwadis Now Get Healthy, Hot Cooked Meals Instead of “Ready to Cook” Meals

Bhagwant Mann Govt Cuts Take Home Ration Cycle From 45 Days to 15 Days for Pregnant Women, Lactating Mothers & Children Aged 6 Months to 3 Years

Punjab Shifts From Centralised to Decentralised Take Home Ration Delivery; Production Plants to Be Set Up in Every District, Community Oversight Made Mandatory

Bathinda District Tendering Process Completed Today; Process in Remaining Districts to Be Completed Within Coming Week

Bhagwant Mann Govt Committed to Ensuring Nutritious, Safe & Community-Trusted Food for Every Child, Pregnant Woman and Lactating Mother Through Anganwadi Network: Dr. Baljit Kaur

In a landmark reform aimed at improving the health and nutrition outcomes of children, pregnant and lactating women, the Department of Social Security and Women & Child Development (WCD), Government of Punjab, has undertaken a complete overhaul of the supplementary nutrition being served through 27,000 Anganwadi Centres.

REFORM 1:

1.1 lakh children aged 3 to 6 years across 27,000 Anganwadis are now getting healthy and hot cooked meals instead of “ready to cook” meals served.

Punjab has traditionally served packaged ready-to-cook meals as “hot cooked meals” in its Anganwadi Centres for children. The Department has fully decentralised meal preparation, replacing centrally supplied packaged meals with fresh, daily hot cooked meals prepared on-site.

To make this possible, the Government is facilitating and supporting Anganwadi Workers with the resources, funds, and flexibility needed to procure fresh, local produce every day and prepare meals suited to what children in their area actually eat. This support enables frontline workers to serve food that is fresher, healthier, and better received by children, while ensuring improved nutritional quality and hygiene.

Nutritionally, freshly prepared food offers clear advantages over packaged alternatives; it retains more natural nutrients, allows ingredients to be tailored to what children actually eat, and avoids the preservatives, extended shelf life, and quality inconsistencies inherent to mass-produced packaged food.

Given the importance of nutrition in this age group especially with respect to brain development and physical development, the Punjab Government took the proactive decision to reform the system at its root.

REFORM 2:

The system meant for pregnant women, lactating mothers and 6 months to 3 years old children also overhauled: Local Production Plants in every district, historic community oversight, and the Take Home Ration cycle cut from 45 days to 15 days.

Cycle Cut Short from 45 to 15 days: Take Home Ration, earlier distributed once every 45 days, has similarly been moved away from a centralised system. With this step, Take Home Ration will now be distributed every 15 days instead of 45, giving pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children far more frequent touchpoints with Anganwadi Workers, who can guide them on correct consumption, address queries, and provide nutrition counselling along the way.

Local Production & Decentralised Model: The Department has gone a step further than any state before it: Manufacturing Units are being established in every district.

Community Oversight: For the first time in the country, it will be mandatory for direct beneficiaries, along with Anganwadi Workers and mothers of children enrolled at Anganwadi Centres, to be part of the Management Committees of these Units.

This unprecedented step hands communities direct oversight of what is being manufactured and supplied to their own children, while also creating local employment in every district.

Rigorous Testing Before Rollout

True to its commitment to quality, the Government has ensured that every recipe, along with ingredients submitted by bidders for the Take Home Ration tender, has been tested in laboratories and, for the first time ever, subjected to real taste-testing sessions with children at Anganwadi Centres, so that only recipes children actually enjoy make it to final approval.

Addressing Transition Challenges

As with any large-scale systemic reform, the transition has not been without its teething issues. The scale of recipe testing, given the sheer number of submissions from bidders, took longer than initially anticipated, leading to a short delay in finalising the tender. The Government has completed the tendering process for Bathinda district today, and will be completing it for all the districts within the coming week.

On this, Women and Child Development Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur states MD, “With these reforms, Punjab has positioned itself as a national leader in Anganwadi nutrition reform, prioritising freshness, accountability, and community participation over convenience. Bhagwant Mann Government remains committed to ensuring that every child, pregnant and lactating mother reached through the Anganwadi network receives food that is not just adequate, but genuinely nutritious, safe, and trusted by the very communities it serves.”

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