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The programme on ‘Nutrition Smart Village’ has been initiated to strengthen India’s fight against
malnutrition.

Aim

This new initiative aims to reach out to 75 villages across India through the network of All India Coordinated Research Project on Women in Agriculture (AICRP-WIA) which is in operation at 13 centres in 12 States of India.

Objectives

• The major purpose of this programme is to make the villages malnutrition free. To achieve the goal of Malnutrition free villages, intensive awareness campaigns and field activities will be undertaken for focusing on the concept of Nutri-village / Nutri-food / Nutri-diet/ Nutri-thali etc. for strengthening the Poshan Abhiyan.
• To create awareness among the women farmers will also be created about their legal rights in all occupations.
• To create awareness about nutrition and bring behavioural change by educating farmwomen and schoolchildren in rural areas.
• The programme offers a platform for the exchange of traditional methods to fight malnutrition.
• To implement nutrition-sensitive agriculture by promoting homestead agriculture and Nutrigarden and making use of technology.

Details

• The initiative is in line with the Prime Minister’s call to adopt and transform 75 villages.
• This will also take the ‘Poshan Abhiyan’ flagship scheme towards further progress.
• All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) centres and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research -Central Institute for Women in Agriculture (ICARCIWA), will adopt 75 villages.
• This initiative will lead to the betterment of the overall nutritional profile of women and children in the rural areas who are vulnerable to the implications of malnutrition.

Poshan Abhiyan

• It is also called National Nutrition Mission, was launched on International Women’s Day on 8 March 2018.
• The Abhiyan targets to Reduce Stunting, undernutrition, Anemia (among young children, women and adolescent girls) and reduce low birth weight by 2%, 2%, 3% and 2% per annum respectively.
• It also targets to bring down stunting among children in the age group 0-6 years from 38.4% to 25% by 2022.