Question : Nutrition Resource Platform

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government has launched Nutrition Resource Platform (NRP) in the country;
(b) if so, the salient features thereof and the amount of funds sanctioned for the purpose;
(c) whether a pilot project has been initiated in the country under the aegis of the platform to collect information on a monthly basis from Anganwadi Centres;
(d) if so, the details thereof along with the progress made thereunder; and
(e) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to spread awareness on nutrition hygiene including the use of modern technology through this platform?

MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
SHRIMATI MANEKA SANJAY GANDHI

(a) Yes, Nutrition Resource Platform (NRP) has been launched by the then Minister of Women and Child Development on 24th January 2014.
(b) NRP has been launched with an aim to create a single knowledge sharing platform for nutrition, early childhood education and development, care and support systems, serving as a digital resource library on nutrition. The platform is accessible at www.poshan.nic.in and/or www.akshayaposhan.gov.in. It has following components:
• A digital/physical library to provide access to resource materials electronically or otherwise.
• A web-based knowledge management e-forum proposed for discussion and exchange of ideas.
• Mobile Telephony which is the end-user services for ICDS functionaries with a possibility of services like Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS, SMS blast) to connect with the grassroots level workers.
An amount of Rs. 1, 39, 35,782/- has been released for NRP up to January, 2016.
(c & d) Yes, a pilot project has been initiated using Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) of NRP wherein mobile phones are being used as a medium for collection of Monthly Progress Report (MPR) from Anganwadi workers. Each Anganwadi Centre has been assigned an 11 digit unique code and Anganwadi Workers were required to feed the data from landline/ mobile phone using the Toll Free Number, 1800116633. Real-time data collection through IVRS has been piloted in about 8331 Anganwadi Centers from 63 projects in 27 districts of 21 States/ UTs in the country. The acquired data is updated on the central server of the Ministry.
(e) The initiatives undertaken through the platform in order to spread awareness on nutrition issues including sanitation in the country are as follows:
• Nationwide Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaign against malnutrition to create awareness about nutrition challenges and promote home level feeding practices was undertaken by the Ministry in the country during the years 2012-2015.The IEC material developed for the campaign are available on the NRP in downloadable format for further outreach as well as for generating awareness in the population.
• The portal contains more than 6320 documents in printable format, audio visuals, and other IEC materials, which can be accessed by various policy makers, students, ICDS functionaries and community at large.
• Various functionaries of ICDS are being continuously given training on access and use of the NRP website.
• NRP has also been introduced to various social media networks to broaden the outreach of the platform and continuous efforts are being made to make the website more user-friendly.
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