Rashtriya Poshan Maah: Rashtriya Poshan Maah is a national campaign celebrated every September in India, with the aim of raising awareness of nutrition in particular amongst women, children, and adolescents. Rashtriya Poshan Maah is part of the overarching POSHAN Abhiyaan mission to eradicate malnutrition, and foster positive dietary habits. The campaign includes community engagement, nutrition education, and technology (e.g., poshan tracker) to track not only nutrition progress, but also, participation and engagement progress. The program is designed to improve nutrition’s focal indicators and improve comprehensive child and maternal health.Understanding Rashtriya Poshan Maah helps UPSC aspirants in answering questions on social welfare, public health policies, and the government’s approach to tackling malnutrition, which are important for UPSC general studies preparation.

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What is Rashtriya Poshan Maah?

POSHAN Abhiyaan is Government of India’s flagship programme to improve nutritional outcomes for children under 6 years of age, pregnant women and lactating mothers. Launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister, POSHAN (Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition) Abhiyaan aims to address the challenge of malnutrition in a mission-mode.Rashtriya Poshan Maah is a month-long initiative held in September since 2018. It is a component of the statewide Jan Andolan (movement of the people) about nutrition literacy, effective nutrition practices, and promoting positive behavior change under the POSHAN Abhiyaan.The aim is to sensitize families and communities about nutrition and health, targeting women, children, and adolescents for maximum impact. Since its launch, more than 130 crore nutrition-centric activities have been organized, strengthening the mission of a Suposhit Bharat (nourished India).

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8th Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2025 

8th Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2025 will take place from 12th September to 11th October 2025. This year, the campaign aims to amplify the objectives of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 by involving community members in local initiatives, awareness campaigns and conversations.  Its importance is highlighted by its holistic approach—addressing issues like undernutrition, overnutrition, dietary diversity, environmental concerns, and community participation all at once.

What is the Theme of Poshan Maah 2025?

This year’s campaign, taking place throughout the month of September, focuses on several critical themes: Anaemia prevention, Growth Monitoring, Complementary Feeding, “Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi,” Technology for Better Governance, and the environmental campaign “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam.” It covers Addressing Anaemia prevention, having regular Growth Monitoring, Complementary Feeding for young children, and incorporating the concept of “Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi”, meaning nutrition also along with education.The campaign also highlights the use of Technology for Better Governance to improve monitoring and delivery of nutrition services. Additionally, it includes the environmental initiative “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam”, which connects nutrition awareness with tree planting for sustainable health and a greener environment. This holistic approach aims to create a healthier, well-nourished population with active community participation and innovative governance.

Poshan Tracker

The Poshan Tracker is an online tool developed by the Government of India to help Anganwadi workers and health officials survey and improve maternal and child nutrition throughout the country. Anganwadi workers and health officials enter the health and nutrition status of pregnant women, lactating mothers, and infants into the Poshan Tracker, in real-time. The system creates beneficiary profiles and uses growth monitoring charts aligned with WHO standards to track development, highlighting malnutrition risks for early intervention.

Poshan Tracker Calculator

Tracking progress is vital for any large public campaign. The poshan tracker is a government mobile application supporting Anganwadi workers in real-time nutrition monitoring. It helps collect and analyze data for millions of children and pregnant mothers—tracking growth, feeding habits, immunizations, and more.

This  important features in  the Poshan Tracker Calculator is available at poshantracker.in/ptcalculator. The Poshan Tracker Calculator has been designed to help workers quickly assess a child’s nutritional status based on standard growth norms related to age, gender, height and weight. It then categorizes the level of the child’s nutrition and identifies risks including Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) , Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM), normal nutrition or overweight/obesity.

The app is user-friendly, mobile-compatible, and Aadhaar-linked to ensure data accuracy and avoid duplication. By enabling faster, accurate, and transparent nutrition tracking, the Poshan Tracker promotes better governance and targeted interventions to reduce malnutrition effectively.

Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2025: “Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi”

Another area of emphasis this year is “Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi” (Nutrition is Padhai too). India plans to establish one of the largest, most inclusive preschool systems in the world in Anganwadi centers with National Education Policy 2020.This policy ensures strong nutrition and education foundations for the youngest generation. Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2025 also strongly includes men in nutrition and caregiving conversations, challenging gender stereotypes and encouraging shared family responsibility.

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Community Events and Environmental Integration

During Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2025, there are workshops in the community regarding healthy cooking, meal planning, and infant feeding. In schools and colleges, there is awareness rally, quiz, poster making competitions, and environmental plantation drives, to show the connection of nutrition with environment.Local leaders, Anganwadi workers, and frontline healthcare providers become key drivers in these events, spreading messages about balanced diets and the long-term benefits of proper nutrition.

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