Ranchi: More than 38,000 anganwadi workers across the state will hold village-level cooking demonstrations using locally sourced vegetables, pulses and millets during Poshan Maah 2026, aimed at improving daily nutrient intake.The women, child development and social security department will observe the campaign from Sept 9 to Oct 8 under the theme, ‘Hamari Anganwadi, Hamari Jimmedari’ (our anganwadi, our responsibility). The month-long initiative seeks to boost community participation and awareness across all anganwadi centres in the state.Social welfare director Kiran Kumari Pasi urged residents to take ownership of their local centres, participate in activities and monitor their functioning. “Anganwadi centres belong to the community. Active engagement can transform them into vibrant hubs for nutrition, early childhood care and learning,” she said.Sevikas and supervisors have also been asked to coordinate with panchayati raj institution members, self-help groups and traditional community leaders to turn the campaign into a people’s movement.This year’s programme will focus on dietary diversity, adequate protein intake, use of produce from Poshan Vatikas, weekly menu rotation, display of supplementary nutrition programme menu boards and stronger oversight through anganwadi management committees.Early childhood care and education, early stimulation and full coverage under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) are also key priorities. The department has set a target of enrolling 48,983 new PMMVY beneficiaries during the campaign.A month-long activity calendar will cover five themes — dietary diversity and protein intake, promotion of hot-cooked meals, community ownership, early childhood development and 10 years of PMMVY.Severe wasting among children under five in Jharkhand declined from 9.1% in NFHS-5 to 5.9% in NFHS-6, according to survey data. More than 10.60 lakh children aged three to six years at 38,957 anganwadi centres currently receive daily hot-cooked meals and an egg, while take-home ration reaches over 12.63 lakh beneficiaries across the state.
