Under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme, Take-Home Ration (THR) of micronutrientfortified blended foods and/or energy-dense foods are distributed. THR is provided to fill the nutritional gap and improve Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices.
In the state of Maharashtra, there are around 64,63,457 beneficiaries registered at over 1,10,515 Anganwadi Centers (AWCs). Through these AWCs, Take-Home Ration (THR) is distributed to beneficiaries, which include children (6 months-3 years of age), pregnant women, lactating mothers, severely underweight children (6 months-6 years of age), and adolescent girls (in 4 aspirational districts) of the state.
Challenges
The THR supply and distribution system faces several challenges, including ensuring timely delivery with the requisite quality in a transparent and efficient manner.
IT Solution
The Department of Women and Child Development, Maharashtra, with the support of GIZ’s “Securing Nutrition, Enhancing Resilience” (SENU) project, has developed an IT solution called the ‘Food Supply Monitoring System’ to monitor the supply chain of THR packets. This solution aims to bring transparency and efficiency to the overall system.
The solution was designed after understanding the ecosystem and interacting with users to comprehend their requirements for the new IT solution and the challenges of the existing system. It consists of a web application and a mobile app used by Department officials (both state and district levels), THR suppliers, and Anganwadi Workers.
The web application includes functionalities such as demand generation based on the count and category of beneficiaries, supply order generation, dashboards, and delivery status reports for its users. The mobile app records the receipt of THR packets at the Anganwadi Centre as per the quantities ordered and allows for capturing the reasons for delivery rejection in case of quality issues, along with photos of the received packets. The mobile application operates in both online and offline modes.
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The solution is multilingual (Marathi, Hindi, and English) and has been piloted in two districts (Thane and Palghar) of the state. Users in the pilot districts and at the state level have been trained on the solution.
Around 64,63,457 beneficiaries in Maharashtra are registered at over 1,10,515 Anganwadi Centers (AWCs). Through these AWCs, Take-Home Ration is distributed to beneficiaries, which include children (6 months-3 years of age), pregnant women, lactating mothers, severely underweight children (6 months-6 years of age), and adolescent girls (in 4 aspirational districts) of the state.
Benefits
The pilot in Thane and Palghar showed positive results and was very helpful. It empowered the involved stakeholders by providing realtime tracking of demand, supply, and delivery of THR packets at the Anganwadi Centre. At the same time, it instilled discipline in the entire system regarding adherence to quality and timelines.Overall, it ensured the availability of THR packets for the beneficiaries at the Anganwadi Centre in the right quantities, with the right quality, at the right time.
Upscaling
After seeing the results of the pilot, the department has decided to upscale the solution across Maharashtra, covering all the districts so that all the districts benefit from it.
Insights shared by: Shri Kailash Sukhdeo Pagare, Commissioner, Integrated Child Development Scheme, Government of Maharashtra
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