Only just over a third of India’s youngest and most vulnerable stunted

About 37.07 per cent of children under five registered on the Poshan Tracker were found to be stunted, 15.93 per cent underweight and 5.46 per cent wasted, according to official data.

'Wasted' is a condition where a person, especially a child, is too thin for her or his height. Underweight implies low weight for age, while wasting implies low height for age.

In response to a question in the Rajya Sabha, minister of state for women and child development Savitri Thakur said Uttar Pradesh reported the highest rate of stunting at 48.83 per cent, followed closely by Jharkhand (43.26 per cent), Bihar (42.68 per cent) and Madhya Pradesh (42.09 per cent).

Nearly 8.61 crore children up to the age of six were registered for associated services as of June 2025, which is a slight decline from the previous year's 8.91 crore, according to the data.

Further, Thakur said around 2 lakh anganwadi centres are being upgraded into 'Saksham Anganwadis', with modern infrastructure and digital learning tools.

As of now, 88,716 mini anganwadis across 20 states and union territories have been approved for upgradation, she said in a written response.

Ed: Added definitions for stunting and underweight