Odisha Boosts Child Nutrition with Digital Health Book Launch
Bhubaneswar: Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida on Tuesday launched a digital book in Odia on child health, focusing on the critical first 1,000 days of life from conception to age two.
The initiative, unveiled at a state‑level event, aims to strengthen maternal and child nutrition and promote the vision of “Healthy Mother – Healthy Child – Healthy Family.”
The government announced significant enhancements to nutrition support: supplementary nutrition for severely underweight children (6 months–6 years) has been raised from -8 to -12 per day.
With an additional -6 under the Mukhyamantri Sampoorna Pushti Yojana, each child will now receive nutrition worth 18 daily, benefiting nearly 35,000 children across Odisha at an extra annual cost of Rs 10.7 crore.
For pre‑school children (3–6 years), the daily breakfast allocation has been increased from Rs 1.24 to Rs 3.56, requiring an additional Rs 126.83 crore annually from the state budget.
The digital book explains each stage of the first 1,000 days in simple terms and will be used by Anganwadi workers during home visits.
It will also be shared via social media to reach families statewide.
Senior officials, including Commissioner‑cum‑Secretary Dr Mrinalini Darswal and Director Monisha Banerjee, attended the event, while district‑level officers joined virtually.
