
Centre to roll out biometric-based registration under Poshan 2.0 from August 1
Speaking at a Ministry zonal meeting at Kevadia in the Narmada district, Ms. Devi said the adoption of digital tools, such as the face recognition system used under Saksham Anganwadi, would bring greater transparency, accountability, and governance to the programme.
Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 is an integrated nutrition support initiative catering to children, adolescent girls, pregnant women, and lactating mothers.
The Union Budget for 2025-26 has allocated ₹4.49 lakh crore for this initiative, covering 273 schemes by 49 Ministries in a push towards gender-inclusive governance, the Minister said.
Digital tools for better governance
To enhance capacity-building, dedicated learning modules for Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 will be hosted on the iGOT Karmayogi platform for use by field functionaries nationwide, she added.
Ms. Devi urged States and Union Territories to strengthen their grievance redressal mechanisms, improve digital literacy among adolescent girls and young mothers, and ensure timely delivery of services through Anganwadis. She also proposed transforming the Poshan Helpline into an interactive platform for citizen engagement and service quality feedback.
Ms. Devi highlighted the Aadhaar-enabled Direct Benefit Transfers under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana as a key transparency measure and encouraged all States and UTs to adopt the Mission Vatsalya portal for real-time data monitoring.
Participants at the zonal meeting included Minister of State Savitri Thakur, Ministers from the Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan governments, and senior officials from five western States. Discussions focused on convergence under Mission Shakti, Mission Vatsalya, and Poshan 2.0, with States showcasing best practices and innovations.
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The Wire
an hour ago
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If one batch of any drug has been red-flagged, it does not necessarily mean that all its batches would be substandard. Common 'errors' One of the most serious risks associated with NSQ drugs is improper sterility. This means that the drug contains harmful microorganisms that can lead to infection in a patient's body after ingestion. This could potentially cause extremely serious complications in patients, like sepsis or even death due to acute infection. The other common problem that some drugs have is that they contain 'particulate matter' – particles that inadvertently enter the drug during the manufacturing process. These particles can contaminate the drug. A 'description' error is one in which a drug's physical appearance does not match its prescribed appearance as per regulation. For example, if a tablet is described in regulation as having a white colour but a patient finds it to be orange, the tablet would have a description error. Several medicines were reported as experiencing 'loss on drying'. This error reflects the lack of moisture in drugs, which may cause microbial growth in them, potentially causing infection if ingested. A drug is labelled as having assay errors when an ingredient in it is found in a quantity that is higher or lower than what is mentioned on its label. A higher amount would mean an overdose and a lower amount would result in an underdose – the latter would lead to a situation where a patient even after consuming the prescribed strength of a drug ends up ingesting a lower quantity of some ingredient. This can lead to their disease getting worse. 'Extractable volume' errors usually occur with vials. If the liquid that is to be extracted from a vial using a syringe is present in a quantity greater or lower than as labelled, this can again lead to an overdose or underdose of the drug given in injectable form. 'Dissolution' errors can adversely affect the absorption of a drug. 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Two batches of Oscar Remedies's ciprofloxacin & dexamethasone eye/ear drops had 943.33% more ciprofloxacin than the labelled amount. The full lists of NSQ drugs made by the CDSCO and state regulators can be found here and here respectively. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.


Time of India
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The Hindu
5 hours ago
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