Under India’s National Nutrition Mission (NNM), also called POSHAN Abhiyaan, the country has set targets to reduce stunting, undernutrition, anaemia, and low birth weight in children by 2022.

An intervention critical to achieving those goals is the Supplementary Nutrition Program (SNP), under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme. This program is one of the oldest and largest nutrition-focused interventions in India.

Under SNP, all pregnant and lactating women, as well as children aged six months to 3 years, are entitled to receive Take Home Ration (THR) from their local Anganwadi Centers, while children aged 3 to 6 years old are eligible to receive Hot Cooked Meals.

Evidence continues to support the use of supplementary food to improve child growth outcomes in food-insecure settings,2 but effective program implementation is critical; supplementary foods must first reach and be eaten by intended beneficiaries to have their intended effect.

The THR program is implemented at the state level, with states determining the composition of foods, the sourcing and supply chain, and the production and distribution model based on local availability, diet norms, and feasibility.

Both Rajasthan and Jharkhand recently altered their THR production and distribution models. 

Rajasthan moved towards a more centralized model in March 2020, and Jharkhand towards a more decentralized approach in November 2019, according to a study conducted by a body of the Niti Aayog. 

Rates of access to and use of THR by women and children vary between states as well. 

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In two previous state- and district-representative quantitative surveys that IDinsight conducted in 12 districts across Rajasthan and Jharkhand,study found that access to Take Home Ration was much lower in Rajasthan than in Jharkhand. 

In Rajasthan, only about one-third of eligible beneficiaries reported receiving THR in the month of January 2020, compared to about two-thirds of eligible beneficiaries in Jharkhand for the same period.

The study also found that access to THR decreased in both states between January and May 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted food supply chains and freedom of movement.