Officials assure action on poor-quality take-home rations after The Hindu report 

Following The Hindu’s report on September 7, 2025, about the poor quality of premixed khichdi and protein packets supplied as take-home rations under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme, officials from the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department and the ICDS called a meeting with Anganwadi union representatives on Monday (September 8, 2025), at Mantralaya in Mumbai.

The Hindu’s story, titled, “Maharashtra’s Anganwadi centres find few takers for protein powder”, highlighted complaints from parents and Anganwadi workers across several districts that the premixed food was bitter, greasy, and often wasted, with reports of insects and other impurities in some packets. 

Shubha Shamim, State president of the Anganwadi Workers’ Union, who attended the meeting, said officials assured them that the concerns raised in the report will be addressed. “They informed us that the State has no direct control over the Centre’s scheme of distributing premixed khichdi as THR (Take-Home Ration), but they promised to hold a discussion in Delhi with senior officials and present feedback collected from parents and Anganwadi workers on the quality of food packets,” Ms. Shamim said. 

Ms. Shamim further clarified that the meeting date was fixed before based on a notice the union had sent on August 18, warning officials about a planned protest on September 9. “We had informed them in advance that we would sit in protest, and the meeting was scheduled because of our agitation notice. The protest was eventually postponed due to continuous rains. The Hindu’s report strengthened our arguments against THR and FRS during the discussions,” she added. 

Officials also clarified there was a “miscommunication” regarding the FRS (Facial Recognition System) authentication for beneficiaries, stating that the process does not need to be completed every time, but only once every two months. 

Ms. Shamim further said the union has demanded an increase in the nutrition budget, as the current allocation stands at ₹8 per child and ₹16 per pregnant or lactating mother, unchanged since 2014. “The officials assured us they will propose a hike in the rates to the Centre,” she added. 

On Tuesday (September 9, 2025), an Anganwadi teacher, helper, and several beneficiaries were harassed by the Anganwadi supervisor, who pressured them to retract their statements about the poor quality of THR reported in The Hindu.

A beneficiary said (refused to be named), “I had to visit a relative in the hospital, but the supervisor stopped me and forced me to sign a sheet claiming that the allegations published in the paper against the THR were false. She threatened that if I didn’t sign, the Anganwadi teacher would lose her job. I signed it out of fear for the teacher’s livelihood.”

On Wednesday (September 10, 2025), the Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) called a meeting with beneficiaries and Anganwadi workers to discuss the newspaper report. During the meeting, both beneficiaries and workers complained about the supervisor’s behaviour and submitted a signed letter reiterating concerns about the quality of the THR. The CDPO will compile the letters and submit it to the ICDS. 

The September 7, 2025, The Hindu report had prompted immediate calls from officials to Anganwadi workers the same day, asking them to verify the information mentioned in the article. In the September 8 meeting, the union representatives reiterated widespread dissatisfaction among parents and teachers over the declining quality of food provided under the ICDS scheme. “They have also accepted our point that the purpose of these premix khichdi packets was to serve the right calories to eradicate malnutrition among children and mothers and when they are not at all consuming it, it has just been a waste,” she said.