The POSHAN Abhiyaan — India's flagship national nutrition mission — has achieved a reduction in childhood stunting rates from 35.5 per cent in 2019 to 26.2 per cent in 2025, according to the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey, marking the fastest pace of stunting reduction in India's post-independence history.

Stunting — low height for age indicating chronic malnutrition in early childhood — has profound consequences for cognitive development, educational outcomes, and adult economic productivity. The four-decade-long prevalence had created what economists describe as a "nutrition trap" in which malnutrition perpetuates intergenerational poverty.

The reduction was achieved through convergent delivery: Anganwadi workers coordinated with health staff for growth monitoring; fortified rice, wheat flour, and edible oil were introduced into the public distribution system; and community-level behaviour change campaigns targeted feeding practices during the critical first 1,000 days of life.

Jharkhand, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh — states with historically high stunting rates — have shown the most significant improvements, suggesting that intensified programme delivery in high-burden areas is producing results.