NITI Aayog press release · 5 March 2026 · pibtracker filter

NITI Aayog and UNICEF India Sign Statement of Intent to Strengthen Nutrition and Health Outcomes in Aspirational Districts and Blocks

PRID2235681 MinistryNITI Aayog Released5 March 2026 Reading8 min

Posted On: 05 MAR 2026 6:23PM by PIB Delhi In a significant step towards strengthening collaborative efforts for improving nutrition and health outcomes, NITI Aayog and UNICEF India today signed a Statement of Intent to support strategic interventions in Aspirational Districts and Aspirational Blocks. The SOI was signed by Shri Rohit Kumar, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme, NITI Aayog and Mr. Arjan de Wagt, Deputy Representative, UNICEF India. This collaboration aims to leverage the strengths of both institutions to advance efforts toward improved maternal and child nutrition outcomes in underserved regions. The partnership will support the promotion of multi-stakeholder engagement and strengthen implementation systems for nutrition and health interventions at the block level. Shri Rohit Kumar noted that the Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme has demonstrated the importance of convergence, collaboration and data-driven governance in accelerating development outcomes. He highlighted that partnerships with organisations such as UNICEF India will further strengthen efforts to address critical health and nutrition challenges and enhance last-mile service delivery in high-priority regions. UNICEF India, through the IMPAct4Nutrition (I4N) platform, will provide technical expertise and support engagement with businesses, public sector enterprises and industry associations to channel CSR investments into nutrition-focused initiatives. The collaboration will focus on strengthening Anganwadi infrastructure, enhancing nutrition literacy, improving uptake of ICDS services and building the capacity of frontline workers. Key activities under the collaboration include mobilising CSR partners to support health and nutrition interventions, promoting community engagement and supporting knowledge sharing platforms to identify and disseminate scalable best practices across Aspirational Districts and Blocks. The signing of the Statement of Intent underscores the shared commitment of NITI Aayog and UNICEF India to advancing nutrition and health outcomes through strengthened partnerships, evidence-based approaches and coordinated action across government, private sector and community stakeholders. **** MJPS/PRK (Release ID: 2235681) Visitor Counter : 1961 Read this release in: Urdu , Marathi , हिन्दी NITI Aayog NITI Aayog and UNICEF India Sign Statement of Intent to Strengthen Nutrition and Health Outcomes in Aspirational Districts and Blocks Posted On: 05 MAR 2026 6:23PM by PIB Delhi In a significant step towards strengthening collaborative efforts for improving nutrition and health outcomes, NITI Aayog and UNICEF India today signed a Statement of Intent to support strategic interventions in Aspirational Districts and Aspirational Blocks. The SOI was signed by Shri Rohit Kumar, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme, NITI Aayog and Mr. Arjan de Wagt, Deputy Representative, UNICEF India. This collaboration aims to leverage the strengths of both institutions to advance efforts toward improved maternal and child nutrition outcomes in underserved regions. The partnership will support the promotion of multi-stakeholder engagement and strengthen implementation systems for nutrition and health interventions at the block level. Shri Rohit Kumar noted that the Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme has demonstrated the importance of convergence, collaboration and data-driven governance in accelerating development outcomes. He highlighted that partnerships with organisations such as UNICEF India will further strengthen efforts to address critical health and nutrition challenges and enhance last-mile service delivery in high-priority regions. UNICEF India, through the IMPAct4Nutrition (I4N) platform, will provide technical expertise and support engagement with businesses, public sector enterprises and industry associations to channel CSR investments into nutrition-focused initiatives. The collaboration will focus on strengthening Anganwadi infrastructure, enhancing nutrition literacy, improving uptake of ICDS services and building the capacity of frontline workers. Key activities under the collaboration include mobilising CSR partners to support health and nutrition interventions, promoting community engagement and supporting knowledge sharing platforms to identify and disseminate scalable best practices across Aspirational Districts and Blocks. The signing of the Statement of Intent underscores the shared commitment of NITI Aayog and UNICEF India to advancing nutrition and health outcomes through strengthened partnerships, evidence-based approaches and coordinated action across government, private sector and community stakeholders. **** MJPS/PRK (Release ID: 2235681) In a significant step towards strengthening collaborative efforts for improving nutrition and health outcomes, NITI Aayog and UNICEF India today signed a Statement of Intent to support strategic interventions in Aspirational Districts and Aspirational Blocks. The SOI was signed by Shri Rohit Kumar, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme, NITI Aayog and Mr. Arjan de Wagt, Deputy Representative, UNICEF India. This collaboration aims to leverage the strengths of both institutions to advance efforts toward improved maternal and child nutrition outcomes in underserved regions. The partnership will support the promotion of multi-stakeholder engagement and strengthen implementation systems for nutrition and health interventions at the block level. Shri Rohit Kumar noted that the Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme has demonstrated the importance of convergence, collaboration and data-driven governance in accelerating development outcomes. He highlighted that partnerships with organisations such as UNICEF India will further strengthen efforts to address critical health and nutrition challenges and enhance last-mile service delivery in high-priority regions. UNICEF India, through the IMPAct4Nutrition (I4N) platform, will provide technical expertise and support engagement with businesses, public sector enterprises and industry associations to channel CSR investments into nutrition-focused initiatives. The collaboration will focus on strengthening Anganwadi infrastructure, enhancing nutrition literacy, improving uptake of ICDS services and building the capacity of frontline workers. Key activities under the collaboration include mobilising CSR partners to support health and nutrition interventions, promoting community engagement and supporting knowledge sharing platforms to identify and disseminate scalable best practices across Aspirational Districts and Blocks. The signing of the Statement of Intent underscores the shared commitment of NITI Aayog and UNICEF India to advancing nutrition and health outcomes through strengthened partnerships, evidence-based approaches and coordinated action across government, private sector and community stakeholders. <img alt="" src="https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/userfiles/image/Nitipic105032026EW7D.jpg" style="height:400px; width:600px" /> **** MJPS/PRK " /> var mPlayer = document.getElementById("background_music"); var mPlayAction = document.getElementById("playbutton"); var isPlaying = false; function playAudio() { mPlayer.play(); isPlaying = true; document.getElementById('stopA').style.display = "block"; document.getElementById('playA').style.display = "none"; } function pauseAudio() { mPlayer.pause(); isPlaying = false; document.getElementById('playA').style.display = "block"; document.getElementById('stopA').style.display = "none"; } //function HandleAudio() { // if (isPlaying == true) { // //Playing already Pause it // pauseAudio(); // } else { // //Play the music // playAudio(); // } //} var synth = window.speechSynthesis; function CleanHtml(html) { html = html.replace(/ /gi, ''); return html; } function stripHtml(html) { let tmp = document.createElement("DIV"); tmp.innerHTML = CleanHtml(html); return tmp.textContent || tmp.innerText || ""; } $(document).ready(function () { //for responsive tables $("table").each(function () { if (!$(this).closest(".table-responsive").length) { $(this).wrap(" "); } }); var width = $(window).width(); if (width $(document).ready(function () { var width = $(window).width(); if (width @media print { .sticky-social, .sticky-social_mb, .pull-right, #printPDF { display: none !important; } } .f_vl { padding-right: 30px; font-size: 17px; cursor: pointer; } .log_oo { // width: 20%; display: flex; justify-content: space-between; } .log_oo img { width: 150px; /*width: 100%; height: auto;*/ } .sticky-social_mb { position: fixed; bottom: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; width: 100%; } .social_mb { list-style: none; display: flex; width: 100%; margin-bottom: -8px; } .social_mb a { padding: 8px 0px; font-size: 30px; transition: all 0.8s ease-in-out; width: 20% !important; text-align: center; } .section1 { position: relative; padding: 10px 0px; width: 100%; } .sticky-social { position: fixed; top: 20px; left: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; } .social { list-style: none; } .social a li { padding: 8px 12px; font-size: 25px; transition: all 0.8s ease-in-out; } .social a li:hover { margin-right: -30px; box-shadow: 2px 5px 10px grey; } .social a li:hover .fa { margin-left: 20px; } .fb_b { /* background-color: rgb(59, 89, 152);*/ background-color: rgba(65,103,178,255); } .twitter_r { /* background-color: rgb(29, 161, 242);*/ background-color: #000000; } .whatsapp_r { /* background-color: rgb(77, 194, 71);*/ background-color: rgba(13,191,67,255); } .fa-envelope_r { /* background-color: rgb(219, 68, 55);*/ background-color: #e2123d; } .fa-linkedin_r { background-color: rgb(0, 119, 181); } @media only screen and (max-device-width: 767px) { p span img { max-width: 90% !important; height: auto !important; } p img { max-width: 90% !important; height: auto !important; } h2 { font-size: 20px !important; font-weight: 600 !important; } h3 { font-size: 18px !important; font-weight: 600 !important; } } /* === Film Roll Badge Styling(IFFI2025 countdown) === */ .film-roll-badge { position: absolute; top:82%; right: 20px; width: 230px; height: 70px; background: repeating-linear-gradient( to right, #9a2375 0px, #9a2375 18px, #6e2b8b 18px, #6e2b8b 36px ); border-top: 8px solid #9a2375; border-bottom: 8px solid #9a2375; border-radius: 8px; overflow: hidden; box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4); animation: moveFilm 8s linear infinite; z-index: 10; } /* film sprocket holes */ .film-roll-badge::before, .film-roll-badge::after { content: ""; position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 10px; background: repeating-linear-gradient( to right, #9a2375 0px, #9a2375 10px, #fff 10px, #fff 20px ); left: 0; z-index: 2; } .film-roll-badge::before { top: -4px; } .film-roll-badge::after { bottom: -4px; } .film-roll-inner { position: relative; height: 100%; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; animation: flicker 2s infinite ease-in-out; } .countdown-text { font-size: 1.3rem; font-weight: 700; color: #fff; text-shadow: 0 0 6px rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.4), 0 0 10px #000; white-space: nowrap; } /* === Animations === */ @keyframes moveFilm { 0% { background-position: 0 0; } 100% { background-position: 120px 0; } } @keyframes flicker { 0%, 100% { opacity: 1; } 50% { opacity: 0.9; } 25% { opacity: 0.95; } 75% { opacity: 0.85; } } /* === Responsive Adjustments === */ @media (max-width: 1500px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 68%; right: 18px; /* width: 220px; */ height: 65px; font-size: 0.85rem; } .press-section { margin-top: 35px; } } @media (max-width: 992px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 52%; right: 10px; width: 200px; height: 60px; } } @media (max-width: 768px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 56%; right: 10px; width: 124px; height: 55px; } .countdown-text { font-size: 0.9rem; } } @media (max-width: 576px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 59%; right: 5px; /* width: 160px; */ height: 50px; } .countdown-text { font-size: 0.85rem; } } const festivalStart = new Date("2025-11-20T00:00:00").getTime(); const festivalEnd = new Date("2025-11-28T23:59:59").getTime(); const countdownElement = document.getElementById("countdown"); const interval = setInterval(() => { const now = new Date().getTime(); // BEFORE FESTIVAL — show days + hours left if (now = festivalStart && now el.style.width = "350px"); clearInterval(interval); } }, 1000); //

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NITI Aayog and UNICEF India Sign Statement of Intent to Strengthen Nutrition and Health Outcomes in Aspirational Districts and Blocks

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