In a major push to strengthen India's fight against anemia, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare J.P. Nadda will launch the Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) Abhiyaan – Operational Guidelines during the 16th Meeting of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW) at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on June 29.

The launch marks the transition of the existing Anemia Mukt Bharat programme into Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, signalling a shift towards a more comprehensive, technology-enabled and community-driven approach to anemia prevention and management. 

The revamped programme expands its focus beyond iron supplementation to include early testing, therapeutic management, nutrition, digital tracking and community participation.

A key highlight of the new guidelines is the expansion of the existing 6x6x6 strategy into a 7x7x7 framework by introducing a seventh beneficiary group, intervention and institutional mechanism.

For the first time, low birth weight (LBW) infants aged 0–6 months have been included as a dedicated beneficiary group, underscoring the importance of addressing anemia from the earliest stages of life.

The programme also introduces "Eating Right" as the seventh intervention, encouraging the regular consumption of iron-rich and diversified diets to prevent anemia. In addition, a strengthened Monitoring and Evaluation framework, supported by digital tracking, has been incorporated as the seventh institutional mechanism to improve programme implementation and accountability.

Another significant reform is the transition from the T3 approach (Test, Treat and Talk) to the T4 approach (Test, Treat, Talk and Track). The revised strategy emphasizes routine hemoglobin testing, treatment of iron deficiency anemia as per national protocols, systematic tracking of beneficiaries for follow-up and referrals, and targeted counselling to promote healthy dietary practices.

For pregnant and lactating women with severe anemia or those who do not respond to oral iron therapy, the guidelines recommend intravenous iron therapy using Ferric Carboxymaltose (FCM) and Iron Sucrose as key clinical interventions.

The operational guidelines also establish a comprehensive digital ecosystem for monitoring anemia services. Hemoglobin testing records for pregnant women will be integrated through the JANANI Portal, while data for children will be captured through the RBSK and U-WIN portals.