Bhubaneswar: In a significant step towards leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for enhancing child health monitoring in Odisha, a five-day training-cum-workshop titled “AI for Growth Monitoring: Development of an AI Tool for Child Anthropometry” commenced in Bhubaneswar.
The workshop was inaugurated by Shubha Sarma, Principal Secretary of the Women & Child Development Department of Odisha. The event saw the participation of several distinguished dignitaries, including Dr. Sanghamitra Pati, Director of ICMR-RMRC Bhubaneswar and Additional Director General, ICMR, Delhi; N.C. Jyotiranjan Nayak, Additional Secretary, Women & Child Development Department; Dr. Makarand Tapaswi, Lead Investigator from Wadhwani AI; Dr. Subhendu Kumar Acharya, Scientist-D, ICMR-RMRC Bhubaneswar; and Sneha Nikam, National Program Lead, Wadhwani AI.
As part of the initiative, a comprehensive training module was launched to guide field teams in effective and standardised data collection necessary for developing the AI-based tool.
This collaborative project is being implemented by the Ministry of Women & Child Development (MoWCD), Government of India; Wadhwani AI; ICMR-RMRC Bhubaneswar; and Poshan Abhiyaan. Its objective is to develop an AI-powered solution that simplifies and enhances the accuracy of child anthropometric measurements, especially for use by Anganwadi Workers (AWWs).
The AI tool, currently under development, will utilize short videos captured via basic smartphones to automatically record critical anthropometric data—such as a child’s weight, height, head circumference, and chest circumference. This innovative method aims to make assessments more feasible and precise, enabling early detection and intervention in cases of malnutrition.
Odisha is the first state in India to pilot this critical initiative aimed at improving child growth monitoring using AI technology, an official statement said.
Throughout the five-day workshop, field investigators will receive in-depth, hands-on training on standardised procedures for measuring key growth indicators. Training will be conducted by experts from the ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), ICMR-RMRC Bhubaneswar, and Wadhwani AI.
Following the training, investigators will carry out a targeted data collection exercise over the next 3–4 months across six districts: Balasore, Cuttack, Ganjam, Jajpur, Keonjhar, and Mayurbhanj, forming the foundation for the pilot assessment and further tool development.
