New Delhi, July 26 -- The Union health ministry has lowered the haemoglobin threshold used to diagnose anaemia in two of India's highest-risk groups-young children and pregnant women in their second trimester-as it revamps the country's flagship anaemia-control programme to focus more on targeted screening and treatment than universal iron supplementation.

The revised Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan framework aligns national clinical guidelines with the World Health Organization's 2024 recommendations, according to a government official and documents reviewed by Mint.

The revised framework has been shared with states and Union territories for implementation.

Under the new guidelines, the haemoglobin cut-off for children aged 6-23 months an...