Punjab's delay in procuring 28,515 smartphones for the Poshan Abhiyaan initiative may prevent nearly 12 lakh beneficiaries from receiving supplementary nutrition. The Union Ministry mandated a face recognition system (FRS) using a Poshan tracker application, requiring smartphones for beneficiary identification. Punjab and West Bengal are the only states not yet compliant. Bureaucratic hurdles and a change in smartphone specifications from 4G to 5G have escalated costs and stalled procurement, impacting the program's effectiveness.